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Archives for July 2015

Dodgers Designate Matt West For Assignment

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The Dodgers have announced that they’ve designated righty Matt West for assignment. The move clears space on their active roster for Brandon Beachy, who has been activated from the 60-day DL to start tonight. They also optioned righty Josh Ravin to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

West, 26, pitched well for Double-A Tulsa since being acquired in a minor deal with the Blue Jays in May, but he’s struggled for Oklahoma City, posting a 7.20 ERA, 6.3 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 20 innings there. He also made two relief appearances in the big leagues in June, allowing no runs while striking out two and walking one in three innings.

Clay Buchholz Leaves Start With Elbow Tightness

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SATURDAY: The Red Sox have placed Buchholz on the 15-day DL, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com tweets. He does not have any ligament damage, however, which looks like good news for the Red Sox. It appears the newly promoted Brian Johnson will start in his absence, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald implies (Twittter links), although he’ll be in the bullpen today. The official diagnosis on Buchholz’s injury is a right flexor strain.

FRIDAY: Red Sox righty Clay Buchholz has left tonight’s start against the Yankees in the fourth inning. The Sox have since announced that he is dealing with right elbow tightness.

Trade rumors earlier this summer had connected teams like the the Astros and Pirates, to Buchholz. The Red Sox have won nine of their last 12 games and aren’t entirely out of the playoff race, however, and they hold options on Buchholz for 2016 and 2017 at reasonable prices, so it’s not surprising that rumors about Buchholz haven’t been particularly active lately. In fact, WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford reported in late June that the Red Sox had no interest in dealing Buchholz. As the Providence Journal’s Brian MacPherson tweets, though, the threat of injury was one key reason a trade might have made sense.

The Red Sox’ recent surge has them only five games back of the second Wild Card spot in the American League, although they remain in last place in the AL East and are just two games up on the Athletics, who have the AL’s worst record. Buchholz’ excellent season (he has a 3.26 ERA, 8.5 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in 113 1/2 innings thus far) is one of the key reasons the Sox remain on the fringes of contention, and losing him for any significant period of time would be a serious blow to the Sox’ pitching staff and to their season as a whole.

Red Sox Promote Brian Johnson

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The Red Sox have lefty pitching prospect Brian Johnson, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal reports (Twitter links). Johnson’s role this weekend is uncertain, MacPherson writes, although he’s likely to join the Red Sox’ rotation after the All-Star break. Eduardo Rodriguez and Wade Miley are scheduled to start Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Clay Buchholz left last night’s start with an elbow injury. Whether or not Buchholz needs to be placed on the disabled list, Johnson appears to be a reasonable choice to try to stabilize a shaky Sox rotation.

Baseball America ranked Johnson the No. 82 prospect in baseball heading into the season. MLB.com, meanwhile, currently ranks Johnson the No. 90 prospect in the game, noting that Johnson throws 88-94 MPH but with good sinking action, strong secondary pitches and a good feel for pitching.

Johnson, 24, excelled at Double-A Portland last season and has continued to make progress this year at Triple-A Pawtucket, posting a 2.73 ERA, 8.5 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 85 2/3 innings. He was the No. 31 overall pick in the draft out of the University of Florida in 2012.

Padres Notes: Shields, Kimbrel, Grandal

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Despite a disappointing 39-49 season thus far, the Padres aren’t planning a complete rebuild, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes. “We think we’re smarter to put all of our energy into competing year after year after year,” says Padres lead investor Peter Seidler. “We think that’s what the fans want, we think that’s what San Diego wants, and we know that’s what we want.” The Padres’ plans also won’t be dictated by the fact that they host next year’s All-Star Game either, however. “I think ultimately, we’re going to make decisions that are for the best of the franchise and not say, ’Hey, we have to be at this point because we have the All-Star Game in San Diego next year,'” says GM A.J. Preller. The Padres have a few key players set for free agency after the season, including Justin Upton, Ian Kennedy and Will Venable. Many of their other key players, though, including James Shields, Craig Kimbrel, Tyson Ross, Andrew Cashner, Derek Norris, Yonder Alonso, Wil Myers and Matt Kemp, are under control beyond this season, so they could conceivably make another run at contention next year. That could be tricky, however, given the talent they parted with to acquire many of those players. Here’s more out of San Diego.

  • Some in the Padres organization believe the team should trade Shields this summer, promoting him as a lower-cost option than Cole Hamels, ESPN’s Buster Olney writes (subscription only). There’s also belief within the organization that they should consider trading Kimbrel as well. Olney suggests Shields (who will make $21MM in each of the next three seasons, plus a $2MM buyout or a $16MM option in 2019) could make sense for the Cubs, Blue Jays or Dodgers. If the Padres were to trade players like Shields and Kimbrel, though, the question would be how they would explain such an abrupt change of course to their fan base.
  • Catcher Yasmani Grandal feels the Padres didn’t handle him well, Matt Calkins of the Union-Tribune writes. The team had Andrew Cashner, Tyson Ross and Ian Kennedy all pitch to Rene Rivera, leaving Grandal without enough playing time to find a rhythm at the plate. Grandal thought Padres pitchers should be throwing inside early in counts, and the pitchers disagreed. Also, his 2013 PED suspension might have led to further distrust in the Padres clubhouse. This season, Grandal has hit .276/.398/.519 and framed pitches well after heading to the Dodgers in the Kemp deal, while Padres pitchers have struggled.

Rockies Designate Aaron Laffey For Assignment

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The Rockies have designated lefty Aaron Laffey for assignment, Nick Groke of the Denver Post tweets. The move clears space on the Rockies’ active roster for reliever Rex Brothers, who the Rockies are promoting from Triple-A Albuquerque.

The Rockies added Laffey to their roster only yesterday, and he allowed three runs in 2 1/3 innings yesterday against Atlanta in his first big-league outing since 2013. Earlier this season, he pitched 47 2/3 innings in a tough pitching environment in Albuquerque, posting a 4.91 ERA, 6.2 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 while splitting time between starting and relieving.

Royals Agree To Re-Sign Balbino Fuenmayor

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The Royals have agreed to a 2016 deal with minor league first baseman Balbino Fuenmayor, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com writes (Twitter links). The deal won’t officially be complete until after the season. Fuenmayor is a client of True Gravity Baseball’s Blake Corosky.

The deal is presumably of the minor league variety, but it’s more interesting than the typical minor league pact. The Blue Jays signed Fuenmayor out of Venezuela for a significant bonus in 2006, when he was 16, but they released him in 2013 after he struggled to escape Class A. Last winter, the Royals offered Fuenmayor a minor league deal after he hit brilliantly in the independent Canadian-American Association and in Venezuelan winter ball in 2014.

Fuenmayor has since continued hitting in the upper levels of the Royals’ farm system, batting .354/.386/.591 in 308 plate appearances at Double-A Northwest Arkansas before being promoted to Triple-A Omaha, where he’s hit .427/.408/.846 in his first six games. There are, perhaps, warning signs in his stat line, like a .381 BABIP at Double-A and a low walk rate, but given the hitting ability he’s demonstrated over the past two seasons and the fact that he’s only 25, he likely would have attracted significant interest on the free agent market next winter.

Tigers Sign Neftali Feliz

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The Tigers have officially announced that they’ve signed Feliz, according to MLive.com’s Chris Iott. Feliz will join the team later today. The Tigers have optioned righty Jeff Ferrell to the minors, Iott tweets. MLB legend Pedro Martinez reported on MLB Network last night that the Tigers would sign Feliz. Feliz is a client of California Sports Management.

The 27-year-old Feliz posted a 4.58 ERA, 7.3 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 19 2/3 innings with the Rangers before they designated him for assignment last week. Feliz then cleared waivers and opted to become a free agent.

It’s no surprise that Feliz signed quickly. He’s still young and has a track record as a closer, having saved 93 games in his career. He also still throws in the mid-90s (although his velocity is lower now than it was several years ago) and was very effective as recently as last season. It’s been awhile since he’s had strong peripherals, however — he struck out 11.3 batters per nine innings as a rookie in 2009, but his strikeout rate has declined significantly since then, and his walk rate has crept up a bit as well as he’s struggled with injuries over the years. If Feliz does return to his early-career form down the stretch, however, the Tigers will be able to take him through the arbitration process and control him for the 2016 season.

Joakim Soria is having a good season as the Tigers’ closer, and Feliz seems unlikely to supplant him in that role. The Tigers’ bullpen ERA of 4.04 ranks sixth worst in the Majors, though, so it seems reasonable that Detroit would want to take a chance on Feliz. The Tigers recently remade their bullpen by dropping Joba Chamberlain and Tom Gorzelanny, giving them plenty of innings for Feliz to cover. This is, however, not the first time the Tigers have depended on a big name from outside the organization. They have a significant recent track record of acquiring closers like Feliz, Joe Nathan, Jim Johnson, Octavio Dotel and Soria to plug a perpetually leaky bullpen, but the quality of those acquisitions has been uneven.

AL Notes: Refsnyder, Feliz, Hahn, Kelly

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The Yankees are promoting middle infield prospect Rob Refsnyder today, a move originally reported by the YES Network’s Jack Curry (on Twitter). The 24-year-old Refsnyder hasn’t wound up on many top prospect lists, but he’s been a strong hitter throughout his minor league career and was hitting .290/.387/.413 for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, so there’s hope he might provide the Yankees with a bit of extra offense. Chad Jennings of the Journal News looks at the implications of the move, wondering what it means for incumbent second baseman Stephen Drew, who has 12 homers but is batting .182/.257/.372 this season. In the short term, Drew could move to a utility infielder role, but in the longer term, there might not be a role for him. Jennings also wonders whether the Yankees might look for a second base upgrade like Ben Zobrist on the trade market if Refsnyder doesn’t hit immediately. Here’s more from the American League.

  • The Twins have also shown interest in free agent Neftali Feliz, according to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Neal notes that several other clubs have interest as well. That’s not surprising, since it’s rare that a young big-league reliever with Feliz’s pedigree is available as a free agent at this point in the season. Feliz opted for free agency after the Rangers outrighted him last week, and beyond Glen Perkins, Blaine Boyer, Brian Duensing and J.R. Graham, the Twins’ bullpen has struggled lately. An unconfirmed report last night had Feliz agreeing to terms with another club, however. We’ll likely know more about his status as the day unfolds.
  • The Athletics have placed starter Jesse Hahn on the 15-day DL with a forearm strain, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle notes. Chris Bassitt will start for the A’s today. A forearm strain sounds ominous, but A’s manager Bob Melvin sounds hopeful that the injury isn’t serious. “This time of the season, typically starters who have logged a lot of innings have some aches and pains and that’s where he is right now,” Melvin says. “It wasn’t getting better in the fashion where we were comfortable having him make another start, so we tried to be proactive here in giving him some time off.” Hahn, who the A’s acquired in an offseason trade with the Padres, has a 3.35 ERA, 6.0 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 and a strong 52.6% ground ball rate in his first season with Oakland.
  • The Red Sox’ weak rotation has strained their bullpen, and the Red Sox have leaned hard on pitchers like Alexi Ogando and Junichi Tazawa. But the Red Sox do not want to move the hard-throwing Joe Kelly, who’s currently starting with Triple-A Pawtucket, into a bullpen role, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald writes. “As long as we think he can start, we want to give him every opportunity to do that,” says GM Ben Cherington. The 27-year-old Kelly has posted a 2.57 ERA in 14 innings with Pawtucket, striking out 11 batters and walking five. His last start ended prematurely after he got hit in the hand with a line drive, although the Red Sox hope he can make his next start on schedule, as Tim Britton of the Providence Journal writes.

Week In Review: 7/4/15 – 7/10/15

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Here’s a look back at this week at MLBTR.

Key Moves

Trades

Claimed

Designated For Assignment

Outrighted

Released

Elected Free Agency

Key Minor League Signings

Quick Hits: Angels, Beachy, Cardinals

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Angels interim GM Bill Stoneman didn’t make many big midseason deals as the team’s GM from 1999 through 2007, but he’s open to making moves this month, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register writes. “It doesn’t matter if it’s July or January, if it helps you, you do it,” says Stoneman. “If it’s not going to help you, you don’t do it just because people are hoping you do something.” It probably isn’t surprising that Stoneman’s comments sound a bit broad — not only do GMs tend to be circumspect this time of year, but Stoneman will be sharing duties with assistant GM Matt Klentak since he’s so new to the job. Here’s more from throughout the big leagues.

  • Brandon Beachy will make his 2015 debut as the Dodgers’ starter on Saturday, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports notes (on Twitter). It will be Beachy’s first start since August 2013 with the Braves. He’s had Tommy John surgery twice since 2012. The Dodgers signed Beachy to a one-year, $2.75MM deal last offseason knowing he would miss the start of the season. The deal also includes a 2016 option for a base of $3MM, a total that will increase by $500K when Beachy takes the mound tomorrow. The value of the option will increase another $500K with Beachy’s fifth, tenth, 15th, 18th and 21st starts. Too much of the season has gone by for Beachy to start 18 or 21 games, unless the Dodgers do something highly unusual with their rotation. He could, however, make 15 starts, which would increase the value of the option to a total of $5MM. Also, he’ll get a $250K buyout tied to the option when he completes ten innings of work this year.
  • Texas US Senator John Cornyn asked the Department of Justice about the Cardinals’ hacking scandal in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle writes. “I hope that FBI and DOJ will take the ongoing investigation into any criminal activity seriously and ensure that any wrongdoing is fully investigated and prosecuted,” Cornyn said, according to a press release from his office. The Cardinals have already fired scouting director Chris Correa in the wake of the scandal, and the FBI continues to investigate. A Cardinals employee or employees reportedly accessed the Astros’ data system repeatedly and without their consent.

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