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Archives for January 2017

White Sox To Sign Peter Bourjos

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JAN. 30: Bourjos will earn $1.35MM if he makes the big league roster, tweets FanRag’s Jon Heyman.

JAN. 27: The White Sox have agreed to a minor-league deal with outfielder Peter Bourjos, per Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). He’ll receive an invitation to MLB camp in the agreement.

Bourjos, 29, figures to have a solid shot earning at least a share in a platoon arrangement in center for the rebuilding South Siders. As things stand, the organization’s depth chart is loaded with unproven options such as Charlie Tilson, Leury Garcia, Jacob May, and Adam Engel.

Last year, the Phillies claimed Bourjos off waivers and installed him as the semi-regular right fielder. He started off with an abysmal first two months at the plate, resulting in a drop in playing time. Bourjos came roaring back with a monster June, then fell back to his typical levels for the second half of the year. At the end of the roller coaster, he was right back where he started, with a .251/.292/.389 batting line that is fairly reflective of his career work (.243/.300/.382).

Though his bat is obviously underwhelming, the speedy Bourjos has always generated value through other means. He typically rates well on the bases, though he doesn’t steal often, and shows good range in the outfield. Though it has been a while since he generated top-end marks from defensive metrics, Bourjos is generally viewed as an asset in the field and has extensive experience up the middle.

Blue Jays Sign Lucas Harrell To Minor League Deal

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The Blue Jays announced that they’ve signed right-hander Lucas Harrell to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training. Harrell is represented by Frontline.

[Related: Updated Toronto Blue Jays Depth Chart]

The 31-year-old Harrell returned to the Majors in 2016 after spending the 2015 season with the LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization. Last year, after inking a minor league contract with Atlanta, Harrell reemerged in the Majors and tossed 47 innings of 4.21 ERA ball with 6.9 K/9, 4.8 BB/9 and a 44.3 percent ground-ball rate in nine starts between the Braves and Rangers.

Harrell’s best season came with the 2012 Astros, when he hurled 193 2/3 innings of 3.76 ERA ball and averaged 6.5 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9 to go along with a sensational 57.2 percent ground-ball rate. He’s lost about a mile on his fastball since that time, however, and his ground-ball tendencies last season were clearly diminished.

Toronto’s rotation is largely set (barring any spring injuries), with Aaron Sanchez, Marcus Stroman, J.A. Happ, Marco Estrada and Francisco Liriano tabbed to comprise manager John Gibbons’ starting five. Harrell, though, could compete for a multi-inning relief role in a currently murky bullpen picture. Beyond closer Roberto Osuna, sophomore Joe Biagini and veteran Jason Grilli, there’s little certainty among the Blue Jays’ relief corps. Alternatively, Harrell could head to Triple-A to open the season, where he could function as a reserve for the big league rotation. Estrada, after all, pitched much of the 2016 season with a herniated disk in his back, and injuries to a starting staff are virtually inevitable over the course of a Major League season.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/30/17

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Here the day’s minor moves from around the league, each from Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise noted…

  • The Rays have added former Braves/Yankees/Astros/Nationals right-hander David Carpenter on a minor league deal. The 31-year-old hasn’t pitched in the Majors since a 2015 season that was severely shortened by shoulder issues. Carpenter actually inked a minor league deal with Tampa Bay last March but wound up opening the year with the Angels. He pitched for the Halos’ Triple-A affiliate until his release in mid-June, which came on the heels of a 7.80 ERA in 15 innings of work. Carpenter then latched on with the Bridgeport Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League and pitched to a 3.28 ERA with a 39-to-16 K/BB ratio in 35 2/3 innings of work. At his best in the Majors, Carpenter tossed 126 innings with a 2.63 ERA, 10.0 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 126 innings for the 2013-14 Braves.
  • Right-hander Jean Machi joined the Mariners on a minor league pact. Machi, who will turn 35 in two days, hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2015 when he logged a 5.12 ERA in 58 innings between the Giants and Red Sox. He was a very useful relief arm in San Francisco from 2013-14, however, recording a collective 2.49 ERA with 7.7 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 across 119 1/3 innings. Machi split the 2016 season between the Giants and Cubs organizations, pitching to a solid 3.65 ERA in 61 2/3 Triple-A innings.
  • Right-hander Matt Magill agreed to a minor league deal with the Padres, as SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo first tweeted. The 27-year-old returned to the Majors after a two-year layoff this past season, tossing 4 1/3 innings for the Reds. The longtime Dodgers farmhand has just 32 Major League innings to his credit but has a 4.05 ERA with a strikeout per inning to his credit in 752 minor league innings. Magill has some control issues as well, as evidenced by a 5.5 BB/9 rate and a 4.57 ERA in 226 career innings at the Triple-A level. He’ll give the Padres a potential depth option at either Triple-A or Double-A. (Magill pitched at both levels with the Reds organization last season before making his brief return to the bigs.)

Rays Rumors: Ramirez, First Base, Bullpen

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The Rays’ one-year deal with Colby Rasmus is expected to be announced either today or tomorrow, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times in his latest column. As he notes, the Rays will need to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. While there are some straightforward avenues to doing so — righties Ryan Garton and Eddie Gamboa are possible casualties, as is recently claimed outfielder Jason Coats — Topkin adds that trading right-hander Erasmo Ramirez also represents a potential means of clearing a 40-man spot for Rasmus.

The 26-year-old Ramirez has a 3.76 ERA with 6.7 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 in 254 innings with Tampa Bay over the past two seasons and agreed to a $3.125MM salary to avoid arbitration earlier this winter. He’s controlled through 2019 via arbitration. Ramirez may not be a premium trade chip, but three years of control over someone that could either serve as a multi-inning reliever or a back-end option in the rotation certainly carries some value in a thin market for arms. The pitching-rich Rays have the depth to part with Ramirez, should an offer to their liking materialize.

The column is stuffed with rumors and informed speculation regarding the Rays’ roster and is well worth a full look, but here are a couple of other highlights…

  • With Brad Miller likely to move to second base, the Rays are poised to pounce on an over-saturated market for first basemen. A right-handed hitter is most likely, and Topkin again connects the Rays to slugger Chris Carter. Mike Napoli will still probably receive a more lucrative contract than the Rays care to offer, he notes. Topkin also lists one intriguing trade option: Angels slugger C.J. Cron. The 27-year-old Cron looks like he’ll lose some playing time with the Halos to the newly signed Luis Valbuena, and Cron would give the Rays an affordable option that’s controlled through 2020. Notably, Topkin adds that the Rays have likely checked in on virtually every available option, and he doesn’t portray a Cron trade as a strong possibility but rather as one of many options.
  • The Rays are “likely” to add a veteran reliever as well, per Topkin. He goes on to note that out-bidding others on a top remaining option seems unlikely but second-tier names like Fernando Salas, Joe Smith, Tom Wilhelmsen and former Ray J.P. Howell make sense in St. Petersburg.
  • As it stands, the Rays currently project to have Alex Colome, Brad Boxberger, Danny Farquhar, Shawn Tolleson and Ramirez in their ’pen as right-handers alongside lefties Xavier Cedeno and Enny Romero. Rule 5 pick Kevin Gadea, too, is in the mix for a spot in the relief corps depending on his spring performance. From my vantage point, the Rays seem fairly well-stocked in terms of right-handed relief (barring a trade of Ramirez), but an upgrade over Romero as the team’s second lefty would be beneficial. Romero struggled to a 5.91 ERA while displaying significant control issues and a susceptibility to home runs last season. The only lefty reliever on the 40-man roster outside of Cedeno and Romero is 21-year-old Jose Alvarado, who hasn’t pitched above Class-A Advanced. Dana Eveland and Justin Marks will both be in camp as non-roster invitees.

Ramiro Pena To Play For Japan’s Hiroshima Carp

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Former Giants infielder Ramiro Pena will play next season with Japan’s Hiroshima Carp, according to a tweet from Bambino Sedano retweeted by Pena himself. Pena is represented by Beverly Hills Sports Council.

At last check, Pena was close to agreeing to a minor league deal that would keep him in the Giants organization, but it appears that deal is no more, if it was consummated in the first place. He is not listed among the Giants’ non-roster invitees, and his MLB.com page does not list a transaction connecting him to the Giants since he elected free agency in October.

The 31-year-old Pena collected 91 plate appearances in the big leagues in 2016 and hit well, but he spent the bulk of the season with Triple-A Sacramento, where he slashed .296/.361/.431 in 245 plate appearances while playing both middle-infield positions. He’s now appeared in parts of seven big-league seasons, batting .252/.293/.343 while splitting his time between shortstop, second and third. He’s proven to be a useful and versatile defender, but his modest offensive abilities have limited his impact at the big-league level.

Quick Hits: Royals, Keuchel, Alvarez

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The Royals aren’t yet ready to wrap up their offseason after agreeing to sign Brandon Moss, per FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, who reports they’re still looking for help in their rotation and bullpen (Twitter link). It’s worth noting that the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo linked the top free agent starter remaining, Jason Hammel, to Kansas City on Saturday. Here are more quick notes from around the big leagues.

  • Speaking of Moss, his presence on the Royals could complicate Cheslor Cuthbert’s role for 2017, writes Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star. Cuthbert was a candidate to spend time at designated hitter before Sunday, but that could be difficult with Moss in the fold. Cuthbert broke in last year at third base, though that opportunity only came as a result of Mike Moustakas’ injury-shortened campaign. Moustakas is set to return from a torn ACL, so Cuthbert probably won’t play much at third, and Dodd contends that a lack of range could prevent him from manning second base. Moreover, Cuthbert is out of minor league options, meaning the Royals are either going to have to keep him on their 25-man roster or subject the 24-year-old to waivers if they try to send him down.
  • On Thursday, Astros lefty Dallas Keuchel will throw off a mound for the first time since August, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle writes. Keuchel missed more than a month at the end of last season due to shoulder trouble. Keuchel feels like he’s in good shape heading into the season. Last year, his innings pitched dipped from 232 in his Cy Young 2015 season to 168, but this year he’s had extra time off due to the injury, and he feels healthy as Spring Training approaches. He avoided arbitration with the Astros two weeks ago and will make $9.15MM in the penultimate season before he’s eligible for free agency.
  • Shoulder problems limited right-hander Henderson Alvarez to 22 1/3 innings in 2015 and kept him from taking a major league mound at all last season, but he’s nonetheless drawing plenty of interest in free agency. “Many” clubs have requested Alvarez’s medicals, tweets FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman, who adds that the soon-to-be 27-year-old should be ready for game action by May. Unfortunately, the ground-ball and control artist’s career has gone off the rails since he tossed 187 innings of 2.65 ERA ball with the Marlins in 2014. The Fish non-tendered Alvarez after the 2015 campaign, and the Athletics outrighted him this past October. The A’s guaranteed Alvarez to $4.25MM last winter, but he only gave the organization 33 innings  – all in the minors – before undergoing arthroscopic shoulder surgery in September.

East Notes: Rodriguez, Red Sox, Orioles

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New Braves utilityman Sean Rodriguez and his family were recently struck in a car crash in Florida, WSVN TV in Miami reports (hat tip to FanRag’s Robert Murray on Twitter). A man stole a police cruiser and hit Rodriguez’s car. Rodriguez was not hurt, although his wife Giselle and two young children were taken to hospitals. Giselle Rodriguez is in fair condition, while the two children are in serious but stable condition. The man who stole the cruiser died in the crash. “We are aware that Braves player Sean Rodriguez and his family were involved in a very serious car accident Saturday night in Miami,” said the Braves in a statement. “At this time our thoughts and prayers are with the health and well-being of Sean’s family as they look to recover.” We here at MLBTR wish Rodriguez and his family the best in what sounds like a very scary time.

Here’s more from the East divisions.

  • The Red Sox’ signing of Hanley Ramirez two years ago prevented them from taking advantage of a glut of right-handed power on this year’s free agent market, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal writes. After a poor first year in Boston, Ramirez bounced back last year, hitting .286/.361/.505. But while numbers in that vicinity made Ramirez a unique commodity in an offense-starved context in 2014-2015, times are different now. After an increase in home runs throughout the game over the past two seasons, right-handed power hitters like Edwin Encarnacion, Mark Trumbo and Jose Bautista have landed much cheaper deals than the $88MM Ramirez received, and the Red Sox have sat on the sidelines.
  • The Orioles haven’t made a significant move to address their rotation this offseason (other than their trade of Yovani Gallardo for outfielder Seth Smith), but they still feel their starting pitching will be better next season, Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun writes in a report from the team’s FanFest this weekend (more on Orioles FanFest here and here). “Our starting rotation, I hope, is a little bit stronger,” said O’s vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette. “We had really good starting pitching late in the year in September, and we’re returning that rotation.” The Orioles’ rotation ERA of 4.72 was third worst in the AL last year, better than only the Twins and A’s. The team can hope for more from Kevin Gausman (who got better results last year in the first half than the second, although his underlying numbers didn’t change much), and Dylan Bundy (who didn’t transition to the rotation until July and had a modest degree of success once he got there). Joining Gausman, Bundy and ace Chris Tillman will be Wade Miley and Ubaldo Jimenez, who have both mostly struggled in their Orioles tenures.

NL Notes: Braun, Gennett, Reds, Diamondbacks

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Outfielder Ryan Braun has been the subject of trade rumors going back to last summer, in which he was connected to the Dodgers in a deal that might have included Yasiel Puig. Nonetheless, it’s now late January, and he remains with the Brewers. That doesn’t surprise owner Mark Attanasio, according to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. “No, I’m not surprised,” Attanasio says. “I think there was a lot of momentum [toward a trade] last summer, given the challenges the Dodgers had in hitting left-handed pitching and how strong a season he was having. … But after it didn’t happen, I actually thought if it wasn’t going to happen then, it wasn’t going to happen. We’re delighted he’s back.” Though Braun remains under contract through 2020 with a mutual option for 2021, it wouldn’t be surprising, in my view, if he reemerged as a trade candidate in the future as the Brewers continue their rebuild. McCalvy notes that the Brewers plan to be generous with time for young players this season. “It is essential that we do this rebuild correctly, and I think if we get too hung up on wins and losses, we’re maybe not doing it [right],” Attanasio says. Here’s more from the NL.

  • Brewers second baseman Scooter Gennett will try his hand at multiple positions, including the outfield, in Spring Training, according to manager Craig Counsell (Twitter link via McCalvy). Excluding pinch-hit appearances and one inning in the outfield, Gennett has come close to playing his entire career at second (396 games there, one as a designated hitter). However, Jonathan Villar is moving from the left side of the infield to the keystone, thereby relegating Gennett to a bench/utility role. He’ll also have a hard time garnering playing time in the outfield, though, as Braun, Domingo Santana and Keon Broxton are firmly entrenched as starters.
  • The Reds haven’t been able to trade Brandon Phillips or Zack Cozart and thus still have a logjam at middle infield, where they also have youngsters Jose Peraza and Dilson Herrera. The Reds say that they aren’t worried about Peraza’s playing time, however, according to MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon. Peraza’s ability to play second, shortstop and outfield will help the team keep him on the field. “Going into the season with Brandon, Cozart, [Adam] Duvall, [Billy] Hamilton — those are our guys going into the season who will take the lion’s share of the playing time at those positions,” says manager Bryan Price. “That being said, Peraza is going to play. How I get him in there has yet to be seen, but he’ll get in there. It may just have to be rotation through different spots until an everyday spot comes to light.” Herrera, who only plays second base, is trickier, and Price says the plan will be for him to play at Triple-A if he can’t play second regularly in the big leagues. GM Dick Williams says, meanwhile, that the team’s ongoing situation with Phillips (who has repeatedly used his no-trade clause to reject potential trades, including one in November to the Braves) is “hard to predict” going forward.
  • Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall expressed regret Sunday over the team’s previous front office alignment, telling MLB Network Radio: “We probably had too many cooks in the kitchen. If we had to do it over again, we probably wouldn’t have done it that way.” Tony La Russa, Dave Stewart and De Jon Watson were the most prominent members of the Diamondbacks’ baseball department from 2014-16. Only La Russa remains now, and Stewart’s replacement – new general manager Mike Hazen – had a hand in keeping him. “It was another skill set Mike Hazen thought he needed around him,” Hall said of La Russa, whom he called a “team player” (Twitter links).

Dipoto: Mariners “Plainly” In “Win-Now Mode”

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The Mariners have been among MLB’s busiest teams this offseason, acquiring players like Jean Segura, Mitch Haniger, Drew Smyly, Jarrod Dyson, Yovani Gallardo, Danny Valencia, Carlos Ruiz and Shae Simmons in a long list of transactions. GM Jerry Dipoto stresses, perhaps unsurprisingly but in strongly worded language, that those moves have been made with a clear goal of winning in 2017, according to Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune.

“I’ll say it as plainly as I can,” says Dipoto. “When you have Robinson Cano, who arguably had the best year of his career last year and is playing in his mid-30s at an All Star level; when you have Nelson Cruz, who’s roughly led the league in homers for three years running; when you have Felix Hernandez at 31, a former Cy Young Award winner who last year failed to throw 200 innings for the first time in about a decade; when you have one of the preeminent third baseman (Kyle Seager) in the league who can do a lot of things offensively and defensively, and you’ve committed at roughly $75 million annually for those players, you are in a `win-now’ mode.”

Those players are among the few remaining on the Mariners’ 40-man roster that Dipoto inherited when he took the team’s GM job near the end of the 2015 season. By my count, the only other players on the Mariners’ 40-man who remain from that time are Hisashi Iwakuma (who Dipoto re-signed in the 2015-16 offseason), James Paxton, Tony Zych, Mike Zunino and Shawn O’Malley.

“It doesn’t shock me,” says Dipoto of the Mariners’ roster turnover. “It wasn’t necessarily by design but, again, we have not done this with pandemonium in mind.”

Dipoto’s trades have included a large number of young players and prospects, but Dipoto suggests that he hasn’t mortgaged the Mariners’ future. He’s kept top prospects like Kyle Lewis, Tyler O’Neill and Andrew Moore, as Dutton notes. And while many of Dipoto’s trades have privileged short-term assets rather than longer-term ones (like the trade that bought one year of control of Dyson for four of Nate Karns), Dipoto points out that he has also made trades that have featured players at similar points in their careers (including, perhaps, the one that sent former top prospect Alex Jackson and pitcher Tyler Pike to Atlanta for young starters Robert Whalen and Max Povse). Dipoto further notes that he has acquired several players with limited service time, including Haniger, Dan Vogelbach and Ben Gamel (the last two of whom the Mariners acquired during the 2016 season), who could make an impact in the big leagues in 2017.

Twins, Justin Morneau Interested In Reunion

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The Twins and one of their all-time best players, free agent designated hitter/first baseman Justin Morneau, have mutual interest in a reunion, reports Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press.

Morneau spent the first 11 years of his career in Minnesota, which selected him in the third round of the 1999 draft. As a member of the Twins from 2003-2013, Morneau slashed .278/.347/.485 with 221 home runs in 5,350 plate appearances, earned four All-Star nods and won the American League MVP in 2006. Unfortunately, Morneau’s effectiveness began fading after he suffered a concussion midway through the 2010 campaign, when he may have been on the way to another MVP. His tenure with the Twins concluded when they traded him to the Pirates in August 2013.

Morneau didn’t last in Pittsburgh beyond his late-2013 run there and has since played for the Rockies, with whom he hit .319 in 2014 and won the National League batting title, and White Sox. The 35-year-old appeared in only 49 games with the Rockies in 2015 and then endured one of the least productive campaigns of his career last season in Chicago (though he didn’t debut until June after undergoing offseason elbow surgery). All told, Morneau hit .261/.303/.429 in 218 PAs and paired a career-worst walk rate (5.5 percent) with a bloated strikeout rate (23.9 percent – well above his lifetime mark of 15.5).

While another Morneau-Minnesota go-around would make for a feel-good story, there might not be enough at-bats available to make it worthwhile, writes Berardino. The Twins already have first base/DH types in $23MM man Joe Mauer, who used to team with Morneau to terrorize opposing pitchers, as well as younger options in Byung Ho Park and Kennys Vargas. But even if Morneau doesn’t end up joining the Twins, he is aiming to sign somewhere for what would be his 15th season in the majors.

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