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Heyman’s Latest: Harper, Rangers, Bruce, Lagares, Cosart

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Bryce Harper’s free agent market receives an early preview by FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman, who lists the eight teams he feels have the best chance at signing the star outfielder when he hits the open market after the season.  The Nationals and other big-market usual suspects are cited, though the Braves are a new addition to the list of candidates, as both Sirius XM Radio’s Steve Phillips and an unnamed friend of Harper’s feel Atlanta is a logical possibility.  It should be noted that the Braves are only being named here as a “makes sense on paper” type of candidate, as it isn’t known whether Harper himself would consider the Braves, or if the club is actually preparing for a run at the outfielder.  Still, a case can be made — Atlanta is known to be preparing for the end of its rebuild, with a large array of young players that could position the team as a contender for years to come.  Signing Harper would certainly be about the biggest splash possible in announcing a return to contention, though it remains to be seen if the Braves would be open to spending the record-setting contract Harper will seek in free agency.

Here’s some more from Heyman, in his weekly notes post covering all 30 teams…

  • With Delino DeShields Jr. on the disabled list due to a broken hamate bone, the Rangers are looking for center field depth.  Drew Robinson and Rule 5 draft pick Carlos Tocci have been platooning in center field with DeShields out, though that may not be a tenable situation given that DeShields could be sidelined into the middle of May.  Jose Cardona and Brett Eibner are available in the minors, but Texas would have to create a 40-man roster spot for either player.
  • Heyman provides some new details on Jay Bruce’s free agent market, reporting that the Indians offered Bruce a two-year, $18MM deal while the Blue Jays discussed a one-year deal in the range of $5MM-$7MM.  It’s interesting to note that both teams ended up signing somewhat similar veteran left-handed bats for similar price points — Cleveland inked Yonder Alonso for two years and $16MM in guaranteed money, while Toronto signed Curtis Granderson to a one-year, $5MM deal.  The Jays didn’t actually make Bruce an offer, however, and neither did the Astros, though they also had some talks with Bruce about a two-year deal.  Heyman speculates that Houston may have been considering Bruce only if top prospect Derek Fisher was dealt, and thus the Astros’ interest waned since they were able to acquire Gerrit Cole without parting ways with the young outfielder.  As it turned out, Bruce ended up landing a three-year, $39MM deal to return to the Mets.
  • Speaking of the Mets, Heyman writes that the team would still be willing to deal Juan Lagares if a trade partner could be found.  Lagares had been a frequent subject of trade rumors over the winter, and the Mets’ outfield situation has once again become overly crowded now that Michael Conforto has returned from the disabled list.  With Conforto and Brandon Nimmo both capable of playing center field, Lagares’ contract ($16MM guaranteed in 2018-19) and lack of hitting makes him expendable, though Lagares is a superb defender.  It’s possible the Mets could find an interested team later in the season as injuries or pennant race needs emerge, though one would think New York would have to eat at least some of the contract to make a deal happen.  On the flip side, Lagares could provide valuable depth if the Mets are again hit with injuries, or if Bruce is needed at first base in the event that Adrian Gonzalez can’t hold up over regular playing time.
  • Jarred Cosart will soon throw for teams in a showcase, as the free agent righty looks to catch on with another team.  Elbow surgery limited Cosart to just 24 MLB innings in 2017, and the Padres outrighted him off their roster after the season rather than pay him a projected $1.3MM via the arbitration process.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/6/18

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Here are Friday’s minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Braves announced that catcher Chris Stewart was outrighted after clearing waivers. He has accepted the assignment to Triple-A, per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (via Twitter). The 36-year-old opened as the third catcher in Atlanta but saw plenty of time in the first week of the season owing to injuries. Still, he was clearly on the chopping block at the first moment a roster need arose, especially once the club acquired younger receiver Carlos Perez. Stewart will remain on hand for depth if and when a need arises. He’s considered a sturdy presence behind the dish, but owns only a .230/.297/.292 lifetime batting line in the majors.
  • Outfielder Darrell Ceciliani and left-handed reliever Kevin Chapman have signed with the New Britain Bees of the independent Atlantic League, the club announced. The 27-year-old Ceciliani has spent parts of the past three seasons in the Majors with the Mets and Blue Jays, hitting a combined .190/.250/.300 in 109 plate appearances. However, he’s a career .282/.336/.459 hitter in parts of three Triple-A seasons. Chapman, meanwhile, logged innings with the Astros from 2013-16, pitching to a combined 4.09 ERA with 7.9 K/9 against 5.1 BB/9 in a total of 55 innings. The 30-year-old has averaged 11.1 K/9 and notched a 3.96 ERA in 231 2/3 Triple-A innings, though he was hammered for a 6.65 ERA between the Triple-A affiliates for the Braves and Twins last year.
  • Former Astros reliever Josh Zeid announced on Twitter today that he’s formally retiring as a player. The 31-year-old hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2014, but he’s logged plenty of Triple-A innings since spending two seasons in the Houston bullpen. Zeid also took pride in serving as the closer for Team Israel’s 2017 World Baseball Classic club, during which he tossed 10 shutout innings with a 10-to-6 K/BB ratio and notched a pair of saves. A former 10th-round draft pick out of Tulane (Phillies, 2009), Zeid retires with a 4.39 ERA in 650 minor league innings and a 5.21 ERA in 48 1/3 MLB frames.
  • Right-hander Brandon Cunniff, who tossed 52 innings of 4.50 ERA ball with 9.2 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 with the 2015-16 Braves, has signed a deal with the Mexican League’s Bravos de Leon, according to the team. The 29-year-old spent the 2017 season with Miami’s Triple-A affiliate in New Orleans, where he worked to a 4.45 ERA with 54 punchouts against 28 walks in 54 2/3 innings out of the bullpen.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/5/18

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Here are Thursday’s minor moves from around the game…

  • The Braves outrighted reliever Miguel Socolovich to Triple-A Gwinnett following his recent DFA, and David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets that he accepted the assignment. As a player who’d previously been outrighted off a 40-man roster, Socolovich could’ve rejected the assignment in favor of free agency but will instead remain with the club. Socolovich appeared in one game with the Braves, during which he tossed two perfect innings with a pair of punchouts. Prior to this abbreviated Atlanta stint, the 31-year-old spent three seasons in the Cardinals organization, totaling 66 1/3 innings of relief. With the Cards, Socolovich logged a 3.80 ERA with 7.7 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and a 44.1 percent ground-ball rate.
  • The Mariners released veteran backstop Tuffy Gosewisch from their roster at Triple-A Tacoma, as Rainiers broadcaster Mike Curto reports (Twitter link). The 34-year-old Gosewisch went just 2-for-28 with the Mariners last season, though one of those two hits was a homer. He’s a career .190/.228/.271 hitter in 447 MLB plate appearances, though he’s also slashed a drastically superior .258/.318/.406 in his Triple-A career.

Braves Designate Chris Stewart, Select Contract Of Luke Jackson

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The Braves announced a roster move today after burning through some relief arms in last night’s contest. The club has designated catcher Chris Stewart for assignment to create roster space for righty Luke Jackson, whose contract was selected.

Stewart, 36, joined the Atlanta organization on a non-guaranteed MLB deal over the winter. He made the Opening Day roster, though it’s not known what financial obligations the Braves will carry after today’s move. (It is possible that the club worked out an advanced consent agreement in advance to avoid being on the hook for a full season of salary.)

The veteran receiver received quite a bit of action early in 2018 with both Tyler Flowers and Kurt Suzuki dealing with injuries. But the Braves ended up landing another option in Carlos Perez, obviating the need to continue carrying the light-hitting Stewart with the top two backstops on the mend.

As for Jackson, he had been bounced from the 40-man roster in late December but will get an early shot at redemption. Of course, he could ultimately also be a roster casualty when a need arises. The 26-year-old owns a 5.64 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 68 2/3 total MLB innings.

Angels Acquire Akeel Morris, Designate Troy Scribner

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The Angels announced on Tuesday that they’ve acquired righty Akeel Morris from the Braves in exchange for a player to be named later or cash. Atlanta designated Morris for assignment over the weekend. In order to clear a spot for Morris on the 40-man roster, the Angels designated right-hander Troy Scribner for assignment.

[Related: Updated Los Angeles Angels depth chart]

Initially a 10th-round pick of the Mets back in the 2010 draft, the now-25-year-old Morris overpowered hitters in the lower levels of the minors, posting gaudy strikeout totals that helped to overshadow some glaring control issues. He quickly shot up the Mets’ prospect rankings, ranking 19th and 22nd among Mets farmhands in the 2014-15 and 2015-16 offseasons, respectively. The Braves picked him up in the 2016 trade that sent Kelly Johnson to New York in what looked to be a surprisingly solid return for Johnson at the time.

Morris has continued to post solid numbers in the upper levels of the minors, as evidenced by last season’s 3.09 ERA, 10.2 K/9, 4.4 BB/9 and 32 percent ground-ball rate in 46 innings of Triple-A ball. The St. Thomas native also tossed 7 1/3 innings with the Braves’ big league club in 2017, allowing just a run on six hits and four walks with nine punchouts while averaging 93.1 mph on his heater. Morris is in his final option year, so the Angels will be able to shuffle him back and forth between Triple-A Salt Lake and Anaheim as they see fit this season.

As for Scribner, the 26-year-old made his own big league debut last season, pitching to a 4.18 ERA with an 18-to-10 K/BB ratio in 23 innings for the Halos. Unlike Morris, Scribner has worked primarily as a starter in the minors, spending the bulk of the 2017 season in Salt Lake, where he notched a 4.35 ERA with 9.0 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 with a 36.6 percent grounder rate in 103 1/3 innings of work. The former Astros farmhand, whom the Angels acquired in March 2017 in exchange for cash, still has multiple minor league options remaining, which should enhance his appeal to clubs that are thin on rotation depth in the upper minors.

Braves Select Contract Of Anibal Sanchez, Designate Miguel Socolovich

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The Braves announced on Monday that they’ve selected the contract of veteran righty Anibal Sanchez and designated right-hander Miguel Socolovich for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man and 25-man rosters. Additionally, the Braves added trade acquisition Carlos Perez to the active roster and cleared room by placing righty Josh Ravin on the 10-day DL with a viral infection. The Braves acquired Perez from the Angels over the weekend in a straight-up swap for infielder Ryan Schimpf.

Sanchez, 33, will look to revitalize a career that has gone south in recent seasons. Signed to a five-year, $80MM contract by the Tigers in the 2012-13 offseason, the right-hander vastly outperformed his salary in the first two seasons of that deal, taking home an American League ERA title in 2013 and turning in a strong 2014 campaign as well. However, the final three seasons of that pact quickly turned into a disaster for the Tigers, as Sanchez’s effectiveness quickly evaporated.

From 2015-17 with the Tigers, Sanchez logged a total of 415 2/3 innings and surrendered 262 earned runs (5.67 ERA) on 462 hits (85 homers) and 131 walks. The righty still shows a penchant for missing bats (8.2 K/9 over the final three years of the deal, 8.9 K/9 in 2017), but his ground-ball rate has eroded and he’s become stunningly homer prone.

He’ll eventually slot into the rotation behind Julio Teheran, Mike Foltynewicz, Sean Newcomb and Brandon McCarthy and serve as a bridge to one of Atlanta’s many impressive young arms in the upper levels of the minor leagues. For now, though, Sanchez is likely to work out of the ’pen due to the fact that Atlanta doesn’t need a fifth starter for another week or so.

Socolovich’s time with the Braves will be extremely brief. His contract was only selected this past Friday, though reports at the time even indicated that it was likely to be a short-term move. Socolovich did get into one game with the Braves, during which he tossed two perfect innings with a pair of punchouts. Prior to this abbreviated Atlanta stint, the 31-year-old spent three seasons in the Cardinals organization, totaling 66 1/3 innings of relief. With the Cards, Socolovich logged a 3.80 ERA with 7.7 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and a 44.1 percent ground-ball rate.

NL East Notes: Kapler, Braves, Marlins

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The Phillies will receive a formal warning letter from Major League Baseball in the wake of an unusual situation from Saturday’s game, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets.  The league ruled that home plate umpire Jerry Layne was right to allow Phils reliever Hoby Milner some extra warm-up pitches after Milner was brought into the game seemingly without warning by manager Gabe Kapler, as Milner wasn’t even up in the bullpen.  The Braves objected to Milner being allowed any warm-up pitches after being called into the game, yet Layne felt the extra time was necessary for the sake of Milner’s health.  Kapler’s usage of his bullpen has already become a controversial subject in Philadelphia, as the Phillies used 21 pitchers over their first three games of the season.  “Any time we have a miscommunication it’s my responsibility so I take full responsibility for it,” Kapler told NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salibury and other media after the game.

Some more items from the NL East…

  • The Braves are set to add both Anibal Sanchez and Carlos Perez to their 25-man roster for tomorrow’s game, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets.  Corresponding moves have yet to be determined, as Atlanta still isn’t certain whether Kurt Suzuki could require some DL time after he was hit in the hand with a pitch on Friday.  Perez is out of options, so the newly-acquired catcher seemed likely to get an immediate placement on the MLB roster to avoid being exposed to waivers.  Sanchez was signed to a minor league contract two weeks ago and will make $1MM for reaching the Braves’ big league roster.
  • There could be quite a bit of roster-juggling for the Braves in the next couple of weeks, as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman details in a reader mailbag piece.  Bowman actually wasn’t certain the team would go ahead with promoting Sanchez since the Braves don’t need a fifth starter until April 10, and there wasn’t any major need to use Sanchez out of the bullpen since the relievers weren’t overly taxed over Atlanta’s first three games.  (Plus, the Braves are off today and on April 5.)  Much will depend on Suzuki’s DL status or if Johan Camargo will be immediately activated when he is eligible to come off the disabled list on April 5, or if the Braves will give Camargo some time in the minors to get fully up to speed after missing three weeks.
  • The Marlins will purchase the contract of right-hander Trevor Richards from Triple-A New Orleans tomorrow in time for Richards to start Monday’s game against the Red Sox.  The 24-year-old Richards will be making his Major League debut.  After going undrafted out of Drury University, Richards pitched in independent ball before signing with the Marlins in 2016 and has done nothing but impress in Miami’s farm system.  Richards has a 2.52 ERA, 9.5 K/9, and 4.59 K/BB rate over 200 1/3 innings, starting 34 of his 38 career appearances as a Marlins prospect.

Braves, Angels Swap Ryan Schimpf, Carlos Perez

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The Angels have acquired infielder Ryan Schimpf from the Braves for catcher Carlos Perez, according to an announcement from Los Angeles. Schimpf will head to Triple-A, per the Angels.

Injuries likely played a part in this deal for both teams. The Angels sent second baseman Ian Kinsler to the disabled list on Saturday, while Braves catcher Tyler Flowers was already on the DL with an oblique strain. Flowers’ backup, Kurt Suzuki, took a pitch off the hand during an at-bat on Friday, though he won’t need a DL stint, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports. Nevertheless, that injury scare was all the more reason for the Braves to add depth in the wake of Flowers’ loss.

Schimpf, 29, lasted less than a month with the Braves, who acquired him from the Rays on March 5. He’s best known for a solid 2016 campaign in San Diego, where he batted .217/.336/.533 (130 wRC+) with 20 home runs in 330 plate appearances. Schimpf’s success that year (his rookie season) came thanks in part to both a 64.9 percent fly ball rate and a 12.7 percent walk rate. At the same time, Schimpf struck out in nearly 32 percent of PAs. His swing-and-miss tendencies carried into 2017, when he fanned 35.5 percent of the time and saw his overall production plummet. Across 197 PAs, Schimpf hit .158/.284/.424 (88 wRC+) with 14 HRs, but he continued to rack up fly balls (63.9 percent) and walks (13.7 percent).

The 27-year-old Perez lost his spot on the Angels when they designated him for assignment earlier this week to make room for Shohei Ohtani’s promotion. Perez amassed upward of 280 PAs with the Angels in both the 2015 and ’16 campaigns, but the addition of Martin Maldonado last year helped limit him to just 21 big league trips to the plate. Over 595 PAs with the Angels, Perez batted .224/.267/.332 (64 wRC+). On the defensive side, Perez threw out an impressive 38 percent of would-be base stealers (far above the 30 percent league average) during his Angels tenure, though he did draw minus pitch-framing marks from 2015-16. With no options remaining, Perez will have to go through waivers if the Braves attempt to demote him to the minors.

NL East Notes: Nimmo, Conforto, Cooper, Sanchez

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The imminent return of Michael Conforto could force one of his deserving Mets teammates out of a job, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com writes. Specifically, leadoff hitter Brandon Nimmo (who reached base four times on opening day) could end up being displaced to the bench, as the Mets also have Yoenis Cespedes and Jay Bruce at the outfield corners. Nimmo, who was the club’s first-round selection in 2011, leapfrogged Juan Lagares on the depth chart with a fantastic spring. However, he doesn’t carry the upside of Conforto or the track record of Bruce or Cespedes. DiComo adds that the Mets are not considering shifting Bruce to first base, as the club seems content with Adrian Gonzalez at that position for the time being. For his part, Nimmo isn’t thinking about the outfield crunch at this time. “When Conforto comes back, we’ll deal with that,” he said. “But as far as right now, I’m just going to try to be me, and be the best me I can.”

Other items from the NL’s eastern teams…

  • In other Mets news, Anthony Swarzak left today’s game with an apparent injury. Said injury was later described as a “sore oblique”, and he’s considered day-to-day for the time being (h/t Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). For Swarzak’s part, he’s “not panicking” about the soreness and is hoping it’ll disappear tomorrow.
  • After being hit by a pitch on the wrist in yesterday’s 17-inning marathon, Marlins outfielder Garrett Cooper was replaced by fellow outfielder Cameron Maybin. After the game, the club described the injury as a “wrist contusion”, writes MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. It’s good news for Miami to hear that Cooper’s wrist isn’t broken, but he’s day-to-day for the time being, and it’s unclear when he’ll return to the lineup. “I took the sleeve off, and it was pretty purple,” Cooper said of the injury. “No fracture. Just day-to-day right now. I can move it around. Just a little swollen.”
  • The Braves currently have three catchers on the roster, but manager Brian Snitker says that one of them could give way to right-hander Anibal Sanchez soon. David O’Brien of the Atlantla Journal-Constitution writes that while Sanchez has been tabbed for the fifth spot in the rotation (when necessary) for some time, the club may add him sooner than that in case they need to deploy him as a reliever. Sanchez pitched to a horrific 5.67 ERA across 415 2/3 innings across his last three seasons with the Tigers, though his strikeout (8.14 K/9) and walk (2.84) ratios remained generally good during that time.

Braves Designate Akeel Morris

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The Braves have designated right-hander Akeel Morris for assignment. Morris’ 40-man spot will go to Josh Ravin, whose contract the club has purchased from Triple-A Gwinnett. Left-hander Rex Brothers has been optioned to make room for Ravin at the big-league level.

Morris, 25, made his big league debut with the Mets in 2015, but didn’t appear again in the majors until last July. He struck out nine hitters and allowed just one earned run across 7 1/3 innings for the Braves during his second stint, though he did walk four hitters. Even in Triple-A last season, the righty only managed a 32% ground ball rate and sported a 4.44 BB/9 mark.

Similarly, the right-handed Ravin walked nine hitters in just 16 2/3 innings with the Dodgers last season, and ended the campaign with a bloated 6.48. He did, however, manage to strike out 10.62 batters per nine innings. That’s where the 33-year-old’s upside lies; he had a whopping 14.01 K/9 across 35 1/3 Triple-A innings last season.

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