Archives for April 2018

Derek Norris Reportedly Agrees To Deal With Sugar Land Skeeters

By Jeff Todd | April 16, 2018 at 6:35pm CDT

Veteran catcher Derek Norris has signed on with the Sugar Land Skeeters, as Mick Reinhard of Mayflies & Big Flies first reported on Twitter. The organization has yet to announce the move.

Based upon his MLB experience alone, Norris would surely command a spot at the top affiliate of some organization. The 29-year-old has appeared in 610 games over the past six seasons, after all. And he hit as well as could be hoped in limited action this spring — 7-for-17 with a home run — after joining the Tigers on a minor-league deal.

Though Norris has struggled quite a bit at the plate in recent seasons, with a .190/.256/.343 slash since the start of 2016, teams are always on the hunt for catching depth. In that regard, it’s surprising at first glance to hear that Norris was forced onto the indy ball circuit. That said, the recent domestic violence allegations against Norris that led to league discipline — and the controversial manner in which he and the Tigers addressed the matter this spring — may well have been a consideration for other affiliated organizations.

Rangers Acquire Tony Sanchez

By Jeff Todd | April 16, 2018 at 4:26pm CDT

The Rangers have acquired backstop Tony Sanchez from the Reds, both teams announced. Cash or a player to be named later will head back in return.

Once a highly-regarded prospect with the Pirates, the 29-year-old Sanchez has settled in as an upper-level depth piece. He’ll head to the Rangers’ top affiliate to take the place of Brett Nicholas, who was recently dealt to the Padres.

Sanchez has just 156 total plate appearances at the MLB level in four seasons of action, over which he carries a .257/.301/.375 batting line. He spent the bulk of 2017 at the Triple-A level with the Angels organization, where he posted a .272/.355/.374 slash with four long balls in 284 trips to the plate.

Nationals Select Contract Of Jeremy Hellickson

By Steve Adams | April 16, 2018 at 3:08pm CDT

The Nationals announced that they’ve selected the contract of veteran right-hander Jeremy Hellickson and transferred catcher Jhonatan Solano to the 60-day disabled list (bone chips in right elbow) to create a spot on the 40-man roster. The Nats opened an active roster spot for Hellickson, who’ll start tonight’s game, by optioning righty Trevor Gott to Triple-A Syracuse.

Hellickson, 31, will step into the fifth spot of the Nats’ rotation in place of struggling right-hander A.J. Cole, who has been tagged for a dozen runs on 13 hits (four homers) and five walks through his first nine innings of the season. Cole couldn’t be sent to the minors to clear space for Hellickson due to the fact that he’s out of minor league options and would’ve first needed to be exposed to waivers. As such, he’ll head to the bullpen for now.

Hellickson will be eyeing a rebound from a disastrous 2017 season that saw him struggle with the Phillies before completely coming unglued following a trade to the Orioles. In 51 2/3 innings with the O’s down the stretch, the 2011 AL Rookie of the Year allowed an average of 2.26 home runs per nine innings pitched while notching just 5.40 strikeouts against 2.96 walks per nine frames. The resulting 6.97 ERA and overall body of Hellickson’s struggles were concerning enough that he had to settle for a minor league contract with an invite to MLB camp with the Nats in free agency this winter.

Of course, Hellickson isn’t far removed from a full season of work as a quality big league starter. Pitching for the division-rival Phillies in 2016, Hellickson parlayed 189 innings of 3.71 ERA ball with 7.33 K/9, 2.14 BB/9, 1.14 HR/9 and a 40.7 percent grounder rate into a $17.2MM qualifying offer. He accepted that QO rather than testing the open market but wasn’t able to further build his stock and cash in on a multi-year pact as he likely hoped.

Chat Transcript: Rookies, Angels, Blue Jays, Reds

By Tim Dierkes | April 16, 2018 at 2:20pm CDT

Click here for the transcript of today’s chat with MLBTR owner Tim Dierkes.

Kevin Kiermaier To Undergo Thumb Surgery

By Steve Adams | April 16, 2018 at 2:05pm CDT

2:05pm: Topkin now adds that he hears that Kiermaier’s absence will likely be closer to 12 to 13 weeks than to eight weeks (Twitter link).

11:50am: The Rays announced that Kiermaier has been placed on the 10-day DL and confirmed the ligament tear as well as the requirement for surgery. Right-hander Chih-Wei Hu has been recalled from Triple-A Durham to take Kiermaier’s spot on the active roster for now.

11:24am: Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier suffered a torn ligament in his right thumb when sliding into second base yesterday and will require surgery that could sideline him for the next eight to 12 weeks, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Manager Kevin Cash had already suggested after yesterday’s game that Kiermaier could miss some significant time with the injury. He underwent an MRI this morning that revealed the tear, and a formal announcement is expected from the team later this afternoon, according to Topkin.

Though Kiermaier was off to a dreadful .163/.250/.233 start to his season, the loss of one of the game’s premier defenders is a significant blow to the Rays. Tampa Bay is off to just a 3-12 start to the 2018 season, and Kiermaier’s absence possibly into the month of July won’t do them any favors. This’ll now be three straight seasons in which Kiermaier has missed multiple months due to injury, having previously been shelved by a fractured wrist and a fractured hip.

[Related: Tampa Bay Rays depth chart]

The Rays have a pair of center-field capable outfielders on the active roster already in the form of Mallex Smith and Carlos Gomez. Presumably, one of the two will step into the considerable void left by Kiermaier. The injury will also likely push Denard Span into the outfield with more regularity, and it could clear a spot on the big league roster for recent waiver pickup Jeremy Hazelbaker.

Given the Rays’ miserable start to the 2018 campaign and now the lost of perhaps their best all-around player, trade rumblings surrounding their more established players figure to crop up earlier in the year than usual. Chris Archer and Alex Colome are a perennial fixtures on the rumor mill, though each struggled to a dismal start of his own. Gomez, Wilson Ramos, Adeiny Hechavarria, Sergio Romo and Span are among the other logical trade candidates on the Rays, should the team ultimately show an openness to moving some pieces. For now, of course, the focus for the Rays will remain on rebounding from an ugly start to the season.

Yankees Re-Sign Jace Peterson To Major League Contract

By Steve Adams | April 16, 2018 at 1:50pm CDT

The Yankees announced that they’ve re-signed infielder/outfielder Jace Peterson to a Major League contract. The ISE Baseball client will be active for tonight’s game.

New York designated Peterson for assignment last week, and the 27-year-old formally rejected an outright assignment to Triple-A today in favor of free agency. Obviously, the two sides quickly worked to broker a new pact that’ll at least buy Peterson a bit more big league service time, though it still seems likely to be a short-term move.

Peterson collected three hits in 10 trips to the plate with the Yankees in his brief time at the Major League level with them, though the bulk of his career has been spent with the Braves. Atlanta originally acquired Peterson as part of the trade that sent Justin Upton to the Padres, and he spent parts of three seasons there, hitting a combined .240/.326/.342 with 15 homers, 48 doubles and eight triples in 1220 MLB plate appearances.

It’s a bit curious to see Peterson go through this carousel of roster machinations, though the entire scenario comes down to the fact that the Yankees needed his roster spot earlier last week in order to add another center-field option to their injury-depleted outfield mix. Peterson’s roster spot went to Shane Robinson, who was quickly designated once Aaron Hicks was active. With a healthier outfield mix now in place, Peterson again fits into the Yankees’ short-term plans, though the impending return of Brandon Drury and the eventual promotion of Gleyber Torres makes it unlikely that he’ll be around as a long-term bench piece in the Bronx.

Yasiel Puig Hires Beverly Hills Sports Council

By Steve Adams | April 16, 2018 at 1:05pm CDT

Two months after the Wasserman agency announced that it had “terminated” its relationship with Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, the Beverly Hills Sports Council announced that Puig has signed on with them. Agents Dan Horwits and Cesar Suarez will serve as Puig’s representatives, per the release.

It’s not known precisely what prompted Wasserman to cut ties with Puig, though whatever behavior led to the decision didn’t bring forth any repercussions from the team or from Major League Baseball.

Puig, 27, is in the final season of the seven-year, $42MM contract he signed with the Dodgers prior to the 2012 season, but he won’t be a free agent next year at the conclusion of that pact by virtue of the fact that he’ll be a couple months shy of six years of MLB service time. As such, he’ll be subject to the arbitration process before reaching free agency upon completion of the 2019 campaign. While the polarizing slugger is off to a rough start in 2018 (.222/.283/.296), he delivered a strong 2017 season in L.A., hitting .263/.346/.487 with a career-best 28 homers and above-average defense in right field.

In joining BHSC, Puig will head to one of the game’s larger agencies, as can be seen in the MLBTR Agency Database. BHSC represents Alex Cobb, Jason Kipnis, Rougned Odor, Mike Leake and Salvador Perez, among many others. Puig’s change in representation is now reflected within our database, which contains info on more than 2,500 Major League and Minor League players. If you see any inaccuracies or omissions, please let us know via email: mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

J.J. Hoover Elects Free Agency

By Connor Byrne | April 16, 2018 at 12:44pm CDT

April 16: The Brewers announced this afternoon that Hoover has rejected his outright assignment and will instead elect free agency.

April 15: Veteran reliever J.J. Hoover is staying with the Brewers after being designated for assignment earlier this week, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com (Twitter link). The 30-year-old right-hander will head to Triple-A Colorado Springs.

Hoover, whom the Brewers added on a minor league pact in January, joined the big club on April 7. He then made two appearances, including a nightmarish second one against the Cardinals this past Tuesday. Hoover picked up both a blown save and a loss after surrendering three earned runs on four hits and a walk in an inning of work. As a result of that disastrous showing, he lost his place on Milwaukee’s 40- and 25-man rosters.

Since debuting with the Reds in 2012, Hoover has enjoyed some success in the majors – including in 2017. As a member of the Diamondbacks last season, Hoover threw 41 1/3 innings of 3.92 ERA ball and notched 11.76 K/9. However, a 5.66 BB/9 and a 32.8 percent groundball rate helped prevent him from landing a major league deal over the winter. Hoover will now attempt to work his way back to the Brewers via the minors.

Josh Harrison Out Six Weeks With Fractured Hand

By Steve Adams | April 16, 2018 at 12:29pm CDT

The Pirates announced on Monday that second baseman Josh Harrison sustained a fractured fifth metacarpal in his left hand when he was hit by a Jose Urena fastball in yesterday’s game. He’s expected to return to game action in about six weeks, per the team.

Harrison, 30, has gotten off to a .263/.328/.351 slash with a homer, two doubles and a stolen base through his first 14 games (64 plate appearances). With the veteran infielder headed to the disabled list, the 11-4 Pirates can turn to Adam Frazier or Sean Rodriguez at second base, though the team’s depth around the infield will be a bit thinned out. Max Moroff and Christopher Bostick could conceivably come up to fill in an infield spot on the bench, though it seems likely that multiple roster moves are on the horizon; the Pirates are also still in need of a 25-man move to accommodate the claim of out-of-options lefty Enny Romero from the Nats.

Harrison is earning $10MM this season as part of the four-year, $27.3MM deal he signed three years ago. Had the Pirates gotten off to a sluggish start, there’d likely have been trade chatter surrounding Harrison this summer, though so long as they can maintain some of the momentum they’ve built up, that no longer seems likely. Harrison’s deal contains club options for $10.5MM in 2019 and $11.5MM in 2020.

NL Central Notes: Nottingham, Senzel, Harrison

By Steve Adams | April 16, 2018 at 11:12am CDT

The Brewers will recall catcher Jacob Nottingham from Triple-A Colorado Springs before tonight’s game, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports. It’ll be the first taste of the Majors for Nottingham, who was acquired by Milwaukee in the trade that sent Khris Davis to Oakland. The 23-year-old Nottingham has had two rough seasons in Milwaukee’s system, posting a sub-.700 OPS at Double-A in both 2016 and 2017. He’s off to a fast start this year, however, hitting .296/.345/.519 through a tiny sample of 29 plate appearances. The corresponding 25-man move for Milwaukee isn’t yet clear, though primary catcher Manny Pina is day-to-day at the moment, as are Eric Thames and Ryan Braun, McCalvy notes. Nottingham doesn’t figure to be a long-term add for the time being, as Pina, Jett Bandy and Stephen Vogt (who is working his way back from a shoulder injury) all come with more experience.

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