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Peter Bourjos Elects Free Agency

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Outfielder Peter Bourjos has elected free agency, per the MLB.com transactions page. He had recently been designated for assignment and evidently cleared waivers.

Bourjos, 31, has been on and off the MLB roster in Atlanta, providing the team with a .205/.239/.364 batting line over 47 total plate appearances. He has been quite a bit more productive at Triple-A this year, where he carries a .277/.352/.511 slash in 105 trips to the plate.

It seems that Bourjos will at least look around for another opportunity. But he already did so once earlier in the season and ended up returning to the Braves on a minor-league deal. That again seems a plausible, but by no means certain, outcome.

Dodgers, Red Sox, Indians Among Teams Eyeing Marlins’ Bullpen

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July 2, 9:14pm: The Marlins are placing an “extremely high” ask on Barraclough, in particular, per MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. Indeed, he hears that the Miami organization is “basically looking for another club’s top prospect, or among their top prospects” in any swap involving the young hurler. The report suggests that Conley is the “most realistic” candidate to be moved among the three hurlers discussed below.

Unsurprisingly, multiple teams are poking around on the Marlins’ relievers. The Indians are among the contenders with some interest, per Jon Heyman of Fancred (via Twitter).

1:22pm: The Red Sox have also been in contact with the Marlins about their late-inning relievers, Morosi writes today. While Boston is set to at last welcome Tyler Thornburg to its bullpen, the team is nonetheless exploring contingency options, per the report. More generally, it stands to reason that the majority of contenders will at least explore the possibility of adding an arm such as Barraclough, Steckenrider or (to a lesser extent, given the shorter track record in the ’pen) Conley.

Any from that group would be an upgrade over virtually any team’s seventh- or eighth-best reliever at the very least, and deep bullpens are paramount to success in postseason play.

July 1: The Dodgers have “had preliminary dialogue” with the Marlins about some of Miami’s top bullpen arms, says Jon Paul Morosi of MLB.com. That list of relievers includes Kyle Barraclough, Drew Steckenrider and Adam Conley.

While Morosi’s sources have been careful to note that no deal is close at this time, there’s certainly a good fit between the two clubs. The Dodgers’ bullpen actually ranks fourth in MLB with a combined WPA of 26.06, but has recently seen Tony Cingrani, Pedro Baez and Josh Fields hit the disabled list (as Morosi himself notes).The bridge to closer Kenley Jansen appears particularly weak, with Erik Goeddel and Scott Alexander currently working in setup roles. The Dodgers are certainly contenders for the NL Pennant, sitting just 3.5 games back of the division-leading Diamondbacks. And of course, the Marlins aren’t serious competitors for a spot in the playoffs this season.

There’s certainly no rush for the Marlins to trade any of the above players, as all three have yet to even qualify for arbitration eligibility. Conley and Barraclough will remain under club control through 2021, while Steckenrider is controllable for another two seasons beyond that. At the same time, though, the Marlins aren’t seen as likely to do much winning over the next three or four years; they’re mired in a full teardown that began this offseason with trades of Dee Gordon, Giancarlo Stanton and Marcell Ozuna. Trading Barraclough and Conley in particular could make a lot of sense if they’re able to net some young talent who could contribute during their next contending season.

Of the aforementioned hurlers, Barraclough seems likely to bring back the most hefty return. The righty has been a revelation this season, pitching to a sub-1.00 ERA with a typically high 4.21 BB/9 and a K/9 of 9.66. Since stepping into the closer role for the Marlins earlier this year, he’s converted all seven save opportunities and has yet to allow a run. Barraclough (along with Steckenrider) has already been connected to the Indians this offseason.

For what it’s worth, the Dodgers have one of the best farm systems in baseball, with MLB.com ranking them tenth out of 30 MLB teams. While it seems unlikely that they’d part with top prospects Alex Verdugo or Keibert Ruiz in a trade for one of the aforementioned Marlins arms, it’s worth noting that elite prospects have changed hands in recent years when a top-flight reliever becomes available, and the sheer amount of team control left on the contracts of Barraclough, Steckenrider and Conley could prove an enticing reason to consider all possible angles.

Royals Agree To Terms With 33rd Overall Pick Jackson Kowar

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Royals compensation choice Jackson Kowar has reportedly agreed to a $2,147,500 bonus. Rustin Dodd of The Athletic first tweeted the news, with MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan and Jim Callis (Twitter links) reporting the value.

Though he was taken with the 33rd overall selection, Kowar ranked higher on many analysts’ boards. Indeed, the MLB.com team tabbed him as the 15th-best prospect available in the draft, with Baseball America and ESPN’s Keith Law also applying top-twenty grades.

While he is already an accomplished college hurler who comfortably sits in the mid-nineties with his fastball, the University of Florida product is said still to possess some upside. If he can fill out his frame and develop a breaking ball to match his heater and change, Singer could one day turn into a high-quality rotation piece in Kansas City.

Kowar’s bonus sits just over the slot value of $2,118,700. The signing leaves the K.C. organization with two remaining unsigned players from the first ten rounds: fourth-rounder Eric Cole, who just finished up playing in the College World Series with Arkansas, and Kowar’s rotation mate Brady Singer.

D-Backs Activate A.J. Pollock, Select Joey Krehbiel, Release Troy Scribner

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The Diamondbacks have announced a series of roster moves. Most notably, the club activated center fielder A.J. Pollock. Additionally, the organization selected the contract of righty Joey Krehbiel and released fellow right-hander Troy Scribner.

Those moves bring two addition players to the active roster. To make space, the Snakes have optioned infielder/outfielder Christian Walker and righty Silvino Bracho.

Pollock, who’s returning from a broken thumb, only played in two rehab games before his activation. Accordingly, manager Torey Lovullo says that the team will limit Pollock’s action somewhat as he gets back into the swing of things, as Jack Magruder of the Sports Xchange tweets. He’ll look to pick up where he left off to open the season. In his first forty games, Pollock posted an excellent .293/.349/.620 batting line.

The 25-year-old Krehbiel, a former 12th-round pick, receives his first shot at the majors. He earned his way up with a strong showing in his first full go at Triple-A. Over 36 2/3 innings this year, he carries a 2.45 ERA with 10.8 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9.

As for Scribner, today’s news makes for an unwelcome birthday surprise. The 27-year-old, an early-season waiver claimee, struggled in his lone MLB start this year. He has spent most of the season at Triple-A, pitching to a 5.11 ERA in 44 frames over eight starts. Though he has averaged exactly one strikeout per frame, along with a manageable 3.5 BB/9, Scribner has coughed up ten long balls in that span.

Pirates Designate Enny Romero

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The Pirates have designated lefty Enny Romero for assignment after activating him from the disabled list, per a club announcement. In other moves, the club promoted righty Nick Kingham and optioned infielder/outfielder Jose Osuna.

While the club’s maneuvering did not require a 40-man spot, Romero’s return to health forced a decision. He is out of options, meaning he had to be added back to the active roster or cut loose.

Romero was very nearly designated earlier in the year, before his shoulder injury was discovered. The hard-throwing southpaw, who was claimed from the Nationals in April, has thrown only six MLB frames on the season.

Brewers Select Nate Orf, Move Nick Franklin To 60-Day DL

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The Brewers announced that they’ve selected the contract of infielder Nate Orf from Triple-A Colorado Springs and optioned right-hander Aaron Wilkerson to Triple-A in his place. In order to open a spot for Orf on the 40-man roster, infielder/outfielder Nick Franklin was transferred from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL.

It’ll be the first call to the Majors for Orf, a 28-year-old career-long Brewers farmhand whom they signed as an undrafted free agent back in 2013. He’s enjoying his best season yet in the minors, hitting .307/.412/.463 with six homers and 20 steals (in 21 attempts). Orf has never shown much power prior to this season, but he’s already just three homers away from his career-best mark of nine. He’s also never been this aggressive on the basepaths, but the speed and efficiency he’s displayed so far can only have helped his cause in reaching the big leagues.

Orf has moved all over the diamond throughout his career, logging time at second base, third base, shortstop and in all three outfield spots. While second and third have been his two primary positions, he’s spent more time at second and shortstop than at third base so far in 2018. Milwaukee has received little in the way of production from its second basemen (.252/.299/.377) or especially its shortstops (.193/.243/.297), and they could reasonably look to Orf as an option at either spot. For now, it seems likelier that he’ll get more action at shortstop, given that Orlando Arcia was recently optioned to Triple-A for a second time in 2018.

Danny Salazar Out For Season Following Shoulder Surgery

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The Indians announced this afternoon that right-hander Danny Salazar will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder. He’ll go 12 to 16 weeks without throwing, according to the announcement.

It’s not entirely clear what damage was found during the procedure, which was announced by the team last week to be exploratory in nature. At the time of the initial announcement, it was not clear when or if Salazar would be able to return, though today’s update provides further clarity in that regard. Presumably, the Indians will have further updates on Salazar’s shoulder prior to tonight’s game.

Salazar’s 2018 season, then, will come to a close without throwing a single pitch at the big league level. It’s a disappointing outcome for a pitcher who, at his best, has looked like one of the more talented arms in the American League. However, Salazar’s career has been punctuated by arm injuries. He’s had issues with his right arm dating back to the 2012 season in A-ball, and he’s missed time in four of the past five seasons owing to some type of arm trouble.

Last year, Salazar was limited to 103 innings by shoulder discomfort and, later in the year, inflammation in his right elbow. Cleveland moved him to the bullpen late in the season, and he was ultimately shut down for the year in mid-August.

In his peak form, Salazar has the ability to overpower opposing lineups. He’s averaged 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings pitched in the Majors, and he was among the league leaders in both xFIP and SIERA from 2014-15 (min. 200 innings). Salazar’s considerable arm troubles, though, make it unclear as to whether he’ll ever truly be able to tap into his clear front-of-the-rotation potential.

The Indians will be faced with at least somewhat of a decision in the coming offseason. Salazar agreed to a one-year, $5MM deal to avoid arbitration last offseason, and he won’t throw a single pitch in 2018. By the time he’s up for arbitration again this offseason, he’ll be more than 15 months removed from setting foot on a Major League mound. While Salazar won’t get a raise in arbitration, the typical outcome for players who miss the entire season is to agree to the same salary they had in the injury-ruined year. In other words, Salazar is likely looking at a $5MM salary for the 2019 season as well.

It still seems likely that Cleveland would simply non-tender Salazar, but that could depend largely on the information that was gathered from today’s surgery. If the rehab program is expected to cut into the 2019 season, or if the Indians simply feel his shoulder to be unlikely to ever fully recover, it’s possible that they could simply move on — be it via trade or non-tender. That scenario would be somewhat reminiscent of the Marlins’ decision to non-tender Henderson Alvarez at a similar price point a few years back, though Alvarez had undergone multiple shoulder surgeries, and the Indians don’t face the same level of payroll constraints that have handcuffed the Miami organization.

Tigers Select Jim Adduci

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The Tigers announced following today’s game that first baseman/outfielder Jim Adduci will have his contract selected from Triple-A Toledo. Young catcher Grayson Greiner is being optioned to Toledo in his place, and the Tigers are shifting Miguel Cabrera from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL in order to open up a roster spot. Cabrera underwent season-ending surgery on a ruptured biceps tendon earlier this summer.

Adduci, 33, will return for a second stint with the Tigers after hitting .241/.323/.398 with a homer, six doubles and two triples for them through 93 plate appearances last season. That marked the first MLB action for Adduci since 2014 with the Rangers, as he spent the 2015-16 seasons enjoying a productive run with the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization.

This season, Adduci turned in one of the most productive Triple-A campaigns of his six-year career at that level. Through 296 plate appearances, he’s hitting .309/.358/.474 with seven homers, 22 doubles, a triple and eight steals (in nine tries). He’ll give the Tigers a left-handed option both in the outfield and at first base, which could give John Hicks some additional opportunities to get back behind the dish — especially with Greiner being optioned to Toledo.

Twins Reinstate Jorge Polanco, Option Byron Buxton, Designate Ryan LaMarre

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2:56pm: In addition to the previously reported moves, the Twins announced that they’ve optioned lefty Adalberto Mejia to Triple-A. More interesting, though, is the fact that they’ve reinstated Byron Buxton from his rehab assignment and also optioned him to Rochester. That means that two of the centerpieces of the Twins’ young core — Sano and Buxton — have both been optioned to the minors just one season after seemingly establishing themselves at the big league level.

It’s been a tough season for Buxton, admittedly. The 24-year-old went on the disabled list early in the season due to a severe bout of migraines — similar to the issue that sent New York’s Brandon Drury to the DL. While playing on a minor league rehab assignment from that issue, Buxton fouled a ball into his foot and sustained a broken big toe. The Twins made the curious decision to bring him back a couple of weeks later despite the fact that the toe was still healing and without sending him back out on a rehab assignment.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Buxton was dreadful at the plate under those circumstances; in 51 plate appearances between DL stints, he hit just .122/.140/.163. Buxton has yet to find his swing in Rochester, albeit through just 11 games on a new rehab assignment. But the extent of his struggles, after a prolonged development period in which there were doubts he’d ever realize the potential he showed last season, have to be of fairly significant concern — especially when juxtaposed with the struggles of Sano to this point in the season as well.

Given the fact that Minnesota has received no on-field value from the combination of Sano, Buxton and still-rehabbing righty Ervin Santana, it’s not exactly surprising that the Twins are nine games back from the Indians in the AL Central division.

2:32pm: The Twins are set to reinstate Jorge Polanco from his 80-game suspension following a failed PED test, as La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes. Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported earlier today that righty Zack Littell would also be returning to the Majors and will work in a relief role for the time being (Twitter link).

In order to clear a spot on what is currently a full 40-man roster to accommodate Polanco’s activation, the Twins are set to designate outfielder Ryan LaMarre for assignment, Neal further reports (via Twitter). They’ll need to make a second move to recall Littell.

Polanco, 25 on Thursday, was expected to serve as the Twins’ everyday shortstop after a strong second-half showing in 2017. The former top 100 prospect got off to a poor start to the season last year but slashed .316/.377/.553 with 10 homers, 15 doubles and a pair of triples in his final 234 plate appearances in August and September.

Polanco was plagued by a dismal .239 BABIP through the first four months of the 2017 season, and his improvement in the final two months correlates nicely with a fairly significant drop in his chase rate on pitches out of the strike zone. However, an 80-game suspension fresh off a breakout finish to the season will undoubtedly lead to plenty of skeptics about his ability to maintain that output. He’ll hope to retake an everyday role in the Twins’ infield and prove that he’s able to repeat that output moving forward.

With Miguel Sano still in the minors following a terrible run to open the season, there should be ample opportunity for Polanco to earn his way back into the lineup. Minnesota has been relying on Eduardo Escobar at third base with Sano in Fort Myers, and while Ehire Adrianza has been a surprisingly productive hitter of late, he’s a soon-to-be 29-year-old defensive specialist without much of a track record of offense. Polanco should figure into the mix prominently in the early going from his return. And, depending on whether the Twins are able to right the ship over the next four weeks, further at-bats could become all the easier to come by; both Escobar and Brian Dozier are free agents at season’s end.

As for LaMarre, the 30-year-old has batted .263/.321/.313 through 109 plate appearances with Minnesota, logging plenty of time in center field with Byron Buxton on the shelf. LaMarre has fanned at a 30.3 percent clip in the Majors, however, and he’s currently in Triple-A Rochester despite the fact that Buxton is not yet back from his rehab assignment.

LaMarre joined the Twins on a minor league pact this winter and served as a useful depth piece given the minor league options he had remaining, so the Twins likely would prefer to see him clear waivers and remain in the organization. Having previously been outrighted, though, LaMarre will have the option of electing free agency even if he does clear waivers.

Athletics Outright Liam Hendriks

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The Athletics announced Monday that right-hander Liam Hendriks has cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week. He’s been sent outright to Triple-A Nashville. The 29-year-old Hendriks technically has enough MLB service time to reject the assignment in favor of free agency (three-plus years), but because he’s still shy of five years of service, doing so would mean forfeiting the remainder of this season’s $1.9MM salary. Assuming he accepts, he’ll be eligible to elect free agency at season’s end unless he’s first added back to the 40-man roster.

Hendriks was, at one point, a promising prospect in the Twins’ minor league system but didn’t pan out in Minnesota or in a brief stint with the Royals. The Blue Jays picked him up off waivers, and while he struggled in his first run with the Jays, he turned in a dominant 2015 season out of the Toronto bullpen. The Jays flipped him to the A’s that offseason in exchange for Jesse Chavez — and Hendriks went on to enjoy another pair of solid seasons in the Oakland ’pen.

Prior to the 2018 season, Hendriks had turned in a three-year run with a 3.63 ERA and an outstanding 220-to-48 K/BB ratio through 193 1/3 innings between the Jays and the A’s. He missed more than a month with a strained groin earlier this year, though, and he’s posted an unsightly 7.36 ERA with 12 strikeouts against seven walks in 11 innings when healthy. Hendriks didn’t receive much of a leash when returning from the DL, and he was tagged for four runs in his final appearance before being designated. He’ll now look to rebuild his stock in Nashville with the hope of earning another look in manager Bob Melvin’s bullpen later this season.

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