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Archives for July 2017

MLBTR Originals

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Here’s a recap of the original content featured at MLBTR over the past week:

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Cubs, Bucs, Jays, Cards, Phils, Tigers, O’s

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This week in baseball blogs:

Submissions: ZachBBWI @gmail.com.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/2/17

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Here are the latest minor moves from around baseball, with the newest transactions at the top of the post…

  • The Braves have released outfielder Sanders Commings, tweets Robert Murray of FanRag. Commings joined the Braves for a $100K bonus in February, which came after a short career in the NFL as a defensive back with the Kansas City Chiefs. A fifth-round pick out of Georgia in 2013, Commings saw action in two games that year. Those proved to be Commings’ only NFL appearances, as he broke his ankle during training camp in 2014 and was waived with an injury settlement a year later. Commings played high school baseball before turning to football, and he was so promising that the Diamondbacks drafted him in 2008 (in the 37th round). In his return to baseball this year, Commings, 27, has played at the rookie level and hit .154/.267/.231 in a meager sample size (15 PA).
  • The Reds purchased the contract of right-hander Asher Wojciechowski, as per a team announcement.  In corresponding moves, Brandon Finnegan was moved to the 60-day DL and righty Jackson Stephens was optioned to Triple-A.  This is Wojciechowski’s second stint with the big league team this season, having been DFA’ed and outrighted off Cincinnati’s roster last month.  Wojciechowski posted a 6.75 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 4.5 K/BB rate over 21 1/3 IP, and he allowed six homers over that brief stay in the majors.
  • The Cardinals acquired outfielder Lane Thomas from the Blue Jays in exchange for international bonus pool money, as announced by the Cards’ Twitter feed.  Thomas, 21, was a fifth-round pick for Toronto in 2014 who has a .242/.321/.379 slash line over 1109 career PA, none above the high-A level.  The Jays entered the July 2 int’l signing period with $4.75MM bonus pool and they have already reportedly spent $2.15MM of that total on two notable prospects.

Red Sox Acquire International Bonus Money In Trades With Reds, Cardinals

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5:48pm: The Reds sent $2.75MM in spending room to the Red Sox, tweets Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

10:33am: The Red Sox have acquired international bonus pool space from the Reds in exchange for minor league first baseman Nick Longhi, as per a Sox press release.  In a separate deal, Boston also acquired more pool space from the Cardinals in exchange for minor league infielders Imeldo Diaz and Stanley Espinal.  Specific financial terms weren’t announced for either trade.

The Sox made a big splash as the 2017-18 international signing period opened this morning, agreeing to deals with highly-touted prospects Daniel Flores, Danny Diaz and Antoni Flores for a combined $6.1MM in bonuses.  Since the Red Sox had only $4.75MM available to spend in their draft pool, some trading was necessary to bring in the extra funds for these youngsters, as well as any other less-splashy international signings the Sox may make.  Teams are allowed to acquire as much as 75 percent of their original draft pool, which works out to $3,562,500 in Boston’s case.

Longhi was rated as Boston’s 14th-best minor leaguer by the 2017 Baseball America Prospect Handbook, which described Longhi as “one of the best pure hitters in the Red Sox system” despite a lack of power.  Longhi has six of his 16 career homers as a professional this season at Double-A, with a .262/.306/.401 overall batting line in 252 PA.  The 21-year-old was originally a 30th-round pick for the Sox in the 2013 amateur draft.

Both Espinal and Diaz have appeared in just seven games each this season, all for Boston’s low A-ball affiliate in Lowell.  Espinal, a 20-year-old third baseman out of the Dominican Republic, has a .682 OPS over 577 pro plate appearances.  The 19-year-old Diaz also hasn’t shown much at the plate in his brief career, hitting .222/.279/.258 over 522 PA.

The Cardinals had $5.75MM and the Reds $5.25MM in available pool money for this July 2 class, though both teams are under the $300K limit since both exceeded their bonus pools in the 2016-17 signing period.  It stands to reason that St. Louis and Cincinnati felt comfortable dealing their pool money since they didn’t plan on using all of it given their limited signing capabilities.  It wouldn’t be a surprise if other teams facing the $300K penalty (the Astros, A’s, Cubs, Padres, Royals, Braves, Giants, Dodgers and Nationals) also deal some from their bonus pool funds in the coming weeks and months.

Angels Release Michael Bourn

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A month after signing outfielder Michael Bourn to a minor league contract, the Angels have released him, per an announcement from the Pacific Coast League.

Bourn joined the Angels as depth in the wake of Mike Trout’s late-May thumb injury, but they ultimately didn’t summon the veteran speedster to the majors. Another minor league signing, Eric Young Jr., has stepped up in the soon-to-return Trout’s absence, while everyday options Cameron Maybin and Kole Calhoun have also fared well. With those three and expensive reserve Ben Revere on hand, there wasn’t room on the Halos’ roster for Bourn.

In 106 plate appearances with the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate in Salt Lake, Bourn hit an uninspiring .260/.317/.365 with two home runs and four stolen bases. The two-time All-Star has spent the entire season at Triple-A, having previously played with the Orioles’ affiliate in Norfolk before opting out of his deal in May.

Last season, when Bourn was most recently in the majors, the 34-year-old collected 413 PAs between Baltimore and Arizona and slashed .264/.314/.371 with five homers and 15 steals.

Orioles Acquire Matt Wotherspoon, Jason Wheeler

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The Orioles have made a pair of trades, according to a team announcement. They’ve acquired right-hander Matt Wotherspoon from the Yankees and left-hander Jason Wheeler from the Dodgers, surrendering international signing bonus slots for both players. Wotherspoon and Wheeler will report to Triple-A Norfolk.

Trading international money for players is nothing new for the Orioles, who took that route before Sunday to acquire the likes of Damien Magnifico, Paul Fry and Alex Katz earlier this season. Their aversion to spending on the international market has led to criticism from Baseball America’s Ben Badler, who laid into O’s ownership back in April for their “antiquated” approach.

The 25-year-old Wotherspoon has mostly served as a reliever in the minors since the Yankees chose him in the 34th round of the 2014 draft. He debuted at the Triple-A level last season and has been quite effective since, having logged a 2.10 ERA, 6.8 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 34 1/3 innings.

Unlike Wotherspoon, Wheeler comes with major league experience. An eighth-rounder of the Twins in 2011, the 26-year-old made his debut earlier this season with Minnesota. He fared poorly over three innings, though, yielding three earned runs on six hits and four walks, with no strikeouts. The Twins then traded him to the Dodgers on June 2, but Los Angeles designated him for assignment on June 18. Wheeler pitched exclusively with their Triple-A affiliate, recording a 10.38 ERA over 8 2/3 innings. Overall, Wheeler owns a 4.74 ERA, 6.3 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 281 Triple-A frames and 51 appearances (48 starts).

The Dodgers and Yankees both began Sunday, the opening of the 2017-18 international signing period, with $4.75MM available. LA is unable to sign anyone for more than $300K, however, while New York ate into its total by agreeing to deals with Venezuelan outfielder Everson Pereira and shortstop Roberto Chirinos for a combined $2.4MM. The Yankees are also likely to sign Dominican shortstop Ronny Rojas in August for a projected $1.05MM.

Rangers Open To Trading Jonathan Lucroy

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3:06pm: The Rangers have discussed Lucroy with other teams, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter).

1:56pm: The Rangers are open to trading catcher Jonathan Lucroy, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter links).  Lucroy is a free agent this winter and Texas is “highly unlikely” to make a qualifying offer to the catcher, Rosenthal writes, so the team could use Lucroy as a trade chip to address its struggling bullpen.  The Rangers would go with Robinson Chirinos and Brett Nicholas as its catching tandem if Lucroy was dealt.

It was just under 11 months ago, of course, that Lucroy came to Texas in a blockbuster deadline deal that saw the Rangers give up a hefty prospect package (Lewis Brinson, Luis Ortiz, Ryan Cordell) to acquire Lucroy and Jeremy Jeffress from the Brewers.  It was a stiff price but seemingly a fair one for one of the game’s best catchers, especially since Lucroy hit well and helped Texas win the AL West last season, while still being controllable in 2017 at a team-friendly price.  The two sides had some talks about a contract extension last offseason, though a new deal ultimately didn’t materialize.

This year, however, has been a struggle for Lucroy.  He entered today’s action hitting just .263/.311/.375 with four homers over 241 PA, with a career-low walk rate (5.4%) and hard-hit ball rate (22.9%).  That latter number is the seventh-lowest hard-hit ball rat of any player in baseball this season with at least 240 PA.  On the defensive side, Lucroy’s pitch-framing numbers have also declined, making his overall production for the season barely above replacement-level.

The Rangers entered today with only a 40-41 record, though that is still good enough to put them just two games out of a wild card spot in the crowded American League.  Since the Astros are running away with the AL West, however, it isn’t clear whether Texas would make a big trade deadline push just for the sake of reaching the one-game wild card playoff.  Yahoo’s Jeff Passan recently speculated that Lucroy could be a trade candidate if the Rangers fell out of the race, though given Lucroy’s lackluster performance, a deal wouldn’t necessarily mean Texas is throwing in the towel on the season.  Chirinos has been on fire this season with a .918 OPS in 123 PA, so giving him more playing time could boost the lineup.

Chirinos was given a modest contract extension of his own last winter as the Rangers were seemingly preparing themselves if Lucroy left, though it is still somewhat remarkable that Lucroy has gone from a potential top-five free agent this winter to a player who seemingly won’t even get a qualifying offer.  The Rangers obviously wouldn’t get anything for Lucroy close to what they gave Milwaukee last summer, though given Lucroy’s track record, Texas could still get something of value back.  This is just my speculation, but the Rockies, Cubs and Angels stand out as contenders that could be looking for a catching upgrade at the deadline.

Rangers Acquire Jason Grilli

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The Rangers acquired veteran righty Jason Grilli and cash considerations from the Blue Jays in exchange for minor league outfielder Eduard Pinto, according to a Rangers media release.  In corresponding moves, right-hander Preston Claiborne was designated for assignment, righty Tanner Scheppers was optioned to Triple-A and right-hander Tony Barnette was activated from the disabled list.

All of these moves will address a Texas bullpen that ranks near the bottom of the league in most categories, and is particularly in flux after the demotion of closer Matt Bush.  It may be unlikely to expect Grilli to factor into the Rangers’ closer-by-committee situation given the veteran’s rough start to the 2017 season.  The 40-year-old has a 6.97 ERA over 20 2/3 IP, and despite some decent peripherals (10.02 K/9, 2.56 K/BB rate), Grilli has simply been unable to keep the ball in the park, surrendering a whopping nine home runs in his brief time on the mound this year.

It’s worth noting that Grilli also pitched poorly at the beginning of the 2016 season, though he improved greatly after being dealt to the Blue Jays in May 2016 and was a key cog in Toronto’s run to the postseason.  The Rangers are obviously hoping for a similar uptick in performance from a change in scenery for Grilli, who is making his second stint in the organization (he pitched in 30 games for Texas in 2009).

Grilli was still owed roughly $1.4MM for the rest of 2017, so the money Toronto is sending along in the deal likely makes up a good chunk of that remaining salary.  In exchange, the Jays add a 22-year-old outfielder in Pinto who has a .309/.367/.390 slash line over 1683 career PA in six pro seasons.  Pinto played 22 games at Double-A last season, his highest level achieved, and this year has a .311/.358/.446 slash line over 191 PA at high A-ball.

Claiborne had his contract purchased by the Rangers two weeks ago and he appeared in one game for the team, which marked Claiborne’s first taste of MLB action since 2014.  The right-hander missed all of 2015 due to a shoulder injury and spent 2016 pitching in the Giants’ minor league system.

NL International Signings: 7/2/17

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Here are some notable National League international signings not yet covered elsewhere on MLB Trade Rumors.  All signing information can be found in these invaluable compilations of the initial flurry of July 2 action from Baseball America’s Ben Badler and MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez; the information here is from those sources unless otherwise credited…

  • The Mets agreed to deals with Dominican shortstops Ronny Mauricio and Adrian Hernandez.  Mauricio will get a $2.1MM bonus while Hernandez receives $1.5MM.
  • The Phillies reached agreement with Dominican shortstop Luis Garcia on a deal with a $2.5MM bonus.
  • The Marlins have agree to sign Ynmanol Marinez, a shortstop from the Dominican Republic.  The exact figures on Marinez’s bonus aren’t known, though the 16-year-old will get in the neighborhood of $1.3MM-$1.5MM.
  • The Brewers agreed to sign Dominican outfielder Larry Ernesto for a bonus in the range of $1.7MM-$1.8MM (BA had the lower figure, MLB.com the higher).  Milwaukee has also reached a deal with Venezuelan outfielder Carlos Rodriguez for a $1.355MM bonus.
  • The Cubs agreed to sign Mexican shortstop Luis Verdugo for a $1MM bonus.
  • The Diamondbacks have an agreement with outfielder Kristian Robinson.  The 16-year-old native of Nassau, Bahamas will receive $2.5MM from Arizona.

AL International Signings: 7/2/17

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Here are some notable American League international signings not yet covered elsewhere on MLB Trade Rumors.  All signing information can be found in these invaluable compilations of the initial flurry of July 2 action from Baseball America’s Ben Badler and MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez; the information here is from those sources unless otherwise credited…

  • The Yankees have agreed to sign Venezuelan outfielder Everson Pereira and shortstop Roberto Chirinos.  Pereira will receive a $1.5MM bonus, while Chirinos gets $900K.  The Yankees are also seen as the favorites to sign Dominican shortstop Ronny Rojas, with Sanchez projecting a $1.05MM bonus.  Badler tweets that Rojas isn’t eligible to officially sign until August, when he turns 16 years old.
  • The Blue Jays have reached agreement with Brazilian right-hander Eric Pardinho on a $1.4MM bonus, as well as signing Dominican shortstop Miguel Hiraldo to a $750K deal.
  • The Tigers agreed to sign Venezuelan shortstop Alvaro Gonzalez for a $1MM bonus.
  • The Indians have reached deals with Venezuelan shortstop Aaron Bracho ($1.5MM) and Dominican outfielder George Valera ($1.3MM according to Sanchez, $1.2MM according to Badler).
  • The Angels signed Bahamanian outfielder Trent Deveaux, with Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reporting that Deveaux will receive a $1.2MM bonus.
  • The Mariners have a $1.75MM agreement with Dominican outfielder Julio Rodriguez, as well as a $1.225MM agreement with Venezuelan shortstop Juan Querecuto.
  • The Rangers agreed to nine-figure deals with a trio of prospects.  Venezuelan outfielder Wilderd Patino will receive a $1.3MM bonus, while Venezuelan shortstop Keyber Rodriguez and Mexican right-hander Damian Mendoza each get bonuses worth $1MM.

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