MLBTR Live Chat: 4/14/16
Click here to read a transcript of today’s live chat with host Jeff Todd.
Justin Masterson, Pirates Agree To Minor League Deal
The Pirates and right-hander Justin Masterson have agreed to a minor league contract, reports MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (on Twitter). The Rowley Sports Management client underwent arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder last September and didn’t sign in the offseason while rehabbing from the injury.
Masterson, who turned 31 last month, tallied just 59 1/3 innings in his return to the Red Sox last season after signing a one-year deal over the winter. That marked Masterson’s second consecutive injury-plagued season resulting in an ERA north of 5.50. Over the past two seasons, Masterson has logged a 5.79 ERA in 188 innings while dealing with knee problems and the aforementioned shoulder troubles.
Prior to those injuries, though, Masterson was an excellent and rather underrated contributor to the Indians’ rotation. From 2011-13, Masterson logged a 3.86 ERA with 7.5 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 and averaged 205 innings per season. Two of those years were particularly excellent, with Masterson turning in a sub-3.50 ERA each season. The hard-throwing side-armer is known for a power sinker which, when at its best, can both induce grounders and lead to quite a few missed bats. Masterson boasts a career ground-ball rate of 56.3 percent, and his ability to keep the ball on the ground undoubtedly held some appeal to the Bucs, who have had a good deal of success in recent years in revitalizing ground-ball pitchers whose stock is at a low point. It’s not clear at this time when Masterson will be ready to get into a big league game, but he’ll give the Buccos some insurance behind Gerrit Cole, Francisco Liriano, Jon Niese, Jeff Locke and Juan Nicasio. Veteran right-hander Ryan Vogelsong, currently in the bullpen, also represents a rotation option for manager Clint Hurdle.
Red Sox Notes: Vazquez, Sandoval, Contracts
The Red Sox, who optioned outfielder Rusney Castillo to Triple-A Pawtucket following last night’s win over the Orioles, will recall catcher Christian Vazquez from his rehab assignment at Triple-A Pawtucket tonight, reports the Boston Herald’s Evan Drellich (Twitter link). Everyday catcher Blake Swihart hasn’t hit much and, perhaps more troublesomely, has demonstrated a few defensive hiccups, including missed pop-ups and some difficulty keeping the ball in front of him. (Swihart has allowed three passed balls on the young season.) The Red Sox, for the time being, seem poised to carry three catchers on the roster with Vazquez, Swihart and Ryan Hanigan, though it’s hard to envision that as a long-term arrangement. The 25-year-old Vazquez is recovering from Tommy John surgery that was performed on him last spring and played in five games at Triple-A prior to his promotion.
Here’s more on the Red Sox…
- Yahoo’s Jeff Passan writes that the Red Sox could quickly look for a way to cut ties with Pablo Sandoval, who was placed on the DL with a somewhat dubious shoulder strain. As Passan notes, the Red Sox opted not to even bother performing an MRI on Sandoval — a test that would be standard in evaluating anything other than a catastrophic injury. Sources tell Passan that Sandoval only wants to remain in Boston if he’s able to play every day, but there’s no way the Sox will run him out there on a daily basis at this point given his struggles at the plate (in 2015 and in Spring Training), his rapidly deteriorating defensive skills and questions about his conditioning. Despite persistent speculation about a Sandoval-for-James Shields swap (which frankly makes no sense for San Diego), the Padres have cooled on Sandoval since pursuing him as a free agent in the 2014-15 offseason, Passan hears. The only way the Sox would give Sandoval regular time, Passan writes, would be if he loses weight and others in their lineup struggle. However, he can’t reestablish even a modicum of trade value without playing, creating something of a catch-22 in Boston.
- The Red Sox continue to be haunted by a series of deals from the second half of 2014, writes the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, who looks back at a series of now-ill-fated moves that began with the July 31 trades of Jon Lester for Yoenis Cespedes and John Lackey for Allen Craig and Joe Kelly. Less than a month later, the Sox signed Castillo to a seven-year, $72.5MM deal, and in late November they announced the signings of Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez on the same day. Speier writes that the series of transactions helps to create a two-fold legacy for departed GM Ben Cherington, who helped the club to a 2013 World Series but has seen poor returns on nearly all transactions made from that point forth. However, Cherington’s unwillingness to deal prospects and moves to acquire young talent also left the club with a base of Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley, Brock Holt, Swihart, Vazquez, Eduardo Rodriguez and others. And, that strong base makes it possible for the club to survive some of the more high-profile missteps (Sandoval, Castillo, etc.).
Minor MLB Transactions: 4/14/16
Here are Thursday’s minor moves and outright assignments from around the league…
- Right-handed reliever Jose Ramirez has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Gwinnett by the Braves, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com (Twitter link). The 26-year-old Ramirez was designated for assignment earlier in the week by Atlanta after an ugly start to the season. The hard-throwing righty was acquired from the Mariners in a minor offseason trade that sent Ryne Harper to Seattle in return. In addition to a hard fastball, Ramirez is said to have a plus changeup which, during his time as a Yankees prospect, Baseball America called “at least a 60” on the 20-80 scouting scale. However, his minor league numbers have never lined up with his raw stuff, and Ramirez has also struggled to remain healthy as well. He’ll try to refine his control at the Triple-A level for the time being.
Twins Sign David Murphy To Minors Deal
11:17am: Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets that Murphy’s contract comes with a $1.15MM base salary in the Majors.
11:08am: Twins director of communications and player relations Dustin Morse has announced the signing, adding that Murphy will be assigned to Triple-A Rochester.
11:01am: The Twins have agreed to a minor league contract with veteran outfielder David Murphy, reports La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (links to Twitter). The 34-year-old Murphy was in camp with the Red Sox on a minor league contract and didn’t make the club. He’s reportedly been waiting for a big league offer and weighing retirement over reporting to the minors, but Neal adds that it sounds like Murphy won’t be in the minors long with the struggling Twins. That means one of Eddie Rosario, Byron Buxton or Miguel Sano is on the hot seat in terms of his starting job, per Neal.
Minnesota entered the season with a promising trio of outfielders, but each of Rosario, Buxton and Sano has struggled tremendously this season. Buxton has struck out in half of his plate appearances, whereas Sano is at 43 percent and Rosario has punched out in 36 percent of his trips to the plate. Buxton would seem the most logical choice to get some time in the minors, as he’s the only one of the three that hasn’t experience big league success yet. Were that to play out, Rosario or young Max Kepler could see some time in center field, though Kepler himself is a highly touted but untested prospect.
Clearly, this outcome wasn’t one that the Twins had envisioned entering the season. Minnesota surprised most pundits with an 83-win season that saw the club still alive in the hunt for the AL’s second Wild Card spot right up until the final series of the regular season. However, the Twins have stunningly yet to win a game in 2016 despite a rotation that ranks 10th in the Majors with a 3.38 ERA. Minnesota has allowed four or fewer runs in all but one game this season, but they’ve also yet to score more than three runs in a single contest. The offense has unquestionably been the team’s downfall, and Murphy will be relied upon to give better at-bats than some of the club’s young talent that has struggled so badly to make contact.
Murphy split the 2015 season between the Indians and Angels, batting a combined .283/.318/.421 in 391 plate appearances. Those numbers are more or less commensurate with Murphy’s career .274/.333/.432 batting line, though it should be noted that he’s best paired with a platoon partner, as Murphy’s lifetime OPS against lefties (.655) is dwarfed by his mark against right-handed pitching (.795).
Marlins Claim Eric Jokisch From Cubs, Designate Scott McGough
The Marlins announced this morning that they have claimed left-hander Eric Jokisch off waivers from the Cubs and optioned him to Triple-A New Orleans. In order to clear a spot for Jokisch on the 40-man roster, the Marlins have designated right-hander Scott McGough for assignment.
Jokisch, 26, was the Cubs’ 11th-round pick back in 2010 and made a brief appearance in the Majors in 2014, tallying 14 1/3 innings with a 1.88 ERA and a 10-to-4 K/BB ratio. Baseball America rated Jokisch as Chicago’s No. 22 prospect following that 2014 campaign, though he fell off that list this past offseason following a 4.37 ERA with 5.0 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 70 Triple-A innings. The Marlins currently have veterans Craig Breslow and Chris Narveson as the left-handed options in manager Don Mattingly’s bullpen, as workhorse lefty Mike Dunn is battling a forearm issue and recently suffered a setback. Jokisch gives the club another option on the 40-man roster should the need for more left-handed relief arise.
As for McGough, the 26-year-old debuted with the Marlins last season but yielded seven runs in 6 2/3 innings of work. Miami originally acquired him alongside right-hander Nathan Eovaldi in the 2012 trade that sent Hanley Ramirez and Randy Choate to the Dodgers. McGough missed the 2014 season due to Tommy John surgery and returned to the mound last season, working to a combined 1.93 ERA across Class-A Advanced, Double-A and Triple-A in the minors. He averaged 5.3 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9 in that time to go along with a 50.75 percent ground-ball rate, via MLBfarm.com.
Phillies Reliever Daniel Stumpf Receives 80-Game PED Suspension
Phillies left-hander Daniel Stumpf, a Rule 5 pick out of the Royals organization, has been suspended for 80 games after testing positive for a banned substance (dehydrochlormethyltestosterone), Major League Baseball announced today. The Phillies have announced that left-hander Elvis Araujo has been recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to take Stumpf’s place on the 25-man roster.
Stumpf, 25, is one of two Rule 5 picks to make the Phillies club out of Spring Training this season, joining former Rays outfielder Tyler Goeddel. Stumpf had a solid Spring Training, pitching to a 3.65 ERA with a 14-to-4 K/BB ratio in 13 2/3 innings. He struggled mightily in his MLB debut this year, yielding three runs without recording an out, but he’s appeared in a pair of games since that time and retired the two batters he’s been asked to face. Last season, in 70 2/3 innings at the Double-A level, Stumpf logged a 3.57 ERA with 9.7 K/9 against 4.0 BB/9.
The Phillies will still be able to control the rights to their Rule 5 selection when he returns from the suspension, if they choose. Last year, we saw a pair of Rule 5 picks — David Rollins (Mariners) and Andrew McKirahan (Braves, via waivers from Marlins) — each receive 80-game suspensions but stick with their new organizations regardless. The team has issued a press release with the following statement on the matter: “The Phillies support Major League Baseball’s Joint Prevention and Treatment Program and are disappointed to hear today’s news of Daniel’s violation.”
Giants, Alex Torres Agree To Minor League Deal
The Giants have agreed to a deal with left-handed reliever Alex Torres, reports Michael Mayer of Metsmerized Online (Twitter link). It’s a minor league contract, MLBTR has learned.
Torres, 28, spent the 2015 campaign with the Mets after coming over from the Padres in a Spring Training trade. He worked to a 3.15 ERA and struck out 35 batters in 34 1/3 innings of work, but he also averaged 6.8 walks per nine innings and was largely ineffective against left-handed batters, who hit .268/.406/.393 against Torres in 69 plate appearances. Despite a strong ERA, Torres was designated for assignment on Aug. 7 when the Mets acquired Eric O’Flaherty and subsequently outrighted to Triple-A Las Vegas. This offseason, he signed a minor league deal with the Braves, but he didn’t make the club after allowing four earned runs on six hits and five walks with seven strikeouts in eight spring innings.
The 2015 campaign marked the second straight season in which Torres had struggled considerably more against left-handed opponents than against righties, but he was outstanding against both in 2013 with the Rays. The Giants will hope that Torres can rediscover that form, though for the time being he’ll serve as a depth piece in the upper minors. Javier Lopez and Josh Osich are the club’s primary left-handed relievers. Those are the only two left-handed relievers on the club’s 40-man roster, though lefty Ty Blach is in the Triple-A rotation and could conceivably be an option as well.
Red Sox Option Rusney Castillo
The Red Sox announced after tonight’s game that outfielder Rusney Castillo has been optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket. No corresponding move has been made at this time, though manager John Farrell told reporters, including the Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato (Twitter link), that the club is happy with its outfield depth and won’t necessarily feel the need to replace Castillo with another outfield option.
Players being optioned to Triple-A don’t typically get this type of mention at MLBTR, but it’s also not every day that a player who is owed more than $56MM over the next five seasons is sent to the minor leagues. The move, though, isn’t necessarily a surprise when looking at the manner in which Castillo has been deployed thus far. Boston awarded Brock Holt the everyday nod in left field for the team this season, and with Chris Young serving as a platoon option for Holt, Castillo has essentially been relegated to an extremely well-compensated fifth outfielder. He’s appeared in just one game all season, collecting a mere four plate appearances.
The Sox undoubtedly would prefer that Castillo receive some regular at-bats, and clearly the feeling is that the best place for him to do so at this time is not at the Major League level. The 28-year-old Castillo struggled in limited exposure to big league pitching last season, batting .253/.288/.359 in 289 plate appearances, and a .183/.246/.200 showing in 22 Spring Training games didn’t do him any favors in terms of showing the club that he was ready for a major role in 2016. Castillo did post solid, if unspectacular numbers with Pawtucket last season, batting .282/.337/.385 in 172 PAs. The hope for the Sox will be that he can tap into some of the potential that prompted the former regime to sign him to a seven-year, $72.5MM contract in the first place.
While the entire scenario figures to be privately frustrating for Castillo, he appears to be taking an optimistic approach to the demotion, telling the Herald’s Evan Drellich: “I look at it as an opportunity to play every day and get better. I’m excited at the opportunity to start every day, which is what I’ve always wanted to do.”
Castillo’s option marks today’s second notable move involving a player on a largely disappointing contract with the Red Sox. Earlier this afternoon, Boston announced that Pablo Sandoval has been placed on the disabled list with a shoulder strain. No timetable was given for Sandoval’s return.
NL Central Notes: Diaz, Kang, Cards, Hazelbaker, Cubs
The Pirates have shut down top catching prospect Elias Diaz due to concern over lingering soreness in his right elbow, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Diaz is seeking “multiple opinions” on the injury, but as Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets, there’s concern about structural damage. The 25-year-old Diaz spent last season at Triple-A Indianapolis, where he batted .271/.330/.382 in 363 plate appearances. Baseball America, MLB.com and Keith Law of ESPN rank Diaz as the Pirates’ No. 10, No. 8 and No. 14 prospect, respectively. Each of the scouting reports notes that his defensive prowess gives him a high floor, but his bat, too, has come around recently and given him a chance to be an everyday catcher at the Major League level.
More from the NL Central…
- There’s better news on injured Pirates infielder Jung Ho Kang, as MLB.com’s Adam Berry tweets. Kang has been cleared to play extended Spring Training games without any restrictions or limitations. He’s played five innings on consecutive days to this point but can now take his progress another step further. Kang is recovering from torn ligaments in his knee suffered late in the 2015 campaign when he was injured on a takeout slide by then-Cubs utilityman Chris Coghlan.
- Turning to another Diaz within the NL Central, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch writes that the strong early play of Aledmys Diaz has probably taken away some playing time from Spring Training signee Ruben Tejada, who is nearing his regular season Cardinals debut after straining his left quadriceps in the team’s Grapefruit League finale. “We signed Ruben to give us depth,” GM John Mozeliak tells Langosch. “One of the things we wanted to do was allow Diaz to play. At the time, the thinking was to give him at-bats at Memphis and let him continue to grow. Well, guess what? That didn’t happen. He had to come here and now he’s getting a chance to play at the Major League level and he’s taking full advantage of that.”
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports spoke to Mozeliak, Cardinals outfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker and agent Joe Bick (who represents Hazelbaker) about the 28-year-old’s improbable journey from being released by the Dodgers in May 2015 to being one of the biggest stories of the early 2016 season. While Hazelbaker, who entered play today 10-for-19 with two homers and two steals, is of course due to come back down to Earth, he did make some notable adjustments to his swing mechanics upon signing a minors deal with St. Louis last season, which may have contributed to the best minor league numbers of his career. Hazelbaker was a minor league free agent at season’s end and received quite a few offers, and Mozeliak admits that the club gambled somewhat by not promising him the 40-man roster spot Hazelbaker and Bick sought. The Cards did offer him a hefty minor league salary, and injuries to Tejada and Tommy Pham created an opportunity on the big league roster. After thinking his career could be over last May, Hazelbaker says he has a vastly different outlook on the game. “I treat every game like it’s my last,” says Hazelbaker. “The last diving catch I’m going to have, the last flyball, the last stolen base or at-bat … that’s kind of how I go about it now.”
- Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and his staff could have assembled one of the most disciplined teams ever, writes Fangraphs’ August Fagerstrom. While these Cubs won’t walk as much as some clubs did during higher-offensive eras like the late 90s and early 2000s, walks in today’s game are exponentially harder to come by. Fagerstrom looks at the Cubs’ early walk rate and uses ZiPS and Steamer projections relative to those numbers for the rest of the league to note that the Cubs are three standard deviations above the mean and are as far from the second-place team (Oakland) as that team is from the 11th-place team. Wearing pitchers down with a disciplined approach has long been a trademark of Epstein clubs, Fagerstrom notes, and this year’s team is no exception.