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Archives for February 2017

Cubs Acquire Alec Mills, Designate David Rollins

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The Cubs have acquired right-hander Alec Mills from the Royals in exchange for minor league outfielder Donnie Dewees, the team announced via press release. In order to clear a spot for Mills on the 40-man roster, left-hander David Rollins has once again been designated for assignment. The 25-year-old Mills was designated for assignment himself earlier this afternoon, suggesting that talks between the Cubs and Royals were either in the works prior to the DFA or came together very quickly.

The acquisition of Mills, for the Cubs, is not entirely dissimilar from the recent pickup of right-hander Eddie Butler from the Rockies. Both right-handers give the Cubs an optionable right-hander that can serve as a depth piece for the the back of the rotation or potentially work out of the bullpen. It seems likely that Mills and Butler will both be Triple-A-bound to start the season, but both could realistically emerge on the big league roster at various points throughout the 2017 season — especially if the Cubs do employ spot starters with regularity later in the offseason to keep their top arms fresh.

Mills made his MLB debut in 2016 on the heels of a solid season split between the Double-A and Triple-A levels. In 125 2/3 minor league innings, he worked to a 3.22 ERA with 8.7 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9 with roughly average ground-ball rates. While he’s not universally lauded as a prospect, he’s received some attention from Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen, Baseball Prospectus’ Jeffrey Paternostro and from Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com. Reviews on Mills range from solid relief prospect/occasional spot starter with useful sinker to a potential back-of-the-rotation starter.

The 23-year-old Dewees, meanwhile, fits the Royals’ profile of a speed- and contact-oriented hitter. The 2015 second-rounder hit .284/.338/.416 with five homers and 31 stolen bases across 577 plate appearances between the Class-A Midwest League and the Class-A Advanced Carolina League in 2016.

ESPN’s Keith Law recently rated Dewees 15th among Cubs farmhands (subscription required and strongly recommended), noting that he’s a 70-grade runner that can handle center field from a range standpoint but has a 20-grade arm that limits him to left field. Longenhagen ranked him 19th among Cubs prospects offering a similar take (albeit a 30-grade arm instead of 20), writing that without the power to profile as a left field regular, his best scenario is a Ben Revere type. B-Pro’s Steve Givarz was a bit more optimistic about his glovework but still pegs him as more of a fourth outfielder than a potential starter.

As for Rollins, this latest DFA continues one of the more remarkable offseasons in recent memory. Rollins opened the offseason on the Mariners’ 40-man roster but was claimed off waivers by the Cubs in mid-November. Since that time, he’s been claimed by the Rangers, who lost him to the Phillies on waivers not long after. Philadelphia designated him for assignment less than two weeks later and lost him back to Texas on waivers. That stay with the Rangers was even shorter than the first, as the Cubs claimed him once again just two days later.

Chicago will now once again try to slip Rollins through waivers, though given the number of times he’s been claimed this winter, one shouldn’t simply assume that he’ll make it through waivers. Teams that have lost out on left-handed relievers in free agency, for instance, could look at Rollins as a potential fallback option.

Rollins, 27, has a 7.60 ERA in 34 innings with the Mariners across the past two seasons and has averaged 7.1 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9 with a 41.9 percent ground-ball rate. A .379 BABIP in his big league career indicates that he’s had his fair share of misfortune on balls in play, though most ERA estimators peg him for an ERA in the mid-4.00s. Nonetheless, he’s been claimed off waivers five times by three different teams this winter, so there are obviously a fair amount of talent evaluators that believe he can provide some value to a big league team in 2017 and beyond.

Brian Wilson Attempting Comeback As Knuckleballer

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Former Giants closer Brian Wilson hasn’t thrown a pitch in Majors in two full seasons, but he’s now seeking a Major League comeback as a knuckleballer, reports Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports. The MVP Sports client, who will turn 35 in March, is eyeing a transition to the starting rotation with his new pitch and has already worked out for two teams.

Wilson taught himself a knuckleball in his youth and would often tinker with it even as a pro, per Brown, but he never used it in a game setting as a professional. Since setting his mind on a comeback, though, he’s worked to throw the pitch from different arm angles and at different speeds. He also grips the pitch a bit differently from the more traditional knuckleball.

A return to prominence in the Majors is somewhat of a long shot for Wilson, who has two Tommy John surgeries under his belt and hasn’t started more than one game in any single season since 2004 — his first professional season. Additionally, he’s never reached even 80 innings in a full season due to to his role as a reliever, so it’s far from certain that his body will sustain a starter’s workload over the course of a season. But, Wilson does have a career 3.30 earned run average over the life of 382 innings in a career that has resulted in three All-Star appearances. It’s not hard to imagine a club at least taking a flier on Wilson, given the lack of any real risk in bringing him to camp this spring. Fans of Wilson will want to check out Brown’s column in full, as it features several quotes from the always-eccentric (and now clean-shaven) right-hander.

Diamondbacks, Hank Conger Agree To Minors Deal

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The Diamondbacks have agreed to a minor league deal with catcher Hank Conger, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo reports (Twitter links). Conger, a Wasserman client, will receive a $950K base salary if he makes the big league roster and has another $450K available via incentives.

Conger, who turned 29 last week, spent the 2016 season with the Rays but struggled through a career-worst year at the plate. In 137 plate appearances, the switch-hitter batted .194/.265/.306 with three homers and five doubles. Prior to that season, he’d posted a .233/.304/.389 batting line across three seasons with the Angels and Astros.

Conger has gone through extreme struggles in terms of preventing the running game in recent seasons (10.5 percent caught-stealing rate), but he was solid in that regard in the three preceding seasons. Beyond that, Conger routinely grades out as an above average pitch-framer.

The D-backs have overhauled their catching corps this offseason, surprisingly non-tendering Welington Castillo. Following that decision, the new D-backs front office inked Jeff Mathis to a two-year deal and Chris Iannetta to a one-year deal. Since that time, the D-backs have added both Josh Thole and Conger on minor league deals, while outfielder/catcher Chris Herrmann remains on the roster as yet another option behind the dish.

Angels Sign Yusmeiro Petit

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4:02pm: Petit’s contract comes with a $2.25MM base salary upon making the Major League roster, MLBTR has learned (Twitter link). He can earn up to an additional $1.25MM via incentives.

2:19pm: The Angels announced that they’ve signed right-hander Yusmeiro Petit to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training.

Petit, a client of Godoy Sports, spent the 2016 season with the Nationals, pitching to a 4.50 ERA with 7.1 K/9, 1.7 BB/9 and a 41.5 percent ground-ball rate in 62 innings. Of Petit’s 36 appearances with the Nats, 35 were out of the ’pen, but he also made one spot start and has a history of working in both the rotation and in relief.

Petit was in the midst of a solid season with the Nats and carried a sub-3.00 ERA into the month of August, but he was used sparingly down the stretch and hit hard when he did take the hill. Of the 31 earned runs he allowed last year, 16 came in his final 10 appearances (12 1/3 innings). Petit’s deal with the Nationals contained a $3MM vesting option for the 2017 campaign, and his sparse usage down the stretch may simply have been a reflection that the Nats didn’t wish to see that option lock in.

[Related: Updated Los Angeles Angels Depth Chart]

The 32-year-old Petit is best known for his work with the Giants, for whom he pitched from 2012-15. In that time, the righty worked out of both the rotation and the bullpen, pitching to a 3.66 ERA in 245 2/3 innings (plus another 12 2/3 innings with two runs allowed in the postseason). At one point during the 2014 season, Petit broke a record that still stands, as he retired 46 consecutive batters across six relief appearances. (Mark Buehrle had previously held the record with 45 straight set down.)

The Halos will head into camp with a projected rotation of Garrett Richards, Matt Shoemaker, Ricky Nolasco, Tyler Skaggs and Jesse Chavez. Others that figure to be in the mix for starts include lefty Nate Smith and righties Alex Meyer and Daniel Wright. Barring an injury, it may be difficult for Petit to get a look there, but GM Billy Eppler tells Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register that Petit will come into camp as a starter (Twitter link). Should that not work out, there could be multiple openings in a murky bullpen picture for the Halos.

The Angels’ bullpen will consist of Huston Street, Cam Bedrosian and Andrew Bailey, to be sure, but the other slots are a bit less defined. Names like JC Ramirez, Jose Alvarez, Deolis Guerra and possibly Meyer (if he’s not starting in Triple-A) could all factor into the mix. Mike Morin, Kirby Yates and Brooks Pounders all represent 40-man options that come with big league experience as well.

Astros, Marwin Gonzalez Avoid Arbitration

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The Astros have avoided arbitration with utility infielder Marwin Gonzalez, agreeing to a $3.725MM salary for the upcoming season, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports (via Twitter). Gonzalez will also have a $5.125MM team option tacked onto his contract. If the club declines that option, he’ll still be controllable via arbitration next winter. Gonzalez had reportedly been set for a hearing on Feb. 14, but the two sides will now avoid that fate.

As can be seen in MLBTR’s 2017 Arbitration Tracker, the Astros had filed for a $3.25MM salary against Gonzalez’s submission of $4.2MM. The $3.725MM sum at which the two sides settled represents the exact midpoint between those filings, and the 2018 option gives the two sides an easy means of circumventing this process again in Gonzalez’s final offseason of arbitration eligibility — assuming he performs at a reasonable level in 2017.

Gonzalez, 28 in March, was a Rule 5 pick back in 2011 and has become a fixture on the Houston roster over the past three seasons as his bat has taken a step forward. After hitting just .227/.266/.323 in his first two seasons as an Astro, Gonzalez has posted roughly league-average production at the plate across the past three seasons, hitting .268/.309/.413 in just under 1200 plate appearances.

Gonzalez has nearly 1700 innings of shortstop under his belt at the Major League level, though the emergence of Carlos Correa has limited his time at that position in recent years. In 2016, he spent the bulk of his time in the field (677 innings) at first base but also saw time at third base, both middle infield positions, both outfield corners and one lone inning in center field.

With Gonzalez’s salary now set, the Astros have resolved seven of their eight arbitration cases. Right-hander Collin McHugh, who filed for a $3.85MM salary against the team’s submission of $3.35MM, is set for a hearing on Feb. 10, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle recently reported.

Javier Lopez Retires

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Veteran left-hander Javier Lopez has decided to retire, he tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

“More than anything, it’s just time,” the 39-year-old Lopez tells Rosenthal. “It’s a young man’s game. Although I think I can compete, it’s getting harder and harder to get ready for spring.”

A former fourth-round pick back in 1998, Lopez was a key member of four World Series teams: the Red Sox in 2007 and the Giants in 2010, 2012 and 2014. While he struggled with the Rockies early in his career, Lopez eventually solidified himself as a durable, dependable weapon against left-handed opponents and enjoyed a very nice 14-year career in that role.

He’ll finish his career with a 3.48 earned run average, 30 wins, 14 saves, 178 holds and a 358-to-230 K/BB ratio in 533 1/3 regular-season innings. Beyond that, Lopez tossed another 18 postseason innings, recording a 3.50 ERA in addition to his four World Series rings.

Lopez earned more than $28MM in his Major League career, per Baseball-Reference.com. He tells Rosenthal that he’s not certain what’ll come next for him beyond his playing days, but we at MLBTR wish him the very best in whatever lies ahead.

Twins Designate Byung Ho Park For Assignment

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FEB. 8: Park has been placed on waivers, per Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (on Twitter), so he won’t be traded.

FEB. 3, 1:17pm: La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune tweets that the expectation is that Park will clear waivers due to the remaining salary on his contract and report to Spring Training as a non-roster invite. Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes that there’s no plan from Park’s camp to return to Korea.

11:11am: In a fairly surprising move, the Twins announced that they’ve designated first baseman Byung Ho Park for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for right-hander Matt Belisle, whose one-year deal with the team is now official.

Park’s DFA comes just one year into a four-year, $12MM contract signed with Minnesota last winter (which came on top of a $12.85MM posting fee paid by the Twins to acquire negotiation rights with the former KBO slugger). He’s still guaranteed $9.25MM over the life of the next three seasons, so there’s a good chance that Park will clear waivers if the Twins go that route. At that point, he’s be able to work on his swing in Triple-A and potentially return at some point in 2017.

The 30-year-old Park arrived in Minnesota with lofty expectations after blasting a combined 105 home runs in his final two KBO seasons. While Park’s power was as advertised — he homered 12 times and posted a .219 ISO in 244 plate appearances — strikeouts also proved to be a problem, as he punched out in 32.8 percent of his plate appearances.

Overall, Park posted a disappointing .191/.275/.409 batting line with the Twins, although it’s certainly worth noting that he ultimately proved to have a wrist injury that required surgical repair. And, Park did bat .257/.339/.578 with nine homers through his first 124 plate appearances in Minnesota (albeit with 38 strikeouts) in addition to showing well in a number of Statcast categories, including exit velocity and barreled balls (as recently examined by Fangraphs’ Travis Sawchik).

The Twins could also explore trade scenarios involving Park. While he’s unlikely to carry significant value given his poor debut season, a team looking to acquire a right-handed bat at first base/DH could consider Park a reasonable roll of the dice. He’s controlled for three years at what figures to be a comparable price to the one Mike Napoli will command in free agency, so there’s certainly a degree of financial upside present, as one can only assume that the cost of acquisition would be low at this juncture.

Further expounding upon that point, the Twins themselves have been a rumored landing spot for Napoli in recent weeks, and jettisoning Park from the 40-man roster creates one potential avenue of adding a more veteran right-handed bat to the picture in Minnesota.

Royals Designate Alec Mills For Assignment

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The Royals have designated right-hander Alec Mills for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for newly signed Jason Hammel, tweets Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star.

Mills, 25, is a semi-surprising DFA casualty for the Royals, as he made his MLB debut in 2016 on the heels of a solid season split between the Double-A and Triple-A levels. In 125 2/3 minor league innings, Mills logged a 3.22 ERA with 8.7 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9. While the former 22nd-round pick showed better in Double-A (2.39 ERA) than in Triple-A (4.19), his K/BB numbers at each level were both solid, and they were accompanied by roughly league-average ground-ball tendencies.

MLB.com has yet to issue its newest list of top Royals prospects, but Mills rated eighth among Kansas City farmhands on their most recent iteration, which was updated throughout the 2016 season. He didn’t crack the organization’s top 15 prospects, as recently laid out by ESPN’s Keith Law, but Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen did note him just outside the Royals’ top 20 back in December. Longenhagen writes that Mills is “purely a relief prospect,” noting that he could be a solid middle relief piece or a sixth starter/long man. Baseball Prospectus’ Jeffrey Paternostro didn’t include Mills in the top 10 but praised his above-average sinker.

While Mills isn’t a standout prospect, he seems like the type that could very well end up claimed if exposed to waivers, so perhaps the Royals will be able to generate some trade interest. Mills does have two minor league options remaining, which should add to his appeal.

Royals Sign Jason Hammel

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The Royals have added a veteran arm to their rotation, announcing on Wednesday that they’ve signed right-hander Jason Hammel to a two-year deal with a mutual option for the 2019 season.

Jason HammelThe 34-year-old ACES client will reportedly receive a $16MM guarantee that includes a $5MM salary in 2017, a $9MM salary in 2018 and a $2MM buyout on his option. He can also earn an additional $250K per season for reaching 200 innings pitched.

[Related: Updated Kansas City Royals Depth Chart]

Hammel’s long offseason began when the Cubs allowed him to decide whether he wanted them to exercise his $12MM 2017 option or give him a $2MM buyout. The Cubs ultimately declined the option, already an unusual decision on a reportedly healthy pitcher coming off a solid 3.83 ERA, 7.8 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 season as a back-end starter, and Hammel hit the open market, only to linger there for almost four months. That long period on the market included a change of agencies, from Octagon to ACES.

The $16MM guarantee Hammel will receive over two years has to qualify as a disappointing outcome for him, at least relative to his likely expectations earlier in the offseason. While this offseason was a slow one for starting pitchers in general, Hammel compares favorably to several starters who received similar or greater amounts, either in total contract value or average annual value, including Charlie Morton (two years, $14MM), Bartolo Colon (one year, $12.5MM) and former Royal Edinson Volquez (two years, $22MM).

A fit with the Royals seemingly emerged following the tragic death of Yordano Ventura in a car wreck in the Dominican two weeks ago. Hammel represented the top available starting pitcher on the free agent market at that point. Now he’ll enter a Kansas City rotation picture that will also feature Danny Duffy, Ian Kennedy, Nate Karns, Jason Vargas and Chris Young.

With the exception of an ugly 2013 season in Baltimore, Hammel has generally posted consistently solid results since leaving Colorado in prior to the 2012 campaign — he’s eaten 771 innings in that time, with a slightly-above-average 3.88 ERA to go with 8.0 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9. Those peripheral numbers slipped a bit last season with Chicago, to 7.9 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9, but he was still generally effective, with a 3.83 ERA. He relies heavily on his very good slider, a pitch he threw more frequently (35.1%) than any other qualified starter last season except Michael Pineda, Chris Archer and Ervin Santana.

Hammel turned 34 in September, so his new deal will cover his age-34 and age-35 seasons, with the mutual option covering his age-36 campaign. A large number of Royals (including Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain, Mike Moustakas, Alcides Escobar and Vargas) are eligible for free agency next winter, so Hammel’s addition will help the club bridge the gap between next season and the immediate future beyond it. As Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star tweets, the Royals’ late deals with Hammel and Brandon Moss have sent their payroll north somewhat, although those increases have been offset in part by the departures of Wade Davis and Jarrod Dyson, as well as Duffy’s extension, which reduced the 2017 salary he would have received through the arbitration process.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the agreement (Twitter link). Hammel will receive $16MM guaranteed, Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports tweeted the terms, and Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star reported the year-to-year breakdown (via Twitter). MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reported the deal’s incentives (via Twitter).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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