Marlins, Carlos Corporan Agree To Minor League Deal
The Marlins and catcher Carlos Corporan have agreed to terms on a minor league contract, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo. The 32-year-old MDR Sports Management client had recently been released from a minors pact with the Rays, where he’d batted .200/.246/.308 in 70 plate appearances.
Corporan has quite a bit of Major League experience under his belt, having spent parts of six seasons in the big leagues. He’s spent time with the Brewers, Astros and, most recently, the Rangers, combining to bat .218/.280/.342 in 780 trips to the plate as a Major Leaguer. Behind the plate, he’s caught 23 percent of attempted base thieves over the course of his career — a number that improves to 25.6 percent if one is willing to overlook some throwing struggles he had in his first extended look at the big league level back in 2011. He drew strong framing marks from Baseball Prospectus from 2011-14 but turned in slightly below-average numbers in that regard last season and again in his limited time at Triple-A this season.
Corporan will provide the Fish with some depth and figures to head to Triple-A, where Tomas Telis (acquired from the Rangers in exchange for Sam Dyson last summer) and Adrian Nieto have split catching duties. While Telis has hit exceptionally well at the minor league level this season (.361/.430/.470), Nieto has batted .116/.244/.116 after struggling at the Double-A level last season. In the Majors, the Marlins have the quietly solid J.T. Realmuto handling the bulk of the work behind the dish. Veteran Jeff Mathis is his primary backup, though the 33-year-old is hitting just .152/.176/.212 in 34 plate appearances this season.
Rays Designate Jake Goebbert
The Rays have designated first baseman/outfielder Jake Goebbert for assignment, as Roger Mooney reports on Twitter. Righty Ryan Garton was called up, creating the need for a 40-man spot, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweeted earlier.
Goebbert, 28, has seen just one major league stint in his career, slashing .218/.313/.317 in 115 plate appearances with the Padres in 2014. But he’s shown a high-OBP approach in the upper minors, making him a popular name on the waiver wire — which is how Tampa Bay grabbed him earlier in the year from the Pirates. Goebbert has struggled thus far at Triple-A Durham, though, with a meager .163/.258/.221 batting line in his 97 plate appearances.
The 26-year-old Garton earned his first big league promotion with a strong campaign in his first go at Triple-A. He’s shown improved command and punch-out ability in recording 11.5 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9. Over 22 2/3 frames, Garton owns a 2.38 ERA.
Braves Claim Dario Alvarez
The Braves have claimed southpaw Dario Alvarez off waivers from the Mets, Adam Rubin of ESPN.com reports on Twitter. Alvarez had recently been designated for assignment.
The 27-year-old has been roughed up in limited MLB action over the last two years. He’s scuffled this year at Triple-A, too, though Alvarez has recorded 27 strikeouts against ten walks in his 15 1/3 innings and has posted better results in the past.
AL East Notes: Travis, Sox Pen, Sanchez
Second baseman Devon Travis is on his way back up to the Blue Jays, according to Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). He’ll finally make it back from shoulder issues that have kept him away from the club since late last July. Travis impressed in his first 239 big league plate appearances, putting up a .304/.361/.498 slash with eight home runs. Even if he can’t keep up that pace, there’s every hope that he’ll significantly upgrade a unit that owns one of the league’s least productive batting lines.
Here are a few more notes from the AL East:
- The loss of Carson Smith leaves the Red Sox in need of an additional quality pen arm, Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald writes. That’s not to say there’s any particular rush to the trade market, which president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski made clear would not be the case. But Drellich argues that the organization needs to begin lining up targets for the summer. Meanwhile, WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford takes a look at a few possibilities who could be available.
- Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez suffered what GM Brian Cashman is calling a “cracked thumb” in last night’s action, Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre beat writer Shane Hennigan tweets. The 23-year-old is one of the game’s most highly-regarded backstop prospects, and seemed ready for a full shot at the majors after opening the year with a .290/.333/.529 slash in 147 plate appearances. Of course, the Yankees are all set at the big league level for the time being. The club will hope that the injury won’t take too big a chunk out of Sanchez’s season, but his outlook remains unclear at present.
Angels Designate Lucas Luetge, Recall Kaleb Cowart
The Angels have announced that southpaw Lucas Luetge was designated for assignment. His roster spot will go to third baseman Kaleb Cowart.
Luetge, 29, did not appear for the Halos upon his recent call-up. He’s been pitching at Triple-A for most of the year, contributing 19 1/3 innings of 2.33 ERA ball with 7.9 K/9 against 4.7 BB/9. The lefty has previously spent time in the Mariners pen and owns a 4.35 earned run average in 89 total big league frames.
As for Cowart, this represents the second big league stint for a former top prospect. He didn’t do much with his first opportunity, though it was short-lived. Over his 166 plate appearances this year at Triple-A, Cowart owns a .303/.352/.454 batting line with a pair of home runs and three stolen bases.
Cardinals Acquire Jose Martinez
The Cardinals have acquired outfielder Jose Martinez from the Royals, per an announcement from the St. Louis club. Cash considerations will go back to Kansas City in the deal.
Martinez, 27, was designated recently. He’s a ten-year minor-league veteran who has yet to crack the majors. In parts of two seasons at Triple-A, Martinez owns a productive .359/.431/.525 batting line over 556 plate appearances. He hasn’t quite maintained the pace he set last year at Omaha, but will nevertheless provide the Cards some outfield depth in the upper levels of their system.
Alexei Bell, Yordanis Linares Declared Free Agents
Two interesting Cuban free agents, outfielders Alexei Bell and Yordanis Linares, have officially been declared free agents, according to MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter). They’ll be able to sign at any point, though Linares will be subject to international signing restrictions.
Bell, 32, has opened play in Mexico with one long ball, six hits, and three walks against a lone strikeout in 23 plate appearances. He’s put up strong numbers in a lengthy career in Cuba, and put on several recent showcases, but his market outlook remains unclear. While Bell has shown home run power at times, Ben Badler of Baseball America says that his calling card is impeccable plate discipline and a big arm.
Linares, meanwhile, is 27 years of age but has a minimal track record in Serie Nacional. That being said, it’s a pretty good one: he’s slashed .312/.387/.452 with 15 home runs over 767 plate appearances. As Badler explains, Linares is a small-framed player who is capable of playing center field. He’s expected to need time in the minors upon signing.
The pair of outfielders are part of an increasingly varied class of Cuban players in various stages of moving toward the majors. In particular, numerous younger talents have departed the island nation in search of big league opportunity, throwing yet more intrigue into an already complicated set of July 2 signing period factors. While Bell can sign just like any other free agent, teams considering Linares will need to weigh his impact on their other international spending.
Poll: What Should The Mets Do With Matt Harvey?
Matt Harvey showed improved velocity early in his outing last night, but his fastball faded and he was again hammered as batters got second and third looks. The Mets now face a tough call on their former ace.
Many columnists are calling for Harvey to be removed from the rotation, at least temporarily. (See, for example, here and here.) With Logan Verrett on hand, the club certainly has a viable fill-in.
Indeed, the Mets appear to be considering some kind of move, even if they aren’t ready to reach a decision. “Right now we’ve got to think what’s not just best for Matt, but what’s best for us moving forward at the moment,” said skipper Terry Collins (via ESPN.com’s Adam Rubin). “There’s a lot of things to consider.”
As Collins hints, the devil is often in the details. In this case, the particular move to be made isn’t clear. Harvey has maintained that he is healthy, and no apparent injury issues have been reported. But to send him to the minors otherwise would require passing him through optional assignment waivers. They are revocable, and usually are easy to secure, but teams also don’t generally seek to send down assets like Harvey. Keeping him at the major league level while he’s figuring things out, though, would mean either using him out of the bullpen or wasting a valuable roster spot.
*Note: since this post was published, Collins has stated that Harvey will make his next starter, as Mike Puma of the New York Post was among those to tweet.
It’s always interesting to take the temperature of MLBTR readers on matters like this one. If you were sitting in Sandy Alderson’s GM seat, how would you handle Harvey? (Link for mobile users.)
How Should The Mets Handle Matt Harvey?
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Skip a start ... see if a little time off helps 26% (2,987)
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15-day DL ... even if it requires some creativity 22% (2,517)
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Keep him in the rotation ... quit overreacting! 18% (2,088)
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Option him ... and hope he doesn't take it too hard 13% (1,448)
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Trade him ... for whatever you can get? 12% (1,414)
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Move him to the bullpen ... he's good first time through 9% (1,060)
Total votes: 11,514
Carson Smith Undergoes Tommy John Surgery
10:50pm: Smith had the operation earlier today, tweets Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald.
9:21am: Red Sox reliever Carson Smith will require season-ending Tommy John surgery, the club has announced. It’s a big blow for Boston and the young reliever, who was acquired from the Mariners over the winter.
Smith, 26, had missed the start of the season with what was diagnosed as a flexor strain, but returned to throw 2 2/3 scoreless frames for the club. That was all, though, as he experienced elbow discomfort and was soon forced back to the disabled list. Things ultimately turned out worse than had been hoped, as a visit to Dr. David Altchek resulted in a decision to replace Smith’s ulnar collateral ligament.
Boston shipped sturdy left-handed starter Wade Miley and right-hander Jonathan Aro to Seattle to add Smith and fellow southpaw Roenis Elias, in hopes that Smith provide another high-end option at the back of the ‘pen after a breakout 2015 campaign. At the time, there was no particular reason to believe that he was at much greater risk than any other pitcher. The recent study of MLBTR contributor Bradley Woodrum put Smith at only a slightly above-average statistical risk of needing a TJ procedure.
Losing Smith for the duration of this season, and at least a good portion of next, is obviously disappointing. But it’s still quite possible for Boston to redeem value on the swap. Smith entered this season with just over one year of MLB service, so he can be kept at the league minimum next year, will cost just a shade more in 2018, and can be controlled through 2020.
Smith was supposed to join Craig Kimbrel, Koji Uehara, and Junichi Tazawa at the back of a stacked Red Sox pen. The unit still looks like a good one, and that late-inning trio is better than most, but it’s certainly possible to imagine Boston looking at relief options as the trade deadline rolls around.
Dodgers Notes: Lazarito, Fernandez, Urias, Van Slyke, Guerrero
The Dodgers had a “big crew” on hand today for a showcase in the Dominican Republic where second baseman Jose Miguel Fernandez and outfielder Lazaro Armenteros auditioned for teams, tweets Ben Badler of Baseball America. The Dodgers, of course, have been the most prominent presence on the international market during the current signing period. If there’s any genuine interest in “Lazarito,” they’d need to get a deal with him completed prior to June 15, as that date signals the end of the current international signing period, and the Dodgers won’t be allowed to sign a player for more than $300K in the 2016-17 period (which begins on July 2) due to their lavish expenditures over the past 10 months. Fernandez, however, is exempt from bonus pools and, as such, can sign for any amount. Both players have been prominently linked to the division-rival Padres in recent months, with Badler reporting in early March that San Diego was the favorite to sign Lazarito. It should be noted as well, though, that Badler also downplayed the 16-year-old’s upside, writing that he’s been the beneficiary of “extreme sensationalism” in some media reports. As of that writing, Badler rated Armenteros 11th among Cuban prospects available to MLB clubs.
A few more notes on the Dodgers…
- While many Dodgers fans are wondering when Julio Urias will arrive on the scene, Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times writes that Urias’ agent, Scott Boras, is surprisingly supportive of the Dodgers’ decision not to rush him to the Majors. Boras says that he is “aligned” with the Dodgers in terms of Urias’ timeline. “We understand we have a great young talent,” said Boras. Hernandez writes that the plan for Urias is to only see a “modest” increase from his career-high of 87 1/3 innings this season. Hernandez opines that rather than rush Urias to the big league bullpen, the Dodgers would be better served to allow him to continue to develop as a starter, with an eye towards next year’s rotation. Never one to pass up the opportunity to make some form of statement, Boras used Urias as an example of why the upcoming wave of CBA negotiations should result in rosters expanding to 26 players. “You ideally want to bring a guy to the big leagues and have him throw 120, 130 or 140 innings, but then you have to make up 50 or 60 innings,” he said. “Having that extra pitcher throughout that whole year would allow them to do that.”
- Outfielder Scott Van Slyke, who has appeared in just four games with the Dodgers this season due to a lower back injury, could return to the team by June 3-4, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (via MLB.com’s Chad Thornburg). In the meantime, the Dodgers plan to continue carrying an extra reliever and going with a short, four-man bench. As Roberts explained, maintaining “flexibility of different guys in the ‘pen is more of a priority” than having an additional bat off the bench at this time.
- Infielder/outfielder Alex Guerrero is currently on a minor league rehab assignment, and he told J.P. Hoornstra of the L.A. Daily News last week that he thinks he can help the Dodgers at the big league level once healthy. That type of talk is expected from most players, but it’s particularly notable in the case of Guerrero, who has a clause in his contract that allows him to refuse to be optioned to the minors. Guerrero entered tonight’s contest hitting just .152/.188/.239 on said rehab assignment (he did pick up his first hit with the team’s Double-A affiliate tonight), and he’ll give the Dodgers’ front office a decision when his rehab window is up. Guerrero has a $5MM salary this season (the $10MM signing bonus on his $28MM contract was reportedly paid up front) and will earn the same in 2017, though a clause in his deal allows him to become a free agent at the end of a season in which he’s traded. The 29-year-old has been a disappointment thus far in the contract, hitting just .224/.251/.414 in 243 plate appearances while displaying questionable defensive skills.