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Archives for February 2017

Blue Jays Release A.J. Jimenez

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FEB. 13: The Blue Jays announced today that Jimenez has been released.

FEB. 9: The Blue Jays have announced that catcher A.J. Jimenez was designated for assignment. His roster spot was needed for the previously reported signing of righty Joe Smith, whose deal was also announced.

Jimenez, 26, has taken an odd career route to date. He has remained in the Toronto organization for all of his nine professional seasons, but hasn’t yet cracked the majors. Most recently, he was added back to the 40-man in November — only now to be removed yet again.

Last year, Jimenez returned for his fourth run at the Triple-A level. He ended up with a .241/.290/.377 batting line over 248 plate appearances, representing rather typical levels of offensive production for him in the upper minors. Though he once rated as one of the Blue Jays’ top organizational prospects, he’s struggled greatly across three straight minor league campaigns. He’d have had to beat out offseason additions Jarrod Saltalamacchia (minor league free agent) and Juan Graterol (waiver claim) in order to win a spot as the backup to Russell Martin this season.

Reds Claim Lisalverto Bonilla

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The Reds announced on Monday that they’ve claimed right-hander Lisalverto Bonilla off waivers from the division-rival Pirates. The 26-year-old Bonilla had been designated for assignment in Pittsburgh last week after the Bucs acquired righty Pat Light from the Twins.

The 26-year-old Bonilla made his big league debut with the Rangers back in 2014 but missed the 2015 season due to Tommy John surgery. Once a fairly well-regarded prospect in the Phillies and Rangers organizations — the Rangers picked him up from Philadelphia in the trade that sent infielder Michael Young to the Phils — Bonilla spent the 2016 season working his way back to health in the Dodgers’ organization. In 111 innings split between the Double-A and Triple-A affiliates of the Dodgers, Bonilla logged a 3.97 earned run average with a 118-to-40 K/BB ratio. In his brief big league stint with Texas back in 2014, Bonilla pitched to a 3.05 ERA and a 17-to-12 K/BB ratio in 20 2/3 innings. The Bucs had signed Bonilla to a Major League deal earlier this offseason.

Royals, Seth Maness Agree To Minor League Deal

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12:10pm: Maness can also earn up to $750K worth of incentives, reports MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan (via Twitter).

8:48am: Right-hander Seth Maness has agreed to a minor league contract with the Royals, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter links). Maness will earn $1.25MM if he makes the Major League roster, per Goold. Kansas City was one of at least 16 big league teams to scout the 28-year-old CAA client last week, and Goold reports that the Royals have maintained consistent interest in him this offseason.

Maness, of course, is a fascinating case to watch as he tries to work his way back from an experimental “primary repair” surgery that represents a potential alternative to Tommy John surgery. Maness suffered ligament damage in his elbow last summer and underwent the procedure back in mid-August, and he’s already throwing off a mound. If he’s able to make a full recovery, the seven-and-a-half-month timeline on this newer procedure would be a marked improvement over the 12 to 18 month recovery that is common with Tommy John surgery. Notably, “primary repair” isn’t an option for all players that are diagnosed with torn ulnar collateral ligaments, as the procedure is dependent on both the location and extent of the tear. (Those who’ve yet to read Goold’s excellent look at the surgery from January are highly encouraged to do so.)

Maness was a fixture in the St. Louis bullpen from 2013-16, racking up 237 1/3 innings with a 3.19 ERA, 5.8 K/9, 1.7 BB/9 and a hefty 59.4 percent ground-ball rate along the way. Last season, he posted a 3.41 ERA with career worst K/9 (4.6) and BB/9 (2.3) rates. Following the August operation, the Cardinals non-tendered Maness, who has three years and 154 days of Major League service. That fairly limited service time means that if he’s able to make a recovery, the Royals will control him through the 2019 season via the arbitration process.

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Swihart, Rays, Wieters

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Though it’ll be a week or more before either Drew Pomeranz or Steven Wright is able to throw off a mound (as Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald writes), Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski stated that he feels the Sox are deeper in rotation options than the vast majority of clubs (Twitter link via Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal). Mastrodonato’s colleague, Evan Drellich, recently took a look at the team’s lack of established options beyond the top six of Chris Sale, David Price, Rick Porcello, Eduardo Rodriguez, Pomeranz and Wright, though, noting that each of Henry Owens, Roenis Elias and Brian Johnson comes with question marks. (The Sox also have Kyle Kendrick in camp on a non-roster invite.)

There’s a bit of a disconnect in the messaging being put forth by manager John Farrell and Dombrowski, as Farrell stated yesterday that Wright’s rehab has “certainly” taken longer than the team anticipated (via Mastrodonato’s column), while Dombrowski said today (Twitter link via the Globe’s Alex Speier) that the rehab of Wright and Pomeranz has progressed “as expected.” Speier adds in a second tweet that Dombrowski said there’s no room for additions on the MLB roster, but if the team adds any additional non-roster players, they’d likely be pitchers.

More on the Sox and the rest of the division…

  • Also from Mastrodonato’s column, Farrell acknowledged that Blake Swihart’s remaining minor league option could work against him in Spring Training. Both Sandy Leon and Christian Vazquez are out of options, and the Red Sox won’t want to expose either to waivers at the end of camp, which seemingly signals a trip to Triple-A Pawtucket to open the season for Swihart. Certainly, injuries could change the plan for the Sox, but it’s tough to see all three fitting on the roster. “We’ve got three guys that are fully healthy, that’s No. 1, particularly with what Blake went through last year and the surgery in the offseason,” Farrell told Mastrodonato. “But with Sandy, Christian and Blake, yeah we feel really good about the core group that’s there. We’ll see how things unfold.”
  • Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes that after the Rays passed on Franklin Gutierrez and Byung Ho Park, they’ll likely to see which right-handed bats emerge as potential additions over the course of Spring Training (unless Matt Wieters “falls to them,” he notes). Tampa Bay was tied to a number of right-handed bats, with Mike Napoli, Chris Carter and Mark Reynolds all linked to the Rays at one point (in addition to Gutierrez and Park). The Rays could add either a first baseman or second baseman to serve as a platoon partner for Logan Morrison and/or Brad Miller. Also of note, regarding the Rays, Topkin adds that past interest in right-handed reliever Tommy Hunter could suggest that he’d be a fit as a late pickup.
  • As the Orioles began to report to Spring Training in Sarasota, Fla., GM Dan Duquette was asked by the Baltimore media once again today if there’s any chance of a reunion with Matt Wieters now that his market has seemingly been stagnant for so long. Via MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko, Duquette replied that Orioles “made a choice” when they signed Welington Castillo to a two-year, $13MM deal (with a player option/opt-out clause after year one) back in December. Duquette did note that he’s still on the hunt for further pitching depth, even after acquiring young right-hander Gabriel Ynoa from the Mets last Friday.

Latest On Travis Wood’s Market

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FEB. 13: FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweets that Wood is expected to make a decision on his new team in the very near future — possibly as soon as today.

FEB. 12: The Cubs have made contract offers to Travis Wood, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter links), though the Padres and two other teams are also still in the mix for the free agent lefty.  The Yankees aren’t one of the other teams; New York reportedly checked in on Wood recently, though the Yankees weren’t considered to be top candidates for his services.

Wood’s market has begun to generate more buzz in recent days, though the veteran southpaw has seen his name pop up in rumors for much of the winter.  Besides the Yankees, Padres and Cubs, the Marlins and Blue Jays were also linked to Wood at different times this offseason, and either of those clubs still makes sense as one or both of the mystery teams pursuing the left-hander (though Miami has made a number of other pitching additions).

Wood’s history as a starter has drawn interest from multiple teams looking at him as rotation help, with the Padres included in that list.  The Cubs would be looking to use Wood as a swingman, while it isn’t known what role the other two suitors intend Wood to fill.

For the first five seasons of his big league career, Wood was a durable and mostly effective starter for the Reds and Cubs before transitioning into a relief role for Chicago during the 2015 season.  He posted tremendous numbers as a reliever in 2015 and continued to get good results last year, posting a 2.95 ERA, 6.9 K/9 and 1.96 K/BB rate over 61 bullpen innings.  Thanks to such factors as his low strikeout rate and a .215 BABIP, however, advanced metrics (4.54 FIP, 4.83 xFIP, 4.46 SIERA) painted a less-impressive picture of Wood’s season.

Looking at the Cubs’ left-handed options, Mike Montgomery and Brett Anderson are vying for the fifth spot in the rotation, with Brian Duensing and Rob Zastryzny in line for potential bullpen jobs with the loser of the fifth starter battle.  The Cubs could feel more comfortable with a familiar face like Wood in a swingman or spot starter role rather than relying on several other more inexperienced depth options (Zastryzny, Eddie Butler, Alec Mills, Ryan Williams).

D-Backs, Brian Matusz Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Diamondbacks have agreed to a minor league contract with former Orioles left-hander Brian Matusz, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). Matusz is a client of Excel Sports.

The 30-year-old southpaw logged just nine innings in the Majors last season and allowed a troubling 14 runs on 17 hits and nine walks with three strikeouts. Most of his season was spent in minors with the Orioles and the Cubs, with the latter of those two teams briefly stretching Matusz back out as a starter. Matusz once ranked among the game’s top 10 prospects (per Baseball America) as a starting pitcher, but he found the greatest success of his big league career in the Orioles’ bullpen.

From 2013-15, Matusz made 186 relief appearances and tossed 151 2/3 innings with a 3.32 ERA, 9.4 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in Baltimore. During that time, left-handed opponents batted just .190/.245/.320 against him. Arizona executives Mike Hazen, Amiel Sawdaye and Jared Porter have all seen Matusz pitch a great deal, dating back to their time with Matusz’s former division-rival Red Sox. Beyond that, the Snakes have just one experienced lefty in their bullpen in Andrew Chafin. Steve Hathaway is the only other southpaw reliever on the 40-man roster, so Matusz could have a chance to break camp with the team if he delivers a strong performance in Spring Training.

Orioles Sign Chris Johnson To Minor League Deal

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The Orioles announced this morning that they’ve signed veteran corner infielder Chris Johnson to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training. The former Astros/Braves/Marlins is represented by Excel Sports Management.

Johnson, 32, spent the 2016 season with the Marlins after signing to be a platoon partner for left-handed-hitting first baseman Justin Bour. While that seemed like a solid on-paper fit, given the lifetime .314/.350/.436 batting line against lefties which Johnson carried into last season, he experienced some uncharacteristic struggles against southpaws. In 109 plate appearances versus lefties, Johnson hit just .212/.284/.333. His production against right-handers was very similar in 155 PAs, and he wound up posting a career-worst .222/.281/.329 batting line on the season as a whole.

The Braves inked Johnson to a three-year, $23.5MM contract extension on the heels of a BABIP-fueled 2013 breakout — a season that saw Johnson bat .321/.358/.457 (with a .394 average on balls in play). His bat took a significant step back in 2014, however, and he was traded to the Indians in a 2015 exchange of bad contracts. (Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher went to Atlanta in the deal.) Johnson will still earn $9MM this season — the final guaranteed year of that contract — which the Indians are on the hook for. If he makes it to the Orioles’ Major League roster, they’d only owe him the pro-rated portion of the league minimum, which would be subtracted from Cleveland’s obligation to Johnson. As it stands, though, he seems likely to be ticketed for Triple-A Norfolk.

Quick Hits: Rays, Phillips, Reds, Tillman

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The Rays’ front office triad of Matt Silverman, Erik Neander and Chaim Bloom is profiled by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, who outlines how this unique three-man management structure operates.  While Silverman has the lead role as the president of baseball operations, he notes that between himself and his two senior VPs, “there are three of us that can make decisions for the department.  If one person is responsible for the final stamp on decisions, it can slow things down. Knowing three of us, if not more, are empowered to make decisions and keep our operations running smoothly and effectively, that’s a real advantage.”  Major decisions are made as a group, though day-to-day tasks seem more or less shared between the trio.  Trade talks with other organizations are split evenly “based on each’s strongest relationships” — multiple trades between the Rays and Mariners in recent years, for instance, have stemmed from the good connection between Neander and Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto.

Here’s more from around the baseball world…

  • There weren’t many whispers about Brandon Phillips on the rumor mill this offseason, and according to C. Trent Rosencrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter), “the Braves were the only team that had any interest in Phillips whatsoever.”  Given this limited market and the added complication of Phillips’ no-trade protection, it perhaps isn’t surprising that the Reds didn’t get much of a return in finally dealing Phillips to Atlanta.
  • The biggest benefit for the Reds is that Jose Peraza and Dilson Herrera now have a clearer path towards regular playing time.  Reds GM Dick Williams told Rosencrans (Twitter link) and other reporters that the two young infielders and veteran shortstop Zack Cozart will rotate the middle infield jobs during Spring Training.  Cozart has himself been the subject of trade speculation, though those rumors have dried up since the Mariners (his most ardent suitor) addressed their shortstop need by acquiring Jean Segura from the Diamondbacks.
  • Extension talks between Chris Tillman and the Orioles have been “nothing serious” thus far, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko reports.  The two sides began preliminary talks back in December, though as of mid-January, Tillman said he hadn’t heard any details on negotiations from his agents.  Kubatko wouldn’t be surprised if more substantial talks take place during Spring Training, as Tillman can become a free agent after the 2017 season.

AL Central Notes: Alvarez, Gonzalez, White Sox, Balester

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Here’s the latest from around the AL Central…

  • The Twins’ reported interest in Pedro Alvarez has been “overstated,” a team source tells 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson (Twitter link).  FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reported earlier this week that Minnesota at least held some internal discussion about signing the slugger, who would join Joe Mauer and Kennys Vargas in the first base/DH mix.  Wolfson believes the Twins could sign Alvarez only if he could be had on an inexpensive one-year deal.
  • Several teams have asked about Indians infielder Erik Gonzalez, though Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer hears from one team source that Gonzalez “is a real possibility” for a utility infield role for the Tribe.  Gonzalez, 25, has a .274/.316/.395 slash line over 2986 career plate appearances in Cleveland’s minor league system, and he got his first taste of MLB action last season in the form of 21 games for the Tribe.  While he has spent the bulk of his career as a shortstop, Gonzalez also has significant experience at second and third base, plus some time at first, center field and right field.  MLBPipeline.com ranks Gonzalez as the eighth-best prospect in Cleveland’s system, praising his defensive work at short and his above-average speed.  As Pluto notes, Gonzalez would appear to offer more upside than veteran Michael Martinez, who could be the top competition for a utility infield job.
  • “Critical mass” is what White Sox GM Rick Hahn hopes to achieve in terms of stockpiling young talent during the team’s rebuild, MLB.com’s Scott Merkin writes.  The Sox want to add as many good minor leaguers as possible both to give them options now and in the future as depth.  “The last few years we’ve had a very top-heavy roster and the reason we haven’t won had nothing to do with the quality players at the top end of that roster,” Hahn said. “When the time comes that we are in a position to contend again, we are going to be approaching that with ideally a much deeper, more thoroughly balanced roster than what we had.  It had to do with what was going on with not just one through 25, but one through 35 or 40.  So now as we approach this, we have to build that organizational quality depth, not just insurance policies, but real high-caliber depth.”
  • Collin Balester took a short break from baseball last summer in the wake of a disappointing stint in South Korea, and the righty tells Anthony Fenech of the Detroit News that he is now healthy and looking forward to continuing his career in the Tigers farm system.  Balester said he was at something of a low point last year and even questioned his future in the game.  His spirits rose, however, after he began throwing last November without any elbow issues, and Balester then contacted the Tigers about a minor league deal (which he signed in December).

Marlins Notes: Francoeur, Johnson, Lineup, Padres

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The latest from the Marlins, as per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald…

  • The Marlins only have interest in bringing back Jeff Francoeur or Chris Johnson if there’s an injury on the current roster.  The two veterans haven’t generated much buzz this offseason, as Johnson has only been linked to the Marlins while Francoeur has at least received some interest from both Miami and Atlanta.  It seems like the Marlins will go into Spring Training and possibly the season itself with just a four-man bench, something president of baseball operations Michael Hill calls “a calculated risk on our part.  We’re comfortable with where we sit right now.”  That said, Hill told Jackson and other reporters that the door wasn’t totally closed on another addition: “There are still players out there and that’s not to say we still may not do something before Opening Day.”
  • Though signing another hitter “was definitely discussed,” Hill believes his club already has the personnel to deliver a big improvement at the plate.  Hill cited the hiring of new hitting coach Mike Pagliarulo as one reason for this belief, not to mention full seasons from Giancarlo Stanton, Justin Bour and Dee Gordon.  “This organization has supreme confidence in our core position players. You go position by position, and you have talent and players that are championship caliber players. Ultimately, that’s why we chose to focus on our pitching,” Hill said.
  • Last week, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal wrote about the impact that the controversial and partially-reversed Marlins/Padres trade had on both clubs and on the NL East as a whole, as Miami would’ve instead acquired Jeremy Hellickson from the Phillies.  Rosenthal reported that while MLB offered the Marlins the chance to reverse the entire trade, Miami chose to just take a partial rescind (re-acquiring Luis Castillo and sending Colin Rea back to San Diego) since the Fish believed the league “preferred” that the two sides work out a solution between themselves.  Jackson adds a different twist, reporting that the league “told” the Marlins to make a new arrangement with the Padres rather than cancel the original trade entirely, which was the solution Miami wanted.

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