Archives for May 2016

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/9/16

By Steve Adams | May 9, 2016 at 10:14pm CDT

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

The Cubs have purchased the contract of righty Alex Sanabia from the Mexican League Tijuana Toros, MLBTR’s Zach Links has learned. Sanabia will head to Triple-A Iowa to bolster the club’s rotation depth. The 27-year-old has seen action in parts of three MLB seasons with the Marlins, throwing 138 2/3 innings over 24 starts and four relief appearances and posting a sturdy 4.15 ERA with 5.6 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9. Sanabia had a rough go of things with the Angels’ top affiliate last year, but has given the Toros 30 innings of 3.60 ERA ball with 6.0 K/9 against a stingy 0.9 BB/9.
Left-hander Ryan O’Rourke has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A by the Twins, tweets Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The 28-year-old has appeared in 36 games for Minnesota over the past two seasons but struggled to a 5.83 ERA. While O’Rourke misses plenty of bats (8.9 K/9), he also has struggled with his control, as evidenced by the 20 walks he’s issued in 29 1/3 big league innings. Lefties, however, have been befuddled by him, batting just .149/.286/.234 in 58 plate appearances.
The Orioles announced today that right-hander Scott McGough has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Norfolk. Baltimore designated the 26-year-old, who was claimed off waivers from the Marlins earlier this year, for assignment last week. McGough made his big league debut in Miami last season but allowed seven runs in 6 2/3 innings. He’s been roughed up for a dozen runs in 8 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level this season but had an excellent 2015 campaign, posting a 1.93 ERA in 37 1/3 innings across three minor league level.
The Red Sox have signed former A’s first baseman Nate Freiman to a minor league deal and assigned him to Double-A Portland, according to an announcement from the independent Atlantic League. Freiman, 29, has been playing for the Atlantic League’s Long Island Ducks and hitting quite well through a small six-game sample (8-for-21, two homers, one double, two walks). Freiman showed good pop and handled left-handed pitching well for the 2013-14 A’s (.279/.326/.470 in 233 PAs), but his production evaporated at the Triple-A level last season when he hit just .220/.279/.321 in 305 PAs.
The Nationals acquired minor league catcher Martin Medina from the Blue Jays in exchange for cash considerations, per Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. The 26-year-old was originally drafted by the White Sox in the 20th round back in 2011, but Chicago flipped him to Toronto last summer (also for cash considerations). He’s a career .244/.314/.334 hitter in the minors and has caught 30 percent of opposing base-stealers, but he’s yet to progress beyond the Double-A level.
Also via Eddy, the Braves have released right-hander Rob Wooten from Triple-A Gwinnett. The long-time Brewers reliever signed a minors pact with Atlanta this winter and had a nice showing with Gwinnett, yielding just three runs on seven hits and no walks with seven strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings. The rest of Wooten’s career has come with the Brewers organization. He owns a 4.07 ERA with 8.3 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 in 185 2/3 Triple-A innings and a 5.03 ERA with 7.0 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 in 68 big league frames.
One more from Eddy, who adds that the Reds traded outfielder Pin-Chieh Chen to the Dodgers in exchange for cash considerations. The 24-year-old Chen, signed by the Cubs as a free agent out of Taiwan prior to the 2010 season, has climbed as high as Double-A in the minors, spending parts of four seasons at that level and compiling a .236/.344/.327 batting line there. Baseball America rated him as Chicago’s No. 31 prospect prior to the 2012 season but didn’t rise higher than that on their prospect rankings.

Braves To Designate Matt Tuiasosopo

By Jeff Todd | May 9, 2016 at 9:45pm CDT

The Braves have designated outfielder Matt Tuiasosopo for assignment, per the MLB.com transactions page. David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported earlier today that Tuiasosopo would be removed from the roster to make way for the return of infielder Gordon Beckham from the 15-day DL.

Tuiasosopo, who’ll turn 30 tomorrow, received just three plate appearances with Atlanta but nevertheless marked his first MLB action since 2013. Over 404 career plate appearances at the major league level, he owns a .206/.288/.353 batting line with a dozen long balls.

Andrelton Simmons To Undergo Thumb Surgery

By Jeff Todd | May 9, 2016 at 5:31pm CDT

Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons will undergo left thumb surgery, the club announced (h/t MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez; Twitter links). Simmons has suffered a “full thickness tear of the ulnar collateral ligament” in the thumb.

Angels GM Billy Eppler says that a typical recovery period for the procedure would be six to eight weeks, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. Notably, though, fellow middle infielder Jed Lowrie required what appears to be the very same procedure last year. His surgery took place in late April, and he did not return until the very end of July.

All told, it seems reasonable to think that Simmons can still have an impact in 2016, though obviously he’ll need a full-blown rehab build-up even if the recovery progresses well. Still, for a Halos club that’s been hit hard by injuries and is already five games under .500, it’s a major blow.

The 26-year-old Simmons was Eppler’s first major acquisition, changing hands at the outset of the offseason. The organization spent much of its remaining prospect capital to add a player who has staked a largely unassailable claim as the very best defender in baseball. While he’s never been anywhere near as useful at the plate — Simmons owns a lifetime .253/.301/.357 slash — the glove provided a lofty floor, and there was at least some hope that he’d trend up with the bat.

Things clearly haven’t gone quite as hoped. While Simmons has more or less continued his usual wizardry in the field, he has struggled out of the gate to a .219/.246/.281 batting line with just one home run in his first 118 plate appearances. To be fair, though, he’s still been quite a bit better than the player he replaced (Erick Aybar), though the organization is without its two best pitching prospects as a result of the deal.

Of course, Los Angeles’s interest in Simmons extends well beyond the present season. He’s controlled through 2020 under the extension he signed before the 2014 season with the Braves. The Halos owe Simmons $6MM this year and $47MM over the remaining four years of that contract.

While the club awaits the return of Simmons, it may need to rely on veteran utilityman Cliff Pennington at the position. Yunel Escobar could slide over to short, in theory, but he hasn’t played there for some time and Eppler has rejected that option (as Gonzalez tweets).

Aroldis Chapman Activated From Restricted List

By Steve Adams | May 9, 2016 at 4:07pm CDT

Left-hander Aroldis Chapman has finished serving his 30-game suspension, as the Yankees announced prior to tonight’s contest that Chapman has been activated from the restricted list. Right-hander Johnny Barbato has been optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in order to clear a spot on the 25-man roster, and righty Branden Pinder, who underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this season, has been transferred to the 60-day disabled list in order to create a spot on the 40-man roster for Chapman’s reinstatement.

Chapman, 28, was suspended by commissioner Rob Manfred under the newly implemented domestic violence issue for an offseason incident in which Chapman was alleged to have struck his girlfriend and discharged a firearm while alone in his garage. Charges were never filed, however, and witnesses never offered any evidence that corroborated the initial allegations. Eventually, Chapman’s girlfriend offered a different account of the evening, stating that she didn’t recall saying Chapman had struck her, adding that she only heard one gunshot (after originally alleging eight shots were fired) and wasn’t sure if it was Chapman who discharged the firearm. Because criminal charges were never filed, Chapman did not face a trial.

The exact events of the night in question won’t ever be known to any but the involved parties, but Manfred seemed convinced of the fact that Chapman did indeed fire the weapon in his garage, saying in a statement at the time that the pitcher’s behavior was “inappropriate … particularly his use of a firearm and the impact of that behavior on his partner.” Chapman accepted the 30-game ban without appeal, issuing a statement in which he said: “I want to be clear, I did not in any way harm my girlfriend that evening. However, I should have exercised better judgment with respect to certain actions, and for that I am sorry. The decision to accept a suspension, as opposed to appealing one, was made after careful consideration. I made this decision in an effort to minimize the distractions that an appeal would cause the Yankees, my new teammates and most importantly, my family.”

With Chapman’s suspension complete, he’ll now join left-hander Andrew Miller and right-hander Dellin Betances to form what many expect to be a bullpen trio that will be as formidable as any in big league history. Miller, who has been acting as the closer but will step down into a setup role with Chapman in the picture, has yet to allow a run in 11 2/3 innings while posting a 20-to-1 K/BB ratio. Betances, meanwhile, has an outrageous 27-to-3 K/BB ratio in 14 innings, though he’s yielded four runs (due to three homers) and has a 2.57 ERA as a result. Last season, Chapman, Miller and Betances led all qualified relievers in K/9 (in that order), and they constituted three of the top four relievers in baseball in terms of pure strikeout percentage (Kenley Jansen slipped ahead of Betances to rank third).

Chapman is earning $11.35MM this season after avoiding arbitration for the final time this winter, but he lost $1.865MM of that salary as a result of the unpaid nature of his suspension. He’s slated to reach free agency at season’s end, where he’ll join Jansen and Mark Melancon atop a strong class of free-agent relievers.

White Sox Designate Hector Sanchez For Assignment

By Steve Adams | May 9, 2016 at 12:23pm CDT

The White Sox announced on Monday that they have designated catcher Hector Sanchez for assignment. The move helps to clear space on the roster for right-hander Miguel Gonzalez, who has been recalled from Triple-A Charlotte, and fellow catcher Alex Avila, who has been activated from the 15-day disabled list.

The 26-year-old Sanchez collected eight plate appearances with the White Sox and went 1-for-7 with a walk. He signed a minor league contract with the ChiSox this winter and had his contract selected from Triple-A Charlotte upon Avila’s injury. Sanchez has seen time in the Majors in each season dating back to 2011, with all of his experience prior to 2016 coming as a member of the Giants. In 645 big league plate appearances, Sanchez is a .238/.273/.343 hitter, and he’s also caught 26 percent of opposing runners. The White Sox will have 10 days to trade, release or outright Sanchez, though any team that claims him off outright waivers would have to place him on the big league roster, as he is out of minor league options.

NL East Notes: Harper, Wright, Appel, Braves

By Steve Adams | May 9, 2016 at 12:13pm CDT

Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper is beginning to receive the “Barry Bonds” treatment, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, noting that the reigning NL MVP walked 13 times (including four intentional walks) in just 19 plate appearances over the life of a four-game series versus the Cubs. Harper, who also hit a sacrifice fly and was hit by a pitch during the series, incredibly recorded just four official at-bats. Rosenthal spoke to Harper, manager Dusty Baker, and Reds first baseman Joey Votto (arguably the game’s most patient hitter) about Harper’s approach at the plate and how favorably he compares to Bonds. While all of the interviewed parties agreed that Harper isn’t at Bonds’ level, Votto expressed admiration, opining that Harper could eventually deliver seasons with a .500 OBP and a .700 slugging percentage. Harper acknowledged that it’s difficult to exhibit patience even when he’s being pitched around. “You want to hit, you want to be excited, you’re trying to do everything you can to help your team win,” he said. “But you have to have the courage in the guys behind you.” Beyond faith in his teammates, Harper noted that selectively knowing which pitchers to battle against — Jake Arrieta, Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke (pitchers that “are going to paint”) — is important as well. The interview is well worth a read in its entirety.

A few more notes from the NL East…

David Wright is continuing to learn how to manage his spinal stenosis, a condition that will impact the remainder of his Major League career, writes Newsday’s Marc Carig. Wright explained to Carig that he had to test his limits earlier this season and thus played in four consecutive games, culminating in a day game after a night game, knowing that the club had an off-day the following day. Upon waking up on that fifth Day, Wright found that he could scarcely stand upright for more than a few minutes and had difficulty walking. “I learned right then that if I tried to do this during the whole course of the year, I’m not making it,” said the Mets’ captain. “It’s just not happening.” Wright’s condition means that manager Terry Collins will have to be judicious in his off-days, particularly during day games that follow night games.
Corey Seidman of CSNPhilly.com spoke to Phillies farmhand Mark Appel about the team’s upcoming No. 1 selection in the draft, and Appel said that he hopes to get the chance to offer some advice to whoever is selected with that pick. “Looking back, it’s one of those things that it’s a blessing and a curse, it really is,” said Appel, who was selected No. 1 overall by the Astros in 2013 but traded to Philadelphia in the offseason Ken Giles blockbuster. “Whoever the Phillies take first overall, hopefully I’ll be able to meet him and share some of the things that I struggled with and failed at to make him a better player and hopefully see him realize the potential that he has.” The pressure, expectations and public nature of being selected first overall are “hard to explain,” Appel said, admitting that he placed too much pressure on himself after being selected by Houston. Appel is off to a better start with the Phillies, having pitched to a 3.00 ERA through his first 27 innings at Triple-A, although as Seidman points out, the 13 walks and 39 overall baserunners he’s surrendered in that time still suggest that he has some work to do.
Braves GM John Coppolella and vice chairman John Schuerholz discussed the club’s historically bad start with USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. The pair continued to dismiss the notion that the team is tanking, and Nightengale writes that the Braves’ hope was to start out like the Phillies have this year — winning games while in the process of rebuilding. “It’s my first year as a GM,” said Coppolella. “I didn’t want to have the worst record ever.” Nightengale draws a parallel between the 2016 Braves and the 2014 Cubs, noting that there were many cries for president of baseball operations Theo Epstein’s dismissal at the time. The Cubs, of course, have baseball’s best record just two years later, and the Braves’ front office that their farm system, built in a rebuild similar to Epstein’s, will also yield quick results. Also of note, Nightengale adds that the GM continues to vow that Freddie Freeman will not be traded, and Freeman himself voiced a desire to see the rebuild through and spend his career in Atlanta. “I owe everything to this organization,” said Freeman.

Braves Acquire Anthony Recker From Indians

By Steve Adams | May 9, 2016 at 11:42am CDT

The Indians announced today that they have traded catcher Anthony Recker to the Braves in exchange for cash considerations. The former Mets backstop will begin his return to the NL East at Triple-A Gwinnett, per the announcement. ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin tweets that Recker had an opt-out clause in his minor league deal looming.

Recker, 32, spent the previous three seasons with the Mets organization and seen significant in the Majors from 2013-15, appearing in 140 games. In that time, Recker totaled 432 plate appearances and batted a combined .190/.256/.350 with 15 home runs. Recker is a considerably more accomplished hitter at the Triple-A level, though, where he’s batted .274/.361/.481 in 1428 plate appearances, including a .246/.395/.426 start to the 2016 season with Triple-A Columbus. He’ll serve as a depth option for the Braves, who currently have A.J. Pierzynski and Tyler Flowers catching at the big league level. Interestingly, Atlanta already has multiple catchers with minor league track records at the Triple-A level in the form of Ryan Lavarnway and Blake Lalli, though Lalli has seen quite a bit of time at first base this season in addition to his time behind the dish.

Blue Jays Release Michael Bourn

By Steve Adams | May 9, 2016 at 10:10am CDT

The Blue Jays released outfielder Michael Bourn from his minor league deal over the weekend, tweets John Lott of Vice Sports. (The news, it would seem, first appeared on the Florida State League’s transactions page.) The veteran center fielder had agreed to a minors pact with Toronto late last month and was playing well with the club’s Class-A Advanced affiliate, hitting .257/.366/.371 with a pair of doubles, a triple and a stolen base (one attempt) in 41 plate appearances prior to his departure from the organization.

Presumably, Bourn will seek employment with a club that has a clearer path to big league time. His best bet with the Blue Jays had seemingly been to supplant the fleet-footed Ezequiel Carrera as Toronto’s fourth outfielder, but Carrera’s production soared after Bourn was signed to his deal (though that’s largely coincidental, of course). Carrera has collected 11 hits in his past 23 at-bats, and he offers the Jays a younger player with a skill set similar to that of Bourn.

The 33-year-old Bourn is earning $14MM in 2016 — the final season of a four-year, $48MM contract he signed with Cleveland prior to the 2013 campaign. The Indians and Braves (who acquired Bourn last August) are on the hook for his salary this season, meaning he would only cost a signing club the pro-rated portion of the league minimum for any time spent on the Major League roster. Bourn’s offense has slowly deteriorated since signing with Cleveland, though, in part due to hamstring injuries that have also led to prolonged stints on the disabled list. After hitting a combined .284/.348/.388 with 103 stolen bases in the two seasons leading up to his free agency, Bourn has batted just .253/.313/.366 with 50 steals over the first three years of his current contract.

AL West Notes: Mariners’ Payroll, Wilson, Stubbs, Alvarez

By Steve Adams | May 9, 2016 at 9:03am CDT

The new Mariners ownership group fronted is prepared to follow through on CEO John Stanton’s comments that “payroll matters” (made at the press conference announcing the ownership change) when the trade deadline approaches, reports Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times, citing a pair of sources that are “intricately tied to the ownership group.” As Baker writes, former CEO Howard Lincoln was required to run all decisions by representatives from Nintendo of America prior to their sale of the majority stake of the club, and the result was often lackluster acquisitions. Even though the sale won’t be formalized until August, however, Nintendo isn’t likely to intervene with payroll matters at this point, and Lincoln, who remains involved in a lesser role, is said to be on board with increasing the payroll as necessary in order to augment a roster that has produced a first-place record through the season’s first 31 games.

Braves Have Reportedly Discussed Managerial Change

By Steve Adams | May 8, 2016 at 11:26pm CDT

TODAY: The Braves have “become more receptive to” the idea of giving Gonzalez more time, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports. Inciarte is now back and the Braves have a more favorable schedule coming up, so Gonzalez could get “at least a couple more weeks” to get the team on track.

THURSDAY: The Braves have gotten off to the worst start in baseball (7-20 record with a -54 run differential), and the club’s dismal performance has led Atlanta officials to discuss the possibility of dismissing manager Fredi Gonzalez, reports MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. Were Gonzalez to be fired, the Braves would likely turn to bullpen coach Eddie Perez, at least on an interim basis, Bowman adds. Yestetrday, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale listed third base coach Bo Porter and first base coach Terry Pendleton as options when discussing Atlanta’s potential managerial changes.

Of course, as Bowman notes, it’s more than fair to wonder whether any manager could have navigated this roster to a respectable performance. The Braves never fancied themselves contenders in the NL East heading into the 2016 season, but the front office stressed over the winter that it felt the team would improve upon the club’s 67 wins in 2015. Instead, the Braves have seen astonishingly poor performances from a number of players, including infielders Erick Aybar, Jace Peterson (who was recently demoted to Triple-A) and Adonis Garcia. Catcher A.J. Pierzynski has also been among the league’s least-productive hitters, and veteran relievers Jim Johnson, Eric O’Flaherty and Jason Grilli are each sporting ERAs of 5.40 or worse. Gonzalez, of course, can’t be faulted for the fact that Ender Inciarte has played just three games this season, while Daniel Winkler will miss the year following an elbow fracture. Hector Olivera, whom the front office had been counting on to take a step forward, is currently in limbo as the league investigates him in connection with some truly troubling domestic violence allegations.

Then again, a team’s manager is often the first to take the fall when a club underperforms. Such was the case around this time last year when the Brewers fired Ron Roenicke and the Marlins parted ways with Mike Redmond. There’s been some recent buzz about future managerial candidates in Atlanta, with FOX’s Ken Rosenthal writing last week that it was “difficult to imagine” Gonzalez surviving this eight-game road trip, and Nightengale tweeting just yesterday that Bud Black was a strong candidate to manage the team in 2017. That type of talk from well-reputed reporters isn’t often pulled out of thin air, so the discussions among the Atlanta brass have likely been ongoing for a fair amount of time.

Bowman writes that “all indications” point to Gonzalez entering this weekend’s upcoming series in Arizona as the club’s skipper, and recent wins over the Cubs, Red Sox and Mets have helped his case to some extent. Atlanta’s best player, first baseman Freddie Freeman, voiced support for Gonzalez when speaking to Bowman and said that the blame should be placed on the players, not the manager. “We’re the 25 guys [who have to] go out there and play every day,” said Freeman. “We’re obviously not playing to our capabilities. To say that’s Fredi’s fault is unfair in my opinion.” As Bowman notes, there’s an argument to be made that with the Braves’ rotation only just now coming together — Julio Teheran, Jhoulys Chacin, Aaron Blair and Matt Wisler have all delivered fairly encouraging results recently — and Inciarte just now returning, Gonzalez should be given a lengthier look.

The 52-year-old Gonzalez has served as Atlanta’s manager since 2011, and the team is a combined 432-405 during that time even in spite of the woeful results from 2015-16. Gonzalez’s Braves posted winning records for his first three seasons as skipper and won the NL East in 2014, but there’s been a growing number of Atlanta fans calling for change since a late collapse in 2014. That year, the Braves got off to a 52-43 start before limping to a 27-40 record following the All-Star break. Overall, the team is just 101-155 dating back to the second half of that 2014 campaign.

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