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White Sox Asked Astros For Musgrove, Martes, Tucker In Return For Jose Quintana

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During the Winter Meetings, it emerged that the Astros had asked the White Sox about lefty Jose Quintana, and that the Astros believed the White Sox’ price to be too steep. Today, Peter Gammons tweets that the White Sox asked the Astros for big-league righty Joe Musgrove plus their top two prospects, righty Francis Martes and outfielder Kyle Tucker.

The White Sox’ ask continued their pattern of aiming high (which has worked twice so far this week) and suggests it might be true that, as has previously been reported, the White Sox see no pressing need to trade Quintana, who is controllable at reasonable prices through 2020. The 27-year-old Quintana has emerged as a workhorse, throwing 200-plus high-quality innings in each of the last four seasons. Last season, he posted a 3.20 ERA, 7.8 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 208 frames.

The 24-year-old Musgrove had a successful rookie season last year, posting a 4.06 ERA, 8.0 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 62 innings. Baseball America ranked him the No. 86 prospect in baseball heading into the season.

Martes has emerged as the Astros’ best prospect since arriving from the Marlins’ system in the Jarred Cosart deal in 2014. The 21-year-old posted a 3.30 ERA, 9.4 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 125 1/3 innings at Double-A Corpus Christi in 2016, winning praise from MLB.com (which ranks him the No. 29 prospect in the game) for his 93-95 MPH fastball and filthy curveball.

Tucker was the fifth overall pick in the 2015 draft, and MLB.com now ranks him the No. 50 prospect in baseball. The 19-year-old held his own at Class A Quad Cities in 2016, batting .276/.348/.402, then hit very well in a small sample after heading to Class A+ Lancaster.

5 Key Stories: 12/3/16 – 12/9/16

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Here are the top stories from a week dominated by the Winter Meetings:

"<strongWhite Sox land huge bounties in Sale, Eaton trades. Usually, it’s the teams acquiring veterans who receive the most attention and praise in the offseason, but that wasn’t the case this week. First, the White Sox turned down a remarkable package of Victor Robles, Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez for Chris Sale so they could take a deal that was arguably even better from the Red Sox, nabbing Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech. Sale will join Rick Porcello and David Price in a loaded Boston rotation.

Then, the White Sox got Giolito and Lopez (plus another pitching prospect, Dane Dunning) anyway when they sent Adam Eaton to DC to fill the Nationals’ center field vacancy. “The weird part for me is that we walk around here, you have a lot of people congratulating you — kindly, with well-intentioned congratulations — whether it’s scouts, or executives from other clubs,” White Sox GM Rick Hahn told a group of reporters, including MLBTR’s Steve Adams. “It’s a little awkward, because we traded Chris Sale. That’s not something you feel great about. That’s not a feather in your cap, so to speak, but this is where we are.”

Yankees agree to sign Chapman to the largest reliever contract ever. The Yankees agreed to terms with flame-throwing closer Aroldis Chapman on a record-shattering five-year, $86MM deal that includes a no-trade clause for the first three years and an opt-out after the third year. The Marlins’ heavy involvement in the closer market reportedly drove Chapman’s price upward, and there are questions about whether it makes sense for the Yankees to sign an expensive reliever who can opt out just as the team’s strong core of young talent begins to make an impact.

Closer carousel keeps spinning. Kenley Jansen remains a free agent and will be the next to grab headlines when he signs, but several other closers picked new teams this week. Before Chapman’s deal, Mark Melancon was briefly the highest paid reliever ever, thanks to a $62MM deal from the Giants. The Cubs acquired Wade Davis from Kansas City for blocked outfielder Jorge Soler. And the Diamondbacks signed Fernando Rodney. MLBTR’s Jason Martinez recently examined the closer market in the wake of all those moves.

Rockies agree to sign Desmond. The Rockies agreed to sign infielder/outfielder Ian Desmond to a surprising five-year, $70MM deal, giving up the 11th overall pick in next year’s draft in the process. Desmond appears slated to be the Rockies’ first baseman, but that could be subject to change, as the team has been closely connected to free agent Mark Trumbo, the signing of whom could bump Desmond to the outfield. If Desmond were to head to the outfield, they could trade an outfielder such as Charlie Blackmon.

Cardinals sign Fowler. The Cardinals took decisive action to address their center field vacancy this week, landing Dexter Fowler to a five-year, $82.5MM contract with a full no-trade clause. The Cards might not be done making big moves, either — they could pursue another big-name free agent, like Trumbo or Edwin Encarnacion.

These were, of course, far from the only significant moves this week. For many more, check out our Newsstand, which contains notes about Rich Hill to the Dodgers, Wilson Ramos to the Rays, Carlos Beltran to the Astros, Carlos Gomez to the Rangers, Matt Holliday to the Yankees, Tyler Thornburg and Mitch Moreland to the Red Sox, Steve Pearce to the Blue Jays, Joaquin Benoit to the Phillies, and more.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Offseason Closer Market Update

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It’s been clear for weeks that a game of musical chairs this offseason could leave at least one playoff hopeful without a reliable closer option. With the Winter Meetings behind us, a few options are off the board, but several teams still have voids to fill.

Here’s an update on teams who came into the offseason looking for a closer upgrade and the best remaining options to land one of the jobs.

*Click on the team name to view an updated depth chart

Arizona Diamondbacks – FILLED

Fernando Rodney, one of the best closers in baseball during the 1st half of 2016 and one of the worst after the Padres traded him to the Marlins, agreed to a one-year, $2.75MM deal. He’ll enter his age-40 season as the D’backs closer. If the can return to his pre-Marlins form, and if the Diamondbacks drop out of the playoff hunt, he could find himself back on the trade block.

Chicago Cubs – FILLED

Instead of setting their sights on one of the three pitchers who would eventually become the highest paid closers in MLB history, the Cubs used one of their many trade chips, outfielder Jorge Soler, to acquire Wade Davis from the Royals. The 31-year-old Davis, who has a 1.18 ERA and 0.892 WHIP over the past three seasons, is set to earn $10MM in his final year before reaching free agency.

Colorado Rockies

There shouldn’t be much concern with Adam Ottavino as a late-inning option after posting solid numbers across the board while returning from Tommy John surgery in 2016. But with Jake McGee failing to impress during his first season with the Rockies, they would be wise to look for another reliable option to either close or serve as Ottavino’s primary setup man. The team had contacted Colorado native Mark Melancon, who was reportedly willing to take less money to pitch for the Rockies, but they apparently weren’t willing to compete with the Giants or other teams who offered him at least $60MM. They’ve shown interest in Brad Ziegler, who has decent numbers in 17.1 career innings at Coors Field.

Los Angeles Dodgers

They’re still one of the favorites to land Kenley Jansen, who is also being courted by the Marlins and Nationals. For a team that has so much money invested throughout their roster, it would be a huge disappointment if they missed out on retaining Jansen or adding another elite closer. If Jansen bolts, they’d likely turn to the trade market.

Miami Marlins

After losing out on the Aroldis Chapman sweepstakes, the Marlins will have one more chance to land the type of closer who could make their bullpen the clear strength of their team. Jansen’s former manager Don Mattingly and teammates Dee Gordon and A.J. Ellis would be familiar faces is he signs with Miami.

The trio of A.J. Ramos, Kyle Barraclough and David Phelps are capable of shutting the door in the late innings, but adding Jansen would further help to offset a rotation that is unlikely to pitch deep into games very often. Neftali Feliz and Ziegler are potential fallback options, although neither is a sure bet to supplant Ramos in the closer’s role.

Minnesota Twins

There hasn’t been a lot of buzz surrounding the Twins and who will be their closer in 2017. Glen Perkins made just two appearances last season before being shut down with a shoulder injury. With his status up in the air for early in the season as he recovers from surgery to repair a torn labrum in June, the Twins will need a good Plan B until he’s ready to resume closing duties. Brandon Kintzler did a fine job in that role last season, although a very shaky finish (7.82 ERA in last 12 appearances) makes him far from a sure thing.

New York Yankees – FILLED

The Yankees landed the big prize on the relief market, agreeing with Chapman on a five-year, $86MM deal on Wednesday night. He’ll return to the closer’s role he held during his two-and-a-half month stint with the Yankees in 2016 with Dellin Betances moving back into a setup role.

Philadelphia Phillies – FILLED

Despite having a couple of internal options, last year’s closer Jeanmar Gomez and Hector Neris, who had a breakout season in a setup role, the Phillies signed Joaquin Benoit to a one-year, $7.5MM deal. While Neris will likely have a chance to beat out the 39-year-old Benoit, the Phillies will quietly root for the veteran to win the job and pitch effectively up until they can flip him to a contender in July.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Tony Watson, who had been one of the best setup men in baseball for years, was given a well-deserved promotion to the closer’s role when Melancon was traded to the Nationals in late July. While Watson wasn’t bad, he wasn’t nearly as effective in that role. There has been little buzz, however, about how the Pirates will improve their roster this offseason. In fact, Watson is said to be available on the trade market.

San Francisco Giants – FILLED

Melancon to the Giants was one of the most popular offseason predictions. A seemingly perfect fit doesn’t always come to fruition, however, and the Giants weren’t the only team with heavy interest in the three-time All-Star. But in this instance, the rumors became reality when the 31-year-old Melancon agreed to a four-year, $62MM deal on the first day of the Winter Meetings.

Washington Nationals

Shawn Kelley isn’t a bad option to replace Melancon. Given a chance to close while Jonathan Papelbon was on the disabled list, he was 6-for-8 in save opportunities and had a ridiculous 30 strikeouts and two walks in 16.2 innings. The bigger question might be whether Blake Treinen can capably replace Kelley as the primary setup man.

Regardless, adding one more reliable late-inning arm to the mix can only help. Like the Dodgers, the Nationals have a lot of money invested throughout their roster and extremely high expectations. Failing to solidify their bullpen this offseason could be disastrous.

Free Agent Options

Kenley Jansen: The Marlins are expected to be the most aggressive bidder. If that’s the case, the Dodgers and Nationals won’t have a chance unless Jansen will take less to play for the better team.

Greg Holland: Despite missing all of 2016 recovering from Tommy John surgery, Holland is in a good position with so many teams looking for a closer. His velocity was down in a recent showcase, but he appeared healthy and teams certainly remember how dominant he was prior to his injury. Ideally, he’d be eased in as a setup man. Certain teams might not have that luxury, though.

Neftali Feliz: At age 22, Feliz was an All-Star closer and the AL Rookie of the Year with the Rangers back in 2010. His career was derailed by injuries, however, and he wasn’t close to the same pitcher after returning to health. Until 2016, that is. Not surprisingly, the Pirates were able to bring out the best in the 28-year-old, who posted a 3.52 ERA with excellent peripheral stats (6.7 H/9, 3.5 BB/9, 10.2 K/9) in a setup role.

Brad Ziegler: The 37-year-old sidearmer isn’t the prototypical closer. He gets the job done, though, with an array of deceptive pitches, including an 83-MPH sinker. Last season, he posted a career high 7.7 K/9 with only two homers allowed in 68 innings.

Santiago Casilla: Things didn’t end well with the Giants as Casilla imploded down the stretch. But his long track record of success is difficult to ignore. He’s had a 2.42 ERA and 1.160 WHIP in seven seasons with San Francisco.

Sergio Romo: Romo dominates right-handed hitters and can be vulnerable against lefties, making him a better fit as a setup man. He did have success as a closer, however, from 2012-14 and has a ton of playoff experience.

Jonathan Papelbon: For close to four months in 2016, Papelbon’s performance wasn’t a problem for the first-place Nationals. He had a 2.56 ERA and 19 saves in 21 chances through 32 appearances. But after giving up eight runs over his next five appearances, he was released. While he had interest from other teams later in the season, he chose not to sign due to “his own personal reasons”. It’s unlikely he’ll get anything more than a minor league deal with a contender. It wouldn’t be a huge surprise, though, if he were given a chance to win a closer’s job with a non-contender who can flip him prior to the trade deadline.

Trade Options

David Robertson, White Sox: It’s clear that the White Sox are selling off any player with value and Robertson, despite being owed $25MM over the next two seasons, is a hot name on the trade market. He’s blown seven saves in each of the past two seasons. His walk rate skyrocketed last season while his strikeout rate dipped. Still, he’s got a long track record of success and his numbers, while not nearly as dominant as they’ve been in the past, were still solid.

Alex Colome, Rays: Selling high on Colome after his breakout season isn’t a bad idea in this market. They’ll be smart to find out how desperate the Dodgers and/or Nationals will become if they’re unable to sign Jansen.

Zach Britton, Orioles: It’s unlikely that Orioles executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette is actively shopping Britton, one of the most dominant closer’s in baseball. But he’s admitted that there’s a lot of interest, which comes as no surprise. He should set the price extremely high and not come down. In this market, there’s a chance that a team will be desperate enough to meet his demands.

Brandon Maurer, Padres: Maurer hasn’t been involved in rumors, but all indications are that the Padres are willing to listen on any player. In Maurer’s case, he has three years left of team control, an electric arm and did an effective job as the team’s closer after Rodney was traded.

Nate Jones, White Sox: Robertson has the experience and reputation, but it’s very likely that teams looking for late-inning bullpen help are just as interested, if not more, in Jones. Not only did he have an excellent season (2.29 ERA, 6.1 H/9, 1.9 BB/9, 10.2 K/9), he also has a very team-friendly contract that runs through 2021.

Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson, Athletics: As unpredictable as the A’s can be, they don’t appear to be in position to make big improvements to a team that lost 93 games in 2016. Both Doolittle and Madson should draw interest and the A’s should be willing to move them.

Sam Dyson or Jeremy Jeffress, Rangers: Most playoff contenders aren’t likely to subtract a good arm from their bullpen. But in the Rangers’ case, they have more than one good closer and multiple holes to fill on their roster. It wouldn’t be a huge surprise if they shopped Dyson or Jeffress in order to add a starting pitcher or a hitter.

Yorman Landa Passes Away

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Minor league pitcher Yorman Landa passed away last night, the Twins announced. The cause of death was a car crash in Landa’s native Venezuela, the Pioneer Press’ Mike Berardino writes. Landa’s father was driving and his car struck a fallen tree. Landa was 22.

“The Minnesota Twins are deeply saddened by the heartbreaking loss of Yorman Landa early this morning in Venezuela,” said Twins executive Derek Falvey in a statement. “On behalf of the entire baseball community, we send our sincerest condolences to the Landa family as well as Yorman’s many friends, coaches and teammates.”

The Twins originally signed Landa in 2010. They had recently non-tendered him, but they re-signed him to a minor league deal just this week.

Landa pitched in 2016 in the bullpen for Class A+ Fort Myers, demonstrating control problems but also strikeout ability. He ranked 20th in MLB.com’s list of the Twins’ top 30 prospects, with MLB.com noted his mid-90s fastball and potential to become a big-league setup man.

Post-Winter Meetings Notes: Sale, Sox, Blackmon, Rays, Mets, Phils, Giants, Ross

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Baseball’s Winter Meetings always provides fascinating theater, and this year was no different. There’s quite a lot of information to digest with the meetings wrapped up — and also some interesting reading for those who are curious about how it all goes down. Writing for ESPN.com, Eno Sarris provides a fascinating look at some underappreciated elements of baseball decisionmaking, ranging from the mandates of owners to the frequent lack of understanding that the general public has as to what alternatives organizations realistically have when they decide upon their moves. The increasing complexities of baseball dealing are also covered by ESPN.com’s David Schoenfield, who discusses the impact of the largely ubiquitous utilization of advanced analysis in the game. With virtually all of the thirty MLB organizations employing fleets of sophisticated staffers, he argues, it’s harder to extract value from trades — which may help to explain the risks taken in some of the Winter Meetings’ biggest deals.

With the Winter Meetings in the books, here are some notes on the work that was completed and that remains to be done:

  • On Wednesday, the White Sox shipped ace lefty Chris Sale to the Red Sox in exchange for a heralded foursome of prospects. That swap, and its build-up, dominated the headlines at the Winter Meetings. Boston president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski discussed the process that led to the move in an excellent interview with Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. He not only provided an interesting account of the information gathering and processing that goes on at the Winter Meetings, as teams jockey for position and look to arrange fits on trades and signings, but went into the details on the pursuit of Sale. The sides built off of their prior “preliminary conversations,” and honed in on an agreement late Tuesday night as the sides began to line up on the complementary pieces that would go to Chicago along with the two headlining prospects (Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech). Momentum seemingly began to build as early as Friday, before the meetings kicked off, as Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com explains. It was at that point that White Sox GM Rick Hahn notified Dombrowski that he’d be willing to consider a different sort of return — presumably, top minor leaguers rather than young MLB assets — than had been discussed over the summer. The Nationals and Astros also dangled significant pieces; Hahn notes that “there were similar-type players being offered from other clubs,” leading to “a level of excitement in that room as we debated which was the best path for us.”
  • In the aftermath of the Sale trade, as well as the ensuing swap that sent Adam Eaton to D.C., the White Sox are prepared to part with other notable veterans if they can generate sufficient interest, as Hayes further reports. That could potentially include first baseman Jose Abreu — a former teammate of Moncada’s in Cuba — though it’s fair to wonder whether his market will develop with so much power still available in free agency. It’s also reasonable to expect that the South Siders are willing to listen on Jose Quintana, though there’s no real pressure to move his lengthy and affordable contract. It does stand to reason, though, that shorter-term assets (including Todd Frazier, Melky Cabrera, and David Robertson) will be shopped more heavily.
  • Before pulling the trigger on Eaton, the Nationals at least checked in with the Rockies on center fielder Charlie Blackmon, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). While that obviously won’t be a match at this point, and the Cardinals no longer appear to be a possible suitor after signing Dexter Fowler, it remains to be seen whether Colorado will look hard at a deal involving one of its best players. The team made a notable free-agent splash by adding Ian Desmond, with reports suggesting that he’ll spend time at first base, but it still seems to make sense for the organization to consider addressing other needs — most notably, in the pitching staff — by exploring deals for Blackmon or one of its other left-handed-hitting outfielders. (Last we heard, a trade remains a real possibility; while the team is said to be holding some extension talks with Carlos Gonzalez, those reportedly haven’t progressed, so he too remains a plausible candidate.)
  • For the Rays, there are still a lot of interesting opportunities remaining even after the team took an interesting gamble on injured catcher Wilson Ramos, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. The team’s still-loaded rotation remains an area to watch.  “It’s hard to anticipate timing, it’s hard to really know where all this is going to end up,” said senior VP Chaim Bloom, “but we obviously have a number of talented pitchers in our rotation, and I think we had a lot of conversation on pretty much all of them.” Whatever a trade of a starter might yield remains unknown, but Topkin says that Tampa Bay is looking to add some pop at some point. That could involve waiting to see what “leftovers” remain with plenty of sluggers still available; Topkin even mentions, at least hypothetically, the possibility of a move on a player such as Jose Bautista. Ultimately, said Bloom, there’s a better sense internally as to where things could be headed. “There’s still a lot of dominoes to fall, potentially, with us and certainly around the industry, but the conversation this week was really helpful,” he said. “We got, I think, a much better idea of what may be available to us.”
  • The Mets are still working to tweak their roster after Yoenis Cespedes and Neil Walker decided to return, as Marc Carig of Newsday reports. It seems that the focus remains on finding a taker for outfielder Jay Bruce to clean up the team’s rotation and shed some salary, but Carig suggests that progress has been slower than hoped on that front and GM Sandy Alderson notes that many free-agent outfielders remain unaccounted for. The Mets “laid some groundwork” at the meetings, says Alderson, though it seems that the organization will take its time in making further moves. Carig further reports on possible trade assets that could conceivably be used to find relief pitching. That includes outfielder Brandon Nimmo as well as catchers Kevin Plawecki and Tomas Nido, all of whom were discussed to some extent in recent days.
  • The Winter Meetings weren’t quite as busy for the Phillies, but as Ryan Lawrence of the Philly Voice notes, there’s still plenty time for some moves. GM Matt Klentak noted both that the flurry of moves creates “a ripple effect” and also that there’s plenty of information gathering which can “help you make decisions down the road.” In Philadelphia’s case, there’s “not a lot cooking” at the moment, per Klentak, but with “a lot of dialogue on a lot of different fronts” there’s always the potential for something to come together. Klentak notes that he expects at least one or two of the team’s 40-man spots to turn over between now and the start of Spring Training.
  • Meanwhile, the Giants may largely be done with their winter work, Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area tweets. That being said, San Francisco is interested in adding some pop to its bench mix. The club has inquired on free-agent slugger Mark Reynolds and other “similar players,” per the report.
  • The Cubs took care of their bullpen during the Winter Meetings, but are still eyeing free-agent starter Tyson Ross, according to Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com. At this point, it’s not even clear precisely when Ross will sign, but it’s interesting to note that the defending World Series champs seem to have more than a passing interest in the veteran righty, who is working back from thoracic outlet surgery. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein spoke generally of the idea of signing injured starters, noting that there’s demand for “really talented pitchers” even if they have recently been hurt. “We’ll stay engaged on some of those guys,” he said, “but they’ll have to be just the right talent.”

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/9/16

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • The Astros added infielder Reid Brignac on a minor-league deal, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports on Twitter. His contract includes a spring invite. Brignac, 30, has bounced around quite a bit since his days as a frequent contributor to the Rays earlier in his career, appearing most recently with the Braves. The former top prospect has appeared in each of the last nine major league seasons, but hasn’t cracked 100 plate appearances in a single year since 2011. All told, Brignac owns a .219/.264/.309 batting line over 951 trips to the plate in the majors.

Earlier Moves

  • Southpaw Sean Burnett will head to camp with the Phillies, according to SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). If he can crack the roster, Burnett will receive a $1.25MM salary if and when he pitches in the majors, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter links). The deal also includes $1.75MM in available incentives along with a March 26 opt-out date, per Nicholson-Smith. Burnett, 34, returned to the majors in 2016 with the Nationals after missing time due to injury. He posted a 3.18 ERA with three strikeouts and a walk over 5 2/3 innings across ten appearances in his return to D.C., and figures to have a shot at earning a lefty specialist role in Philadelphia.
  • The Braves have a minor-league deal in place to bring back infielder Emilio Bonifacio, Cotillo tweets. Now 31, Bonifacio has played in the majors in ten consecutive seasons. But his opportunities have dwindled of late, and he spent most of 2016 at Triple-A. In his 471 plate appearances at Gwinnett, Bonifacio slashed a solid .298/.356/.369. He could conceivably challenge for a utility role next spring.
  • Outfielder Junior Lake will join the Red Sox on a minor-league pact, per Cotillo (via Twitter). The 26-year-old, a right-handed hitter, cracked the majors briefly this past season with the Blue Jays and has appeared in each of the past four MLB campaigns. But Lake has seen only 51 games of action since playing an active reserve role for the Cubs in 2013-14. He hit .231/.314/.352 over 318 plate appearances last year at Triple-A.
  • Righty Logan Bawcom is headed to the Padres on a minor-league deal, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. Bawcom has yet to crack the big leagues, but showed well in the upper minors last year in the Dodgers organization. Spending most of his time at Triple-A, the 28-year-old posted 98 innings of 1.93 ERA ball over a dozen starts and 24 relief appearances, with 7.3 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9.
  • The Mariners outrighted lefty Dean Kiekhefer, the club announced. He had recently been designated for assignment. A 22-inning MLB debut in 2016 didn’t go very well, as Kiekhefer pitched to a 5.32 ERA for the Cardinals, but he has posted sub-3.00 earned run averages in each of the past three seasons in the upper minors.
  • Catcher Johnny Monell is heading to Korea, but it’s the KT Wiz and not the NC Dinos who’ll sign him. Cotillo had reported a connection to the Changwon-based Dinos yesterday, but says that the destination changed after that arrangement fell through. (Twitter link.)

Reds Announce Minor-League Signings, Non-Roster Invitations

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The Reds have announced 18 non-roster invitations to MLB camp this spring, as C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. That includes a variety of internal players as well as a few outside additions: southpaw Lucas Luetge along with catchers Rob Brantly and Shawn Zarraga.

Luetge, 29, spent 2016 at Triple-A for the Angels after spending parts of four seasons in the majors with the Mariners. He ended the campaign with 55 2/3 innings of 4.85 ERA pitching. Though he managed a healthy 9.4 K/9, Luetge continued to issue a few too many free passes (4.7 BB/9).

The 27-year-old Brantly has seen action in three major league seasons, hitting .225/.286/.317 over 392 plate appearances. At Triple-A with the Mariners last year, he slashed .244/.268/.432 over 315 trips to the plate. He also chipped in a personal-best 14 long balls.

Zarraga, also 27, will also join the group of backstops hoping to establish a place in the pecking order. He reached base at a useful .384 clip in 99 Double-A plate appearances with the Dodgers in 2016, but struggled with the bat in limited action at the highest level of the minors. Zarraga is still looking for his first crack at the majors.

Other players receiving big league invites include, on the position-player side, catcher Chad Wallach, infielders Brandon Dixon, Tony Renda (who was recently outrighted), and Zach Vincej, utilitymen Hernan Iribarren (who will stay with Cincinnati after also being outrighted) and Patrick Kivlehan (claimed and then outrighted in October), as well as outfielders Sebastian Elizalde and Gabriel Guerrero (who was claimed, non-tendered, and then re-signed to a minors deal). Among pitchers, lefties Ismael Guillon and Nick Routt are joined by righties Alejandro Chacin, Jimmy Herget, Tyler Mahle, Evan Mitchell, Kevin Shackelford, and — perhaps most intriguingly — just-signed Cuban hurler Vladimir Gutierrez.

Phillies To Sign Daniel Nava

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The Phillies have agreed to a minor-league deal with outfielder Daniel Nava, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports on Twitter. Nava, 33, spent last year with the Angels and (briefly) the Royals.

It has been some time since Nava was a productive major leaguer. He put up a roughly league-average batting line in 2014 with the Red Sox, one year after his breakout 2013 campaign, but owns a modest .208/.307/.268 slash in his 314 plate appearances since that time. Nava is a switch-hitter who is historically much better against right-handed pitching.

While the rebuilding Phillies have added one likely corner outfield piece in Howie Kendrick, and continue to feature Odubel Herrera up the middle, there’s still ample uncertainty in the outfield. Nava will likely join the hunt for work in a platoon or true bench role along with a number of other players — including both prospects and other veterans brought in from outside the organization.

As things stand, younger corner outfield possibilities include right-handed hitters Aaron Altherr and Tyler Goeddel as well as the switch-hitting Roman Quinn. There are a few southpaw-swinging outfield candidates, too, including highly regarded prospects Nick Williams and Dylan Cozens, but it’s not clear whether they’ll be deemed ready for a major role out of the gates.

Orioles Targeting Welington Castillo

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The Orioles’ preferred option behind the plate is free-agent backstop Welington Castillo, according to a report from Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com. Interest had previously been reported, and Robert Murray of Fan Rag suggested yesterday that there was some momentum building towards a deal.

Baltimore has continued to discuss a possible multi-year contract with Castillo’s representatives since the Winter Meetings wrapped up yesterday, Connolly writes. There’s some “optimism” on the team’s part, though talks remain “firmly in the discussion phase” at this time.

Castillo is one of several names still under consideration for the O’s, but seems to have emerged as the favorite. Incumbent Matt Wieters and veterans Nick Hundley and Chris Iannetta are other options that appear still to be possibilities as Baltimore seeks a primary backstop to pair with Caleb Joseph.

Castillo, 29, was a somewhat surprising addition to the market after he was non-tendered by the Diamondbacks. Given the fact that he seems to be lining up for a contract that covers two or more years, though, that may turn out to have been a blessing (depending upon what guarantee he is able to command, at least). Castillo was projected to earn $5.9MM in his final season of arb eligibility.

Castillo is regarded as a bat-first catcher, with some real questions about his glovework — in the framing department, in particular. But the bat does play quite nicely, especially when one considers the dearth of offensive output from receivers leaguewide. Since joining the DBacks in the middle of the 2015 season, Castillo has slashed .261/.320/.452 and driven 31 home runs over 760 plate appearances.

Dodgers Outright Charlie Culberson

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The Dodgers have outrighted utilityman Charlie Culberson, as J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group tweets. With the move, Los Angeles has one opening on its 40-man roster.

Culberson, 27, saw only 68 plate appearances last year with the Dodgers, hitting .299/.309/.388 with a single home run. But he made that dinger count: it was the blow that secured the NL West crown for the team. Culberson is capable of playing all over the diamond, and that versatility earned him a spot on the Dodgers’ NLDS roster in 2016.

Los Angeles had recently agreed to a $550K deal with Culberson, as Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweeted. He would be entitled to reject the outright assignment, having previously been outrighted by the Rockies, though that would mean sacrificing the guarantee. Presumably, this turn of events was largely foreseen by both player and team at the time that the new contract was agreed to.

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