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East Notes: Harvey, Werth, MASN Dispute, Travis, Yanks, Fredi

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Matt Harvey’s dreadful outing tonight has left the Mets uncertain as to whether he’ll be on the hill for his next scheduled start, which also comes against the division-rival Nationals. Skipper Terry Collins said after the game that he hadn’t yet decided whether to give the ball to Harvey in D.C., as Mike Puma of the New York Post was among those to report (Twitter links). “We will take a hard look at what the next move is going to be,” said Collins. Harvey’s earned run average has ballooned to an ugly 5.77 over his first 48 1/3 frames on the year. It does seem fair to note that the peripherals suggest Harvey has suffered from some bad luck, with ERA estimators crediting him with a sub-4.00 effort entering the day, though his effort this evening will hurt those figures and he’s lost just over a tick on his average fastball. Meanwhile, Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post draws the inevitable comparisons between Harvey and Nats ace Stephen Strasburg, who had a strong showing to pick up the win.

Here’s more from the eastern divisions:

  • Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth agreed last fall to a new payout structure for his contract, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. Under the agreement, Werth has deferred $10MM of his salary this year until 2018, at a 5% interest rate. That continues a pattern of postponed paydays in Washington’s player contracts, which is in some part a reflection of the team’s efforts to deal with an ongoing television-rights dispute with the Orioles and the Baltimore-controlled Mid-Atlantic Sports Network.
  • Commissioner Rob Manfred addressed that TV battle today, as Svrluga reports. As things stand, the parties are appealing a lower court’s refusal to enforce a determination by the league’s Revenue Sharing Definitions Committee, putting a hold on the Nationals’ efforts to recoup additional rights fees for past years and increase their future take. Manfred had harsh words for the Orioles’ actions in the matter. “It is important to bear in mind the fundamentals,” he said. “The fundamentals are that the Orioles agreed that the RSDC would set the rights fees for MASN and the Orioles every five years. The Orioles have engaged in a pattern of conduct designed to avoid that agreement being effectuated.” MASN issued a counter-statement saying that Manfred was ignoring “the fundamentals of the case” — namely, the court’s findings of a conflict of interest (based on the law firm that represented the Nationals) — and stating that the RSDC had failed to use an appropriate method for setting the rights fees. If you’re interested in the gory details, you can find a recap of the trial court decision here.
  • The departure of David Ortiz and reemergence of Hanley Ramirez leaves the Red Sox with both opportunity and uncertainty at first base. Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com suggests that youngster Sam Travis could keep the team from needing to add a major bat via free agency. The 2014 second-rounder has risen quickly, and is currently putting up a solid .281/.338/.438 batting line over his first 160 plate appearances at the Triple-A level at 22 years of age. Pawtucket hitting coach Rich Gedman credits Travis with being aggressive without seeking to hit the ball out of the park, suggesting that he’s a polished and well-rounded hitter.
  • Entering the day in last place in the AL East, the Yankees need to seriously consider prioritizing future improvements over their 2016 prospects, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney argues (Insider link). Olney ticks through a variety of ways — including allocation of playing time and weighing trades — that New York can and should shift its focus to 2017, suggesting a sort of realistic re-tooling rather than any kind of full rebuilding project.
  • Deposed Braves skipper Fredi Gonzalez tells MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM that he’s looking forward to other opportunities now that he’s lost his post in Atlanta. (Twitter link.) But he said that he isn’t necessarily looking for another job running a dugout. “I am looking forward to doing something in the game and it doesn’t have to be managing,” said Gonzalez.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/19/16

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Here are the day’s minor moves from around the game…

  • It didn’t take long for Ed Lucas to catch on with another organization after his recent release by the Mariners. The 33-year-old has signed on with the Diamondbacks on a minor league deal, per Matt Eddy of Baseball America (via Twitter). He’ll look to improve upon a .232/.265/.399 slash line over his first 147 Triple-A plate appearances on the year, with hopes of returning to the majors for the first time since his 2013-14 run with the Marlins.
  • The Pirates announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Wilfredo Boscan from Triple-A Indianapolis, with catching prospect Elias Diaz hitting the 60-day disabled list to make room on the 40-man roster and left-hander Cory Luebke being optioned to Triple-A to clear room on the active roster. Boscan will throw his first pitch as a big leaguer if he takes the hill for the Bucs. The 26-year-old spent last season in the organization as well and was even promoted to the Majors on three occasions but never got into a game before being designated for assignment and outrighted back to Indianapolis. He re-signed on a minor league pact this winter and has had a very strong start to the year, firing 40 innings of 2.48 ERA ball with an outstanding 31-to-4 K/BB ratio in the Triple-A rotation. Luebke had faced 23 batters and allowed 12 of them to reach in what was his first big league action since 2012 due to a pair of Tommy John surgeries. Diaz had elbow surgery earlier this season and will be out until later this summer.

Tim Lincecum Taking Physical For Angels Today

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MAY 19: Lincecum is taking a physical for the Angels today and, if and when he passes, his deal with the team will be complete, reports Passan (Twitter link). Lincecum will head to the minors to build up endurance, per Passan, and Joel Sherman of the New York Post adds that the expectation is that he’ll need about 25 days to do so (links to Twitter). Also, per Sherman, the deal will not be official for another 48 to 72 hours, which aligns well with the fact that he’s getting his medical work done now.

MAY 18: The sides are still moving toward a deal, but likely won’t finalize things today, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (Twitter link).

MAY 17, 3:46pm: The two sides are indeed moving closer to a deal, but they’re “still working through a few issues” and the deal isn’t quite finished, tweets Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.

2:39pm: Right-hander Tim Lincecum is “leaning toward” signing with the Angels and could wrap up a deal today, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Meanwhile, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports that the two sides are “closing in” on a deal, adding that the White Sox and Giants are out of the mix (links to Twitter). Passan adds that the dollars remain unknown, but the deal being discussed is a Major League pact. Lincecum is represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council.

Lincecum, 32 in a month, underwent season-ending hip surgery early last September and spent the offseason recovering from the procedure. Initial reports pegged his first showcase for teams in late January to early February, but the audition was ultimately pushed back until early May. More than 20 clubs were said to have watched Lincecum throw back on May 6, though the three clubs listed by Passan above were the primary clubs said to have interest. ESPN’s Eric Longenhagen wrote following the showcase that Lincecum sat in the upper 80s to low 90s with his fastball and displaying a slider that looked above-average at times, a “generally average” curveball and a more inconsistent changeup.

Whether Lincecum can succeed as a starter in the Majors following the operation remains to be seen. While he was, of course, one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball shortly after his arrival on the scene in the Majors (back-to-back Cy Young Awards in 2008-09 and a 2.81 ERA in 881 2/3 innings from 2008-11), his production has deteriorated since his velocity began to drop off in 2012. Since that time, Lincecum has a 4.68 ERA in 615 2/3 innings of work, and his most recent big league action, last season, came with a fastball that averaged 87.2 mph in his 76 1/3 innings of work. Lincecum did have a very successful 2011 season sitting at about 92 mph with his fastball, so he doesn’t necessarily need the heater that averaged 94+ mph when he first broke into the Majors in order to succeed. However, the upper 80s and low 90s have been where he’s struggled for much of the past four seasons, so it’d be nice for the Halos if the velocity he showed at his audition continued to tick upward as he gets into game action.

Lincecum was said to be throwing about 90 pitches per outing in simulated games, though I’d imagine that he’ll still require some time in the minor leagues to re-acclimate with a game setting at the professional level. His preference all along has seemingly been to return to a rotation, and of the listed clubs, the injury-ravaged Angels present the clearest opportunity for him to do just that. The Angels have lost ace Garrett Richards to a significant elbow issue, while left-hander Andrew Heaney is on the DL indefinitely and is said to have some damage to his own UCL. Fellow left-hander C.J. Wilson has yet to pitch in 2016 and isn’t expected back for another month or so, and former ace Jered Weaver is sporting a 6.10 ERA with a fastball that is averaging just north of 82 mph this season. Meanwhile, rehabbing southpaw Tyler Skaggs has seen his return from Tommy John surgery slowed by other arm difficulties and hasn’t been pitching in game settings recently.

Suffice it to say, the Halos could use all the rotation depth they can get. A trade for Jhoulys Chacin last week helped to address the need to some extent, but with what figures to be a fairly reasonable price tag and an enormously attractive pedigree, Lincecum makes sense for the Angels as an upside play. Even in the event that he simply pitches more like a capable fourth starter than the ace he once was, Lincecum would be a dramatic improvement to the club’s rotation picture. And, if he continues to exhibit the same struggles he’s had in recent seasons, it’ll be easier for the Halos to move on than it would have been for a club like the Giants, with whom Lincecum has a storied history that could make a split between the two sides difficult from a public relations standpoiint.

Central Notes: Chris Correa, Brewers, Molitor

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Former Cardinals scouting director Chris Correa, who is pleading guilty to criminal charges for his role in the Cardinals’ unauthorized access of the Astros’ proprietary computer network, has had his sentencing hearing pushed back from June 6 to July 5 at the request of the probation office, reports David Barron of the Houston Chronicle (links to Twitter). As of January, Correa was slated to plead guilty to five of the 12 charges of unauthorized access to a private computer, with a maximum penalty of five years in prison per charge as well as a fine of $250,000, per a release from the United States Department of Justice.

More from the NL Central…

  • Rule 5 second baseman Colin Walsh and out-of-options outfielder Ramon Flores are both struggling immensely for the Brewers, but manager Craig Counsell tells Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that the team isn’t planning to give up on either player anytime soon. “I don’t think anybody sets specific dates on this stuff,” said Counsell when asked specifically about Walsh. “You have to feel it. At some point, we have to see what they can become.” Counsell acknowledged that not every player is destined for an everyday job but stressed the importance of finding role players that can contribute to a winning club, even if it’s difficult for those players to get consistent at-bats. “Every team’s got guys at the back end of their roster,” said Counsell. “Those guys are going to play the least. We’re evaluating that. … There’s going to be times when you might have to live through stretches of development.”
  • MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy also spoke to Counsell about the fact that the Brewers are leading the league in an undesirable category: taking called third strikes. Counsell explained that he feels velocity has “changed the game” and that the looking strikeouts have been a recent topic of conversation among Milwaukee decision-makers. “There’s multitudes of ways to talk about this, but one of them is, do you get hits on pitches at the edge of the strike zone?” he asked rhetorically. “Should you swing at it with two strikes, or take it? We had this conversation this morning, actually. Can you get a hit if you swing at it? The ideal result for a hitter [on a pitch at the edge of the zone] is a foul ball, actually. But there are five hitters in the game who can intentionally hit foul balls.” The concepts raised by Counsell and the idea of taking a fringe pitch in a full-count setting have previously been explored by the Astros, which is of course where Milwaukee GM David Stearns previously served as an assistant GM.
  • Twins skipper Paul Molitor chatted with Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports about his club’s struggles, saying that he’s still approaching the job with the same vigor. While he didn’t exactly suggest that there’s a significant hope of a full-blown turnaround this year, Molitor did stress that he’ll continue to “choose to see light still” even amidst the difficulties.

2017 Vesting Options Update

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Each year, the free-agent class is impacted by the performance of players with vesting options (as is the financial future of players with said provisions in their contract). For those unfamiliar with the option, a vesting option is typically a club option that can automatically trigger based on the player’s health and/or performance. Meeting pre-determined criteria for games played, innings pitched, plate appearances, etc. are the most common means of triggering vesting options, though as you’ll see below, there have been some more creative approaches to vesting options in the past as well.

We’ll check in on these players periodically throughout the season, and here’s the first look…

  • Chris Iannetta: The Mariners hold a $4.25MM club option over Iannetta for the 2017 season, but that option can also vest at $6MM if Iannetta starts 100 games in 2016 and does not finish the season on the disabled list due to an injured hip, back or right elbow. Having started 30 of the Mariners’ first 39 games, Iannetta is on pace to clear the 100 start threshold with ease, and if he can continue to post an OPS in the mid-.700s, the Mariners probably won’t mind having him back for another season at that price. One factor that could throw a wrench into his playing time: Mike Zunino is demolishing Triple-A pitching thus far, batting .305/.357/.580, though the former first-round pick has cooled off considerably in the past two weeks.
  • Kurt Suzuki: Another backstop with a $6MM vesting option, Suzuki needs to reach 485 plate appearances in 2016 for that option to trigger. The big 2014 first-half that earned Suzuki that extension never seemed sustainable, and he has batted just .242/.294/.330 since signing the deal. The Twins probably don’t want to see this one vest, as evidenced by the fact that he’s on pace for 349 plate appearances, which would be his lowest total since signing in Minnesota.
  • Matt Holliday: The 36-year-old Holliday has a $17MM club option for the 2017 season that automatically vests if he places within the Top 10 of this season’s NL MVP voting. Holliday isn’t the hitter he once was, and even in his best years with the Cardinals, he (somewhat surprisingly) never landed inside the Top 10 in NL MVP voting. At 36 years of age and off to a good but unspectacular .250/.325/.485 start to the season, it seems safe to assume that his option won’t vest. The club will have the choice of exercising the option or paying Holliday a buyout of $1MM.
  • Coco Crisp: Crisp, also 36, has a more complicated vesting option tacked onto his two-year, $22MM deal. The option is valued at $13MM and will automatically kick in if Crisp receives 550 plate appearances or appears in 130 games this season. The option initially could also have vested based on combined playing time from 2015-16 (1100 PAs from 2015-16 or 260 games from 2015-16), but Crisp spent most of the 2015 campaign on the DL, so he’ll have to hope to trigger the option based solely on his 2016 health. He’s appeared in 31 of Oakland’s 41 games and picked up 126 plate appearances, so he’s a bit shy of the pace for either threshold. Clearly, though, there’s still plenty of time to make up ground. He’s batting .234/.304/.405.
  • Yusmeiro Petit: The one-year, $3MM contract signed by Petit this winter came with a $3MM club option ($500K buyout) that vests if Petit reaches 80 innings pitched. Petit has occupied a role similar to the one in which he thrived for a few years as a member of the Giants’ bullpen, and he’s picked up 21 innings through the Nationals’ first 40 games. If that pace holds, he’ll indeed clear 80 innings and see that salary lock in. With a 1.71 ERA and 3.28 FIP through his first 21 frames, the Nats probably wouldn’t mind that at all.
  • CC Sabathia: The 35-year-old Sabathia’s vesting option is tied to the health of his shoulder. He’ll lock in a $25MM salary for the 2017 campaign if he doesn’t end the 2016 season on the DL due to a shoulder injury or spend 45+ days on the DL this year due to a shoulder injury. Sabathia is currently on the disabled list, but it’s due to a groin injury, so it doesn’t impact the option’s status. While he’s certainly no longer an ace, Sabathia did have a 3.81 ERA through his first five starts of the season, though his strikeout and walk numbers weren’t particularly encouraging.

It’s perhaps worth noting, as well, that both Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher had vesting options for the 2017 season worked into the four-year deals they originally signed with the Indians. However, with each player having been released from that contract and signing new deals (with the D-backs and Yankees, respectively), those options are no longer in play. (The lack of playing time for each player this season would’ve made them a non-issue anyhow.)

AL East Notes: Yankees, Urrutia, Cecil, Porcello

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While some Yankees fans have questioned GM Brian Cashman and manager Joe Girardi amid the team’s early struggles, owner Hal Steinbrenner tells Ken Davidoff of the New York Post that he thinks both men and the team’s coaching staff have done a good job to this point. Rather, Steinbrenner puts the onus on the players themselves and specifically mentioned Mark Teixeira and Michael Pineda as players that need to find ways to improve their production. Of Teixeira, Steinbrenner says the veteran “[is] not playing up to his potential with the bat,” and he later expressed “concern” with Pineda. “He’s got all these strikeouts, and yet he’s given up these runs,” says Steinbrenner. “Clearly, he’s been giving up runs early. Clearly, there have been issues with his slider. Again, Larry can only do so much. Whatever technically is wrong with the delivery, Larry [Rothschild] is working on it, but the rest is up to Pineda to figure it out.” As for Cashman, Steinbrenner goes on to praise the trades for Starlin Castro and Aaron Hicks, giving no inkling of dissatisfaction with his GM.

Here’s more from the AL East…

  • Vote of confidence aside, Girardi takes blame for the Yankees’ early struggles, writes Wallace Matthews of ESPN New York. “I always take full responsibility for what happens here — good or bad,” said Girardi. “It’s my job to get the best out of the players and right now, we’re not performing to the level I think we’re capable of.” Girardi said that he hadn’t seen or heard Steinbrenner’s comments, but he’d had meetings with the owner on what’s gone wrong early in the season, during which Steinbrenner has expressed his frustration with the team as a whole. Girardi, however, insisted in yesterday’s comments that he believes the Yankees are a playoff-caliber club and can still make a run at the postseason.
  • Orioles minor league outfielder Henry Urrutia was recently demoted from Triple-A to Double-A and wasn’t happy with the move, writes MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko. The O’s would listen to trade offers for the 29-year-old, who received a signing bonus of nearly $800K in July 2012 after defecting from Cuba, but their hope is that he can turn his season around. Last season, Urrutia batted .291/.345/.409 with 10 homers in 505 Triple-A plate appearances and saw some brief time in the Majors, but he’s gotten off to a .245/.347/.304 start in 118 PAs at Triple-A this year. Urrutia hadn’t reported to Double-A Bowie as of yesterday, though he was expected to do so by Friday, Kubatko writes.
  • Left-hander Brett Cecil, who was placed on the disabled list Sunday with what was termed a triceps strain, actually has a tear in his lat muscle and will miss “at least a month,” reports Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi. The Blue Jays lefty underwent an MRI earlier this week that revealed the tear. Cecil joined lefties Franklin Morales and Aaron Loup on the DL earlier this week, leaving the Jays with Chad Girodo and Pat Venditte as their primary left-handed options at the big league level. While this is solely my speculation, the Jays could take a look at one of Neal Cotts or Joe Beimel, each of whom hit the open market this week — Cotts after opting out of a minors deal with the Angels and Beimel after his previously reported agreement with the Marlins was ultimately not finalized.
  • Red Sox right-hander Rick Porcello tells WEEI’s Rob Bradford that he has major issues with the way in which the current PED disciplinary system works. Specifically, Porcello joined former teammate Justin Verlander and others in voicing a distaste for the fact that players who have tested positive for a substance are allowed to play during the appeals process. “Obviously, a 50-game penalty, or an 80-game penalty, or even a season, just one year, is not deterring guys from doing what they’re doing,” says Porcello.“It’s got to be pretty stiff. It’s got to be something where you don’t have the opportunity to play at all, or you don’t have the opportunity to play for the same money that the guy is playing and doing it the right way.”

NL East Notes: Alderson, Braves, Cespedes, Phillies

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Mets GM Sandy Alderson underwent surgery last week as part of his ongoing battle with cancer and described the operation as “fantastically successful,” as Danny Knobler writes for MLB.com. “From where we were to where we are today, I’m still on a road to full recovery,” said Alderson. “I’m not running a four-minute mile at the moment, and my mouth is still dry from time to time, but that’s what happens when you have surgery.” Alderson added that he expects to be at Citi Field for at least part of nearly every day, and he’s been in close contact with other members of the Mets’ baseball ops staff when he’s been forced to be away. Alderson has also undergone chemotherapy as part of his treatment but said the doctors, at present, do not have any additional chemo or surgery planned. We at MLBTR wish Alderson continued health and success in his fight against cancer.

More from the NL East…

  • Both Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com and Mark Bowman of MLB.com wrote forward-looking pieces pertaining to the Braves and potential long-term successors for Fredi Gonzalez following the skipper’s dismissal this week. Crasnick lists former Braves infielder Mark DeRosa, currently an MLB Network analyst, as a possibility, noting that a pair of execs with different clubs each mentioned him. Internal candidates include Bo Porter, Eddie Perez and Terry Pendelton, he adds. Furthermore, Crasnick hears that Chipper Jones isn’t interested in managing the Braves in 2017 but is thought to be a big fan of DeRosa. Bowman also mentions DeRosa as a candidate and also casts some doubt on early speculation that former Padres manager Bud Black could be a candidate, writing that the Braves “have never provided any indication that he is currently viewed as a potential candidate.” Bowman notes that interim manager Brian Snitker’s decision to make Pendleton his bench coach positions him to show the front office how he can handle an increased role in the dugout as well.
  • While there was quite a bit of chatter regarding Yoenis Cespedes and the Nationals this offseason, Cespedes said earlier this week that such talk was overblown, writes ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin. “I was never close to signing with the Nationals,” said the outfielder (via interpreter). “From the start I was pushing my agent because I wanted to come back to the Mets.” The Nats reportedly made Cespedes a five-year offer that topped $100MM but also came with heavy deferrals prior to his re-signing with the Mets on a three-year, $75MM deal (with an opt-out clause after the 2016 season).
  • Phillies GM Matt Klentak tells Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com that if the Phillies can continue their surprising start and remain in the playoff picture, he’ll certainly be willing to seek upgrades on the summer trade market. “There will be nobody happier than me if we are still in playoff contention in July, and if that happens we’re going to do everything we can to help this team improve and get better and make a run at it,” said Klentak. The GM did preach some caution, noting that only one quarter of the season has been played, and he also explained that he’s been hesitant to go through too much early turnover, hoping instead to allow the players on the roster to settle into roles with which they feel comfortable. The Phillies did make a minor move, promoting Tommy Joseph in an effort to increase the club’s offensive output, but Klentak also acknowledged what has helped his team to its current place in the standings: “We continue to be open-minded towards any types of additions and ways to improve, but right now the success of our team has been built on pitching and defense and we’re going to continue to respect that.”

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/18/16

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Here are today’s minor moves:

  • Right-hander Sean O’Sullivan cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A by the Red Sox, per Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal (Twitter link). O’Sullivan, who has been outrighted in the past and had the option of rejecting an outright assignment in favor of free agency, will instead accept the assignment, tweets Cotillo. The well-traveled 28-year-old made a pair of starts and a relief appearance for the Sox before being designated for assignment, yielding 10 runs on 19 hits and a couple of walks with seven strikeouts in 11 1/3 innings. In parts of seven big league seasons, O’Sullivan has a 6.03 ERA in 313 2/3 innings.

Earlier Moves

  • The Bridgeport Bluefish have signed a pair of former big league hurlers, the club announced. Righty Blake Beavan and lefty Robert Carson will be joining the indy league club. Beavan, 27, owns a 4.61 ERA with 4.2 K/9 against 1.4 BB/9 over 293 MLB innings, all with the Mariners. The former first round pick pitched briefly at the Triple-A level last year for the Diamondbacks, but did not catch on with another organization after his mid-year release. Also 27, Carson appeared briefly in 2012 and 2013 with the Mets. He spent time with Bridgeport last year and had been pitching in Mexico early in 2016, with a 6.28 ERA over his 28 2/3 innings.
  • Infielder Ed Lucas has been released by the Mariners, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports on Twitter. The 33-year-old had a nice season at Triple-A last year with the Rangers, but has only appeared in parts of two MLB campaigns — with the Marlins in 2013 and 2014. He was off to a .232/.265/.399 batting line in 147 plate appearances.
  • Righty Javy Guerra has accepted his outright assignment with the Angels, per Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (Twitter link). Guerra cleared waivers yesterday. He’ll look to cut back on his walks upon his return to Triple-A Salt Lake and hope for another promotion to a big league team that’s cycling through plenty of arms.

Twins Sign Robbie Grossman, Option Eddie Rosario

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MAY 18: The Twins demoted Rosario to Triple-A Rochester following today’s game, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. Additionally, Neal reports that Grossman will be in uniform for the Twins tomorrow night, meaning his contract will be selected and added to the 40-man roster. Minnesota’s 40-man roster currently stands at 39, so a corresponding move to accommodate Grossman is not necessary.

MAY 17: The Twins and outfielder Robbie Grossman are in agreement on a minor league pact, per La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (Twitter link). Grossman, a Lagardere client, will be assigned to Triple-A Rochester. He had opted out of a minor league pact with Cleveland earlier this week and, per Neal (Twitter link), has a June 15 opt-out in his new deal with Minnesota.

The 26-year-old Grossman will add some outfield depth to a Twins organization that has seen its fair share of struggles across all three outfield positions. Opening Day center fielder Byron Buxton was optioned to Triple-A after again looking overmatched by big league pitching, and fellow top prospect Max Kepler struggled in limited Major League action as well. Eddie Rosario, the club’s sophomore left fielder, is batting a dismal .213/.232/.343 in 114 plate appearances. Even 2015 Rookie of the Year contender Miguel Sano is hitting a solid but unremarkable .235/.331/.412 with just six homers on the season.

The Twins made a somewhat similar depth pickup earlier this year when they signed veteran David Murphy and assigned him to Rochester, but Murphy ultimately requested his released and elected to retire. That’s highly unlikely to be the outcome with the much younger Grossman, though there is of course no guarantee that he’ll see the big league roster with Minnesota before his mid-June opt-out date.

Grossman was once looked at as a potential long-term piece for the Astros, who acquired him in the 2012 trade that sent left-hander Wandy Rodriguez to the Pirates. Baseball Prospectus once ranked Grossman as a Top 100 prospect, and he showed some promise as a 23-year-old rookie in 2013 when he batted .268/.332/.370 in 288 plate appearances. However, the switch hitter’s production slipped to .222/.323/.323 across the next two seasons, and the Astros ultimately released him this past winter.

From a defensive standpoint, Grossman has experience at all three outfield positions, though he received poor marks in both Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved in a small sample of 250 center field innings between 2013-14. His corner work has generated much more positive reviews, with the majority of his big league experience having come in left field. And, it’s worth noting that Grossman has been quite productive at the Triple-A level this season, batting .256/.370/.453 with six homers and three steals in 134 plate appearances for Cleveland’s Triple-A affiliate.

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