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Archives for July 2016

Brewers Agree To $1.2MM Deal With 11th Rounder Chad McClanahan

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The Brewers have struck a $1.2MM deal with 11th-round draft pick Chad McClanahan, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com reports on Twitter. That’s quite an unusually high payday for a player selected outside of the draft’s first ten rounds.

It’s rather notable that Milwaukee was able to free up enough cash to draw the third baseman away from a reportedly strong commitment to Arizona State University. MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy recently crunched the numbers, explaining that the club could just barely afford to pay McClanahan that amount — which is what he was reportedly asking for heading in.

The Brewers had kicked off their draft with a bit of a surprise, landing Louisville outfielder Corey Ray with the fifth overall pick after he had been in contention for an even higher selection. The club had just enough left to make its latest move, which will require it to go over its pool by 5% — just enough not to sacrifice future draft picks. There’ll be a tax on the overage, but obviously the strategic value of draft bonus space is far more important than the actual costs involved.

For their trouble, Milwaukee will land a player who rated just outside the pre-draft top-100 lists of MLB.com and Baseball America. McClanahan is a big-framed, left-handed hitting corner infielder with a projectable power bat. There seems to be a split of opinion as to whether he can stay at third, but the Brew Crew obviously feel that the upside potential in the bat is worth the risk.

Pitching Notes: Santana, Cobb, Felix, Cards, Red Sox, Eovaldi

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The Rangers “took a hard look” at Twins righty Ervin Santana during his most recent outing, according to LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star-Tribune (via Twitter). Texas is in need of rotation depth, as its current depth chart shows, and that may well remain an area of interest even if the club is able to add a higher-end starter. While the veteran Santana doesn’t come with a ton of upside at 33 years of age, he has long been a solid pitcher and would deliver some much-needed dependability. He has averaged over 180 innings annually dating back to his rookie campaign in 2005, and is still working with the same velocity and generating about the same swinging strike rate that he has for much of his career. Santana is owed $13.5MM this year and the two to follow, though, so there’d be some financial negotiating to work through.

Here are some more notable developments as the pitching market continues to take shape:

  • Rays righty Alex Cobb will make his first rehab start on Wednesday, per a club announcement (h/t to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, via Twitter). Cobb, who is working back from Tommy John surgery, can remain on assignment for 30 days. His timeline probably isn’t a determining factor, but so long as he remains on track it certainly would make it easier for Tampa Bay to move a starter.
  • Mariners righty Felix Hernandez is set to throw three simulated innings on Wednesday, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune tweets. If all goes well, it seems that he could soon begin a rehab stint — which could help Seattle assess its rotation needs as the deadline draws into focus.
  • Asked about the possible need for pen reinforcement, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak said today that his club “can’t ignore anything,” Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets. St. Louis figures to be among many teams eyeing relievers over the next month. With Trevor Rosenthal losing his closing gig and Kevin Siegrist hitting the DL, an already somewhat-questionable unit has increasing concerns.
  • The Red Sox are still angling to shift Joe Kelly into their big league bullpen, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports on Twitter. A final move won’t be made until after the All-Star break, once he’s completed his rehab stint. Clay Buchholz, too, could be moving back to the relief corps after failing to impress upon his return to the rotation, as Mastrodonato writes.
  • The Yankees have temporarily bumped righty Nathan Eovaldi to the bullpen, Chad Jennings of the Lo Hud Yankees Blog reports. It appears that he’ll be replaced in the rotation by Chad Green for now, but expectations are that Eovaldi will be back among the starting five after the All-Star break. Skipper Joe Girardi explained that the move was motivated by the team’s need to have arms ready for relief work, though clearly Eovaldi’s distinct struggles of late play a major role in the decision.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/4/16

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Here are the day’s minor moves, all courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise noted:

  • The Diamondbacks have released righty Kyle Drabek. The former first-rounder, now 28, received a single appearance this year for Arizona. He owns a tough 6.68 ERA with 5.4 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9 in his 68 2/3 Triple-A innings thus far in 2016.
  • The Pirates have outrighted right-hander Jorge Rondon to Triple-A, per an announcement from the team’s affiliate at Indianapolis. Rondon had been designated for assignment recently. He has a 2.72 ERA over his rather extensive time at Triple-A, but has yet to show much in his brief time at the major league level.
  • Outfielder Tony Campana is headed to the White Sox on a minor league deal after being released by the Nationals, per Eddy. Campana, 30, has seen MLB time in parts of four seasons, none since 2014. He owns a meager .215/.289/.230 slash in 158 Triple-A plate appearances on the year.
  • The Padres released righty Johnny Hellweg, Eddy adds. The towering righty had an unsuccessful trial run in the majors back in 2013. He had struggled with his command and been hit quite hard this year in the minors for the Padres.
  • After being designated recently, catcher Hector Sanchez has been outrighted by the Padres. The 26-year-old will head back to Triple-A, which is where he has spent most of his time in recent years. Sanchez does have 663 major league plate appearances over the last six seasons, with a .240/.276/.348 lifetime batting line.
  • The Mariners have released Efren Navarro, a 30-year-old first baseman. Navarro was off to a .243/.316/.362 slash in his 301 plate appearances this year at Triple-A, well off of his usual productivity at the highest level of the minors.
  • The recently-designated Andrew Bellatti has been outrighted by the Rays. Despite providing 23 1/3 innings of 2.31 ERA pitching last year at the major league level, the right-hander has not cracked the majors this year and had struggled in limited action at Triple-A.
  • The Nationals have released infielder Scott Sizemore, also via Eddy. The 31-year-old was off to a rough start, hitting just .205/.353/.323 over his 243 plate appearances on the year. He hasn’t cracked the majors since 2014.

Nationals Activate Jonathan Papelbon, Option Michael Taylor

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The Nationals have activated injured closer Jonathan Papelbon, per a team announcement. In something of a surprise move, the club optioned outfielder Michael Taylor to create roster space.

[Related: Updated Nationals Depth Chart]

While the move isn’t an atypical mid-season transaction, it does carry some added trade deadline implications for the division-leading Nats. For one thing, Papelbon had shown some concerning trends on the year; for another, the organization has not received the production it would like out of the center field position.

Looking first at the pen, Papelbon has continued to get useful results, as he owns a 3.28 ERA on the year. But he hasn’t finished the year with an earned run average over three since way back in 2010, and the underlying numbers suggest a bigger problem. In particular, Papelbon is striking out less than seven per nine on a career-low 9.5% swinging strike rate and is averaging just 90.7 mph on his four-seamer.

Adding a quality reliever seems like a no-brainer for the Nationals regardless of how Papelbon shows upon his return from an intercostal strain. But his performance could help dictate just how desperate the team feels to improve. The pen has been good on the whole, and Shawn Kelley is far from the worst fill-in closer, but a team with World Series aspirations will surely want some more room for error.

Meanwhile, the demotion of Taylor comes as he continues to produce uneven results at the plate. While he was more productive in June after a dreadful start, he hasn’t seen much playing time in the last week and hasn’t been hitting when he has been in the lineup. With Ben Revere showing some signs of life, it seems that Taylor will be tasked with working on his game in a regular role at the Triple-A level.

Adding a reliever for an outfielder leaves the Nats’ roster out of balance, so this could well be a temporary move. Looking at the club’s current depth chart, dropping a reliever would likely mean parting with Matt Belisle — who has been rather effective — or sending struggling young fireballer Felipe Rivero to join Taylor in looking to get on track at Triple-A.

If and when the club dips into its system for another position player, top prospect Trea Turner could conceivably get the call. The middle infielder has now played four games at center for Syracuse, so he could potentially join Revere there while playing a super-utility role of some kind. Super Two status is no longer a concern in Turner’s case, so team need and player development are probably the only real considerations.

It’s worth noting that there are some potential player control issues here, but they don’t involve Turner. Entering the year, Taylor had 1.037 days of service, and he has picked up another 90 days thus far in 2016. That leaves him 45 days shy of reaching a second full season of service, so an extended stay in the minors could well leave the club with an added season of future control.

Trevor Plouffe To 15-Day DL With “Cracked Rib”

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10:28am: Minnesota skipper Paul Molitor says he’s expecting Plouffe to miss something on the order of three or four weeks, Bollinger tweets. That would seem likely to take him off the trade table, though an August deal could be possible given his reasonably steep salary.

9:32am: Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe has been placed on the 15-day DL with a “cracked rib,” MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger reports on Twitter. Slugger Kennys Vargas will return to the majors to take his place on the active roster.

[Related: Updated Twins Depth Chart]

Plouffe had been dealing with some rib soreness, with some concern that a DL stint may be required. While it’s a bit difficult to assess the severity of the injury at this point in time, it seems that it could be more significant than had been hoped.

Minnesota has resisted trading Plouffe in the past, but it seemed that this summer might present an opportunity to make a move — particularly with Miguel Sano failing to take to right field after shifting off of the hot corner. Now, though, he may not be a viable candidate to move in the coming weeks.

Despite taking him out of immediate trade contention, the injury could actually help pave the way for an eventual deal, at least in theory. Sano ought to have a chance to cement himself at third, which would seemingly make Plouffe extraneous. Of course, that had seemed to be a reasonable line of thinking last winter, too.

Plouffe is owed $7.25MM this year and can be controlled for another campaign via arbitration, which had made him a worthwhile target for teams looking to plug a gap now and in 2017. He has typically presented as a solid all-around player with twenty homer pop, but this year has been a struggle. Plouffe owns a .252/.283/.399 bating line with seven home runs over 231 plate appearances for the season.

Billy Eppler: Angels Not Looking To Rebuild

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Angels GM Billy Eppler disclaims the notion that his club might look to rebuild in the wake of a miserable first half of 2016, as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times writes. That’s no surprise to hear, as Halos owner Arte Moreno has never been shy about spending for a winner, but Eppler provided some interesting color to the organization’s approach.

Being in a “substantial market” allows the team to both contend and amass young talent, he suggested. The word he focused on, Shaikin notes, was “investment” — with the idea seemingly being to utilize cash for promising new talent rather than swapping out veterans.

As Shaikin explains, it’s still tough to see how Los Angeles will manager to piece together a likely contender next year, given all the areas of concern on the roster. Not much has gone right thus far in 2016, with the significant injury situations facing top starters Garrett Richards and Andrew Heaney ranking chief among the barriers to a swift turnaround.

Despite the seemingly tall task ahead, Eppler rejected the idea that the organization will need to come out sprinting into the free agent market this winter. While the Angels may be questioned for their decision not to plunk down top-of-the-market cash for a left fielder in the most recent free agent market, given the somewhat foreseeable struggles that have ensued, the club has also been bitten by some unfavorable investment decisions.

Ultimately, the GM believes that there’s value to be found on the market. “I don’t believe that you have to make those investments to have a good team,” he said of players in the $20MM+ annual salary range. “I believe you can fish in the $2.5-million pool if it’s going to be a part-time, 60-65% player. Or you can invest $12 million in a full-time guy and be very happy with your results.”

That being said, Eppler didn’t rule out future pursuits of big-budget options. “If the opportunity comes, and there is a player that sets himself apart from the pack like none other, we do have the financial resources to go get that player,” he explained.

Trade Rumors: Hill, A’s, Royals, BoSox, Yanks, Dodgers

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In his first start since May 29, Athletics left-hander Rich Hill returned from a groin injury to throw six innings of two-run, four-hit ball and rack up six strikeouts against two walks Saturday. Several playoff contenders sent representatives to observe Hill’s outing against the Pirates, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Incidentally, the Bucs were among the teams scouting him. In addition, four of the 36-year-old journeyman’s previous employers – the Orioles, Red Sox, Cubs and Yankees – as well as the Dodgers and Royals were in attendance to watch Hill, who could be the best starter dealt before the Aug. 1 trade deadline. The free agent-to-be has been brilliant when healthy this year, recording a 2.31 ERA, 10.29 K/9, 49.7 percent ground-ball rate and 15.3 percent infield fly rate in 70 innings. Dating back to his four-start revival in Boston last September, the out-of-nowhere ace has put up a tremendous 2.09 ERA in 99 frames.

More of the latest pre-deadline rumors:

  • Along with Hill, the Royals also have interest in Athletics right fielder Josh Reddick, according to Slusser. However, they do not wish to reunite with another A’s trade chip, third baseman Danny Valencia. Kansas City was a rumored landing spot as of last week for Valencia, who was with the Royals in 2014 and should draw plenty of attention from other teams as the deadline nears.
  • Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reported Sunday that the Blue Jays have been scouting the Astros’ system, though he didn’t specify which players interested Toronto. It turns out that one prospect who intrigues the Jays is Double-A right-hander Francis Martes, tweets Chris Cotillo of SB Nation. Martes would be difficult to acquire, however, given that he’s among baseball’s premier prospects. Entering the season, Baseball America placed Martes 20th overall in its rankings. In its updated list, MLB.com has the 20-year-old at No. 36. In 63 2/3 innings this season, the hard-throwing Martes has logged a 4.10 ERA, 8.48 K/9 and 4.52 BB/9.
  • While Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com expects the Angels’ Matt Shoemaker to garner interest leading up to the deadline, he doesn’t envision the Halos trading controllable starting pitching depth (Twitter link). The desperate-for-starters Red Sox – who roughed up Shoemaker on Sunday – would make sense as a trade partner if the Angels do make the righty available, opines Tim Britton of the Providence Journal (via Twitter). After a terrible first month of the season and a demotion to the minors, Shoemaker rejoined the Angels in May and has performed like an elite-level ace of late – Sunday notwithstanding. During an eight-start span prior to the Angels’ trip to Fenway Park, the 29-year-old amassed 57 2/3 innings, allowed 12 earned runs and piled up 68 strikeouts against a paltry five walks. As Gonzalez alluded to when mentioning team control, Shoemaker will make his first trip through arbitration during the upcoming offseason.

D’Backs Notes: Ziegler, Hudson, Lopez, La Russa

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It’s been a busy day for Diamondbacks news, thanks to such items as Zack Greinke hitting the 15-day disabled list, Paul Goldschmidt switching agencies and Robbie Ray generating some trade buzz.  Here’s even more from the desert…

  • Brad Ziegler and Daniel Hudson have been mentioned as both trade candidates and extension candidates, though Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic considers a merge of the two strategies: the D’Backs deal one or both of the relievers now for minor league help, then re-sign them as free agents this winter.  Both Ziegler and Hudson say they would be open to continuing their careers in Arizona, though obviously if they were dealt, their opinions could certainly change based on what happens with their new teams.  “I think I’ve heard [Ziegler] say that you maybe get one chance to get to this point in your career and get a pretty good payday.  I’ve got to take advantage of it if it comes to that point and do what’s best for my family,” Hudson said.  While obviously every player has such big-picture concerns in mind, long-term security is likely of particular importance to Hudson since he’s already undergone two Tommy John procedures in his career.
  • On the extension front, Ziegler said isn’t sure of the D’Backs have reached out to his representatives yet, as he has told his agents that he wants to solely focus on baseball during the season.  Hudson said that the team made contact with his agents but financial or length terms have yet to be discussed.
  • In another item from Piecoro, Tony La Russa said he has no regrets about signing international prospect Yoan Lopez to an $8.27MM bonus, even in the wake of Lopez’s struggles both on and off the field in his first two pro seasons.  “When you have a chance to get a guy like that, you don’t have any regrets.  This guy has major potential. I have no crystal ball, but we’ve just got to keep working at it,” La Russa said.  Three Diamondbacks scouts, according to La Russa, would rank Lopez as a top-three prospect within any organization in baseball, an opinion Piecoro notes isn’t shared by several scouts on rival teams.  (Prospect rankings from Baseball America and MLB.com, in fact, don’t even have Lopez ranked within the top five in Arizona’s own system.)  Beyond Lopez’s own issues, there is the larger fact that his signing put the D’Backs over the international signing pool limit and subjected them to a two-year ban on signings for more than $300K.  When asked if the D’Backs should’ve exceeded the pool limit to sign many players beyond just Lopez, La Russa said no.

Blue Jays Notes: Estrada, Shapiro, Morales

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The Blue Jays recorded a lopsided 17-1 win over the Indians today, the most runs Toronto has scored in a game since August 2010.  The Jays’ offense got off to a surprisingly slow start over the first two months of the season but has returned to form in recent weeks.  Toronto entered today eighth among all MLB teams with a team OPS of .760, a number that is sure to rise after the 17-run outburst.  Here’s some more from north of the border…

  • Marco Estrada seems likely to miss his next scheduled start on Thursday, as the righty is dealing with some severe back pain.  Estrada told Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi and other reporters that he may not have pitched last Saturday had the Jays not been in desperate need of an innings-eater after Friday’s 19-inning marathon.  Estrada made it through five innings in his last outing, even wearing a back brace between the first and second inning.  A cortisone shot fixed a similar problem for Estrada during the spring and he’s hopeful another shot can help him now, though he underwent an MRI today to check for any damage.  Estrada missed the season’s first week due to that bad back, though he has been excellent since his return — a 2.93 ERA, 8.5 K/9, 2.54 K/BB rate over 104 1/3 innings.  As Davidi notes, Drew Hutchison is the likeliest candidate to make a spot start if Estrada can’t go on Thursday against Detroit.
  • Team president and CEO Mark Shapiro spoke to Cleveland reporters (including MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian) about a variety of topics, including his transition from the Indians to the Blue Jays, the Jose Bautista contract situation  in the spring, the differences between the Cleveland and Toronto markets and more.
  • GM Ross Atkins and manager John Gibbons both said that southpaw Franklin Morales is still a ways off from being called back up to the majors, John Lott writes for Blue Jays Nation.  Morales has until July 22 to earn a callup, as per the rule that limits pitches to a 30-day minor league injury rehab.  Despite already being guaranteed $2MM due to his time on the MLB roster (via his lengthy DL stint), the Jays don’t seem to be in any rush to promote Morales, with Atkins citing multiple left-handed options in front of him on the organizational depth chart.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/3/16

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Here are Sunday’s minor transactions from around baseball:

  • The Brewers selected the contract of third baseman Will Middlebrooks from Triple-A Colorado Springs, the club announced.  To create roster space, Milwaukee also optioned outfielder Keon Broxton to Triple-A while Chris Capuano was moved to the 60-day DL.  Middlebrooks signed a minor league deal with the Brew Crew last winter after being non-tendered by the Padres.  The former highly-touted prospect made a strong debut as a rookie with the Red Sox in 2012 but has hit just .213/.258/.363 in 878 PA with Boston and San Diego over the last three seasons.  Middlebrooks has a solid .816 OPS at Triple-A this season, though Colorado Springs and the PCL as a whole are very hitter-friendly environments.
  • The Braves selected the contract of outfielder/third baseman Ronnier Mustelier, the club announced.  This will be Mustelier’s first taste of the big leagues in a 13-year pro career that began with seven seasons in Cuba’s Serie Nacional.  Since defecting from Cuba, Mustelier has played in the Yankees’ minor league system and in the Mexican League.  Over 1382 career plate appearances in the New York and Atlanta farm systems, Mustelier has a .303/.356/.440 slash line and 26 homers.
  • The Marlins selected the contract of outfielder Yefri Perez.  The 25-year-old Perez has been in the Marlins’ system since 2009, slashing .256/.310/.312 over 2209 PA.  It’s worth noting that both the Braves and Marlins didn’t need to make corresponding moves, as the teams were allowed an extra 26th man on the roster for tonight’s special game played in front of the troops at Fort Bragg.
  • The Orioles selected the contract of southpaw Ariel Miranda prior to today’s game, and the Cuban lefty made his Major League debut in a relief outing.  Miranda, 27, is a seven-year veteran of the Serie Nacional who signed a minor league deal with the O’s in May 2015.  He made a rather quick rise through Baltimore’s system, posting a 3.84 ERA, 8.7 K/9 and 2.86 K/BB rate 147 2/3 innings.  In corresponding moves, Tyler Wilson was optioned to Triple-A and Brian Duensing was moved to the 60-day DL.
  • The Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo has released right-hander Roberto Hernandez, per a club announcement. Hernandez entered the season having logged major league action in 10 straight campaigns, though that streak looks to be in jeopardy. In his latest big league stint, the 35-year-old posted a 4.36 ERA with 4.5 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in 84 2/3 innings as a member of the Astros last season. With a 4.42 ERA, 6.06 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 in 71 1/3 innings, the unspectacular numbers Hernandez put up in Buffalo are fairly similar to his Houston statistics.

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