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Minor MLB Transactions: 3/4/19

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

  • The Tigers announced that they’ve granted right-hander Chris Smith his unconditional release. The 30-year-old had been in Major League camp as a non-roster invitee who’d hoped to secure a roster spot, but those hopes were dashed when he learned late last month that he required Tommy John surgery. Smith underwent the procedure last week, tweets Chris McCosky of the Detroit News. The right-hander made his MLB debut with the Blue Jays in 2017, tossing five innings of relief, and he spent the 2018 season with the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate, where he worked to a 3.93 ERA with 10.6 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 1.15 HR/9 and a 32.2 percent ground-ball rate in 55 innings. MLive.com’s Evan Woodbery tweets that Smith plans to spend the year rehabbing his elbow with an eye toward a return to baseball in 2020.

Quick Hits: Free Agents, Andujar, Conley, Brasier, Cubs

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Three of the six biggest contracts in baseball history have been signed within the last two weeks, as Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, and (in an extension) Nolan Arenado all inked major deals.  This flurry of spending comes on the heels of a second straight winter of closed free agent activity, however, leaving the players’ union still more concerned with the scads of non-superstars who have yet to find work, Bleacher Report’s Scott Miller writes.  “Ultimately, it is about more than [a few players]; it’s the big picture,” Cardinals reliever Andrew Miller said.  “And even guys getting deals that they’re happy with, the timing of it, in the past it used to be maybe a couple of guys played the long game [in negotiations], but now it seems like guys have no choice.  The stories we hear when guys show up to camp is that they had no offers. Teams said they’d check in, but they’re really not getting a firm offer or numbers exchanged until camp opens, and that’s a problem. Or, it’s at least new to us.”

Some more from around baseball as we kick off a new week…

  • Miguel Andujar’s huge rookie season was one reason the Yankees didn’t ardently pursue Machado, though now that Andujar has third base to himself, the New York Times’ James Wagner writes that the young slugger has been working to prove his defensive worth at the position.  Andujar has been taking fielding training all winter, with particular focus on his footwork and throwing.  There’s obviously quite a bit of room for improvement, as Andujar had far and away the worst UZR/150 (-24.5) and Defensive Runs Saved (-25) of any qualified third baseman in the sport last season.  If Andujar can go from being a liability in the field to even just mediocre, it will give the Yankees all the more reason to keep his potent bat in the lineup as often as possible.
  • A move to the bullpen in 2018 got Adam Conley’s career back on track after he struggled as a starter the previous season, and as MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro writes, the new role has unlocked Conley’s velocity.  Never considered a hard thrower as a starter, MLB.com’s Statcast credited the Marlins southpaw with an 89.7mph average velocity on his four-seam fastball in 2017.  Last season, however, that same pitch clocked in at 95.2mph.  Beyond just the natural velocity bump that comes with tossing shorter outings as a reliever, Conley also straightened out his mechanics.  This led to some solid numbers (4.09 ERA, 2.78 K/BB rate, 8.9 K/9) over 50 2/3 IP out of Miami’s bullpen, though still with room for improvement, as Conley allowed a lot of hard contact.  Still, it certainly seems like Conley could play a big role in a wide-open Marlins bullpen, perhaps even getting some looks in save situations.
  • Ryan Brasier has begun throwing from 90 feet, Red Sox manager Alex Cora told MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith and other reporters, as Brasier continues to recover from a toe infection.  The issue has slowed Brasier’s spring work, though the right-hander and potential closer candidate is expected to be ready for Opening Day.
  • The Cubs bullpen doesn’t have a ton of questions as it relates to personnel, though there is still quite a bit of uncertainty surrounding the relief corps, as MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian explores five unanswered questions heading into the season.  Brandon Kintzler and Brian Duensing, for instance, seem to have jobs locked up, though are looking to rebound after subpar 2018 seasons.  It also still isn’t clear who will win the eighth bullpen spot, as Tyler Chatwood (another pitcher who struggled last year) could still end up in a relief role if the rotation doesn’t suffer any injuries.

Nationals Ownership Hesitant To Pass Luxury Tax Threshold

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Recent reports have hinted at a possible connection between the Nationals and free agent closer Craig Kimbrel, though luxury tax concerns could prevent a signing from taking place.  According to both MASNsports.com’s Pete Kerzel and MLB.com’s Jamal Collier, the team’s ownership isn’t at this point willing to exceed the $206MM luxury tax threshold, in an attempt to reset the Nats’ tax penalty to zero after paying the Competitive Balance Tax in each of the previous two seasons.

As per Roster Resource, the Nats’ projected luxury tax payroll sits at just under $201.5MM for 2019.  This leaves the club with a bit of breathing room for a potential trade deadline addition, as Collier notes, but not much else.  Barring a trade of another high-salaried player, there certainly isn’t room to fit Kimbrel into the mix.

It’s hard to accuse the Nationals of being unwilling to spend when the team has already been one of the offseason’s bigger spenders.  Patrick Corbin’s six-year, $140MM deal was the headline piece, though the Nats also doled out significant shorter-term expenditures on Brian Dozier, Anibal Sanchez, Kurt Suzuki, and Trevor Rosenthal, while also adding Yan Gomes in a trade from Cleveland.  Some of these moves were afforded due to money coming off the books, of course, most notably the expiring contracts of Bryce Harper and Matt Wieters, plus Tanner Roark was traded to the Reds.  Plus, the Nats have doled out plenty of large deals in the past, and may do so again if the club is able to extend Anthony Rendon.

Going forward, Washington has at least $110MM in luxury tax payroll accounted for in 2020.  Ryan Zimmerman, Adam Eaton, Sean Doolittle, and Gomes can all be retained through club options, and Zimmerman is the only one that looks like a solid bet to be declined.  Rosenthal has a vesting option for 2020, while Rendon and Dozier will be free agents outright.  Since some more roster needs will surely emerge over the coming year and into next season, Nationals ownership is surely wary of committing to another big deal for Kimbrel that would make it hard for the team to get under the tax threshold again (which will slightly rise to $208MM next season).

This all being said, it should be noted that even in adding Kimbrel, the Nationals would still very likely be in the first bracket of luxury tax overage, meaning they’d stay under the $226MM mark.  This means Washington would avoid a further surtax and only be charged a tax rate of 50% for every dollar they spend over $206MM.

As both Collier and Kerzel observe, the actual amount of money the Nationals would have to surrender in tax payments isn’t unreasonable.  Let’s suppose the Nats ended the season with a $225MM luxury tax payroll to barely stay within that first tax bracket.  For that $19MM in overages, they would then owe $9.5MM in taxes — not an insignificant amount of money, but hardly onerous for a big-market team with World Series aspirations.  As Collier puts it in a rhetorical question, “Would you rather win 93 games, the division and have paid the penalty or win 88, miss the postseason and avoid it? To me, it’s a no-brainer, but it’s a hurdle they [the Nationals] have not been willing to clear.”

It isn’t a guarantee, of course, that Kimbrel’s addition would automatically put Washington over the top in a very competitive division.  But this hesitation on the part of team ownership is particularly odd considering that the Nats have already topped the tax level in both 2017 and 2018.  It also calls into question of why, if a third straight season in excess of the tax was such a big issue for ownership, the Nationals didn’t make a bigger push to unload salary last summer.  D.C. waited until they were entirely out of the race in late August to begin trading players (i.e. Daniel Murphy, Gio Gonzalez, Ryan Madson, and Matt Adams), though it already looked like they had little shot at either the NL East title or even a wild-card slot.  The Nats ended up topping last year’s CBT threshold by only $8MM, even dealing some of those same players earlier would’ve saved the team a few more weeks’ of salaries.

Diamondbacks Notes: Walker, McFarland, Bracho

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As Cactus League action makes Arizona one of the hubs of the baseball world, let’s take a look at some notes on the team that resides full-time in the Grand Canyon State….

  • Christian Walker has been the definition of a blocked prospect for his entire career, moving between four different organizations but always ending up stuck behind various high-profile first basemen (Chris Davis, Freddie Freeman, Joey Votto, Paul Goldschmidt).  Now that Goldschmidt has been dealt to the Cardinals, however, Walker may finally have an opening to find some regular MLB playing time.  “I don’t know if discouraging or frustrating is the right word – maybe somewhere in between,” Walker told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.  “You go out and you’re staying ready and trying to be the best player you can be, and on the other hand you’ve got a guy like Paul Goldschmidt who plays 158 games a season. (I knew) some things are really going to have to align to get my shot.”  Jake Lamb is penciled in as the Diamondbacks’ first baseman heading into 2019, though there’s certainly room for the right-handed hitting Walker to claim at least a platoon role, given Lamb’s struggles against left-handed pitching.  Walker has received only 99 Major League plate appearances in parts of four seasons with the Orioles and D’Backs, though strong minor league numbers indicate that Walker (who turns 28 late this month) still has some intriguing breakout potential.
  • Two D’Backs relievers have hit health setbacks in camp, as detailed by MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert.  Southpaw T.J. McFarland will be shut down for five or six days after experiencing inflammation in his throwing shoulder, while righty Silvino Bracho left today’s Spring Training game due to elbow discomfort.  Manager Torey Lovullo didn’t think McFarland’s injury was anything too serious, and noted that it wasn’t related to the bone spur issue that ended McFarland’s 2018 season in early September.  More will be known about Bracho’s status once the righty is examined by team doctors tonight, Lovullo said.  Both pitchers enjoyed strong 2018 campaign — McFarland revived his career by posting a 2.00 ERA over 72 frames for Arizona, while Bracho finally showed an ability to limit home runs en route to a 3.19 ERA in 31 IP.

Rangers Notes: Mazara, Pitching, Burke

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The Rangers swung a trade with the Twins earlier today, and here’s some more out of Arlington…

  • 2018 was the best of Nomar Mazara’s three big league seasons, though that is something of faint praise, as the outfielder hit only .258/.317/.436 (96 wRC+) with 20 homers over 536 plate appearances.  Between that below-average production, subpar baserunning, and middling defense, Mazara generated 1.0 fWAR last season, giving him just 1.4 fWAR for his career.  Mazara also battled a thumb injury, and there were suggestions of tension between the outfielder and former Rangers manager Jeff Banister.  While it’s worth noting that Mazara still doesn’t even turn 24 years old until April, “there are no more excuses,” he told Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.  “I know can play a lot better than what I am. And I know that expectations are going to be high. I know what I can do.”
  • The Rangers face an interesting long-relief challenge as they weigh how to handle Shelby Miller, Edinson Volquez, and Drew Smyly in their projected rotation, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes.  All three hurlers are in various stages of recovery from Tommy John surgeries — Miller has tossed just 38 MLB innings over the last two seasons, while Volquez didn’t pitch at all in 2018, while Smyly hasn’t thrown a Major League pitch since 2016.  Zach McAllister and Jesse Chavez are two relievers with multi-inning experience, though Jason Hammel could also fit into a long man role if he doesn’t end up in the rotation himself.  “I’m just here trying to make the team.  I’m not expecting anything. I’m not opposed to any job,” Hammel said.  After struggling in the Royals’ rotation for the last two seasons, Hammel was relegated to the bullpen last year, his first extended dose of relief work since 2008.  Hammel is in the Rangers’ camp on a minor league deal.
  • December’s three-team trade with the Rays and A’s saw the Rangers part ways with former top prospect Jurickson Profar and minor league right-hander Rollie Lacy, though Texas came away from the deal with $750K in international bonus money and a package of four prospects.  One of those youngsters was 22-year-old left-hander Brock Burke, who Rangers GM Jon Daniels discussed with Fangraphs’ David Laurila.  “This winter, after a number of talks, we defined what we were looking for [in a Profar trade],” Daniels said.  “Our priority was to get a young starter who was at the upper levels, and [Burke’s] had a lot of things we liked. His trajectory is really interesting — from Colorado, not a ton of development at a young age. Sometimes guys from those cold-weather states need a little time to lay a foundation.”  A third-round pick for the Rays in the 2014 draft, Burke has a 3.41 ERA, 2.83 K/BB rate, and 8.7 K/9 over 387 2/3 pro innings, including a 1.99 ERA over 55 1/3 frames at Double-A in 2018.  MLB.com ranks Burke as the ninth-best prospect in the Rangers’ farm system, citing his improved slider, changeup, and a fastball that averages “90-94 mph with a peak of 96 and some running life.”  This latter pitch was specifically mentioned by Daniels, who described Burke’s fastball as “unique…both from a scouting perspective and from the data.”

California Notes: Giants, Baer, A’s, Lucroy, Angels, Dodgers

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A few items from the Golden State…

  • Giants officials have taken time this weekend to discuss how to proceed with CEO Larry Baer, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle hears. After Baer was involved in a public altercation with his wife on Friday, it’s possible the Giants will have him temporarily give up day-to-day control of the franchise and replace him with an in-house executive, Schulman suggests. That would enable the Giants to go forth with their business as Baer deals with whatever consequences may come his way. As of now, though, the Giants haven’t made a decision, per Schulman.
  • Catcher Jonathan Lucroy fit in well among the Athletics’ players and coaches last year, but the A’s didn’t show much interest in re-signing him during the offseason, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. While the two sides held talks in free agency, the A’s never approached the $3.5MM offer he accepted from the Angels, Slusser reports. With Lucroy now a member of a division rival, the A’s are down to the unspectacular Josh Phegley and Chris Herrmann as the only catchers on their 40-man roster. The club did add veteran Nick Hundley on a minor league deal, though, and well-regarded prospect Sean Murphy could debut in 2019.
  • Lucroy’s new team is dealing with some mild injury concerns, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com writes. The Angels scratched southpaw Andrew Heaney (elbow inflammation) and Zack Cozart (left calf tightness) from Sunday’s game because of their issues. This is the second straight spring with elbow inflammation for Heaney, who started last season on the injured list because of it. However, the 27-year-old doesn’t think the inflammation is as serious this time, and it wasn’t much of a detriment in 2018 – after all, Heaney did go on to throw a team-high 180 innings during the regular season. Similarly, Cozart’s injury seems minor, though it’s not what the team wants to see as he begins the second season of a three-year, $38MM contract. Cozart fell flat over 253 plate appearances last year before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery in late June.
  • Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register provides updates on injured Dodgers stars Clayton Kershaw and Corey Seager, tweeting that both players are progressing in their recoveries. Kershaw, who has battled shoulder problems this spring, came out of Sunday’s throwing session unscathed. And Seager will play in a game Monday for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery last April. It’s a “significant step forward” for the standout shortstop, Plunkett notes.

NL Notes: Tatis, Senzel, Rox, Reynolds, Braves, Folty

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As a consensus top three farmhand in baseball, shortstop prospect Fernando Tatis Jr. may be able to help the Padres from the outset of the season, but he’s no lock to make the team. After all, by keeping the 20-year-old in the minors until at least mid-April, the Padres would gain an extra year of control over him. Nevertheless, the Padres’ highest-profile player, Manny Machado, is hopeful Tatis will join him on Opening Day to comprise the left side of their infield, per Dennis Lin of The Athletic (subscription required). “If he’s in there, we’re going to be a dangerous team, and I think we’re all rooting for him to break camp with us,” said Machado, an experienced shortstop who’s set to hold down third base for the Padres after signing a 10-year, $300MM contract with them last month. Meanwhile, manager Andy Green isn’t ruling out Tatis for the Padres’ season-opening roster, but he cautioned: “In (Tatis’) case, he’s a couple months above Double-A ball. He’s had two incredibly slow Aprils that unbelievable seasons followed. “So, there’s some context there that we’re going to factor into the equation that other people probably aren’t.” 

  • As is the case with Tatis, Reds prospect Nick Senzel could be an early season victim of service time manipulation. Senzel’s also trying to learn a new position, center field, as he entered the spring with no game experience there. Already, though, “it’s become clear” Senzel has the ability to handle the position, manager David Bell said Sunday (via John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer). Regardless of whether Senzel’s in center for the Reds from the get-go, the 24-year-old seems like a good bet to see the lion’s share of time at the position for the Reds this year. Senzel’s customary spots – second and third – are spoken for, whereas there’s no established center fielder blocking him in Cincinnati.
  • Although he only landed a minor league contract in free agency, first baseman Mark Reynolds is a near certainty to make the Rockies’ Opening Day roster, per Nick Groke of The Athletic (subscription required). If so, he’ll be the primary backup to first baseman Daniel Murphy, another offseason pickup for the club. The 35-year-old Reynolds was teammates with Murphy last season in Washington, where the former turned in a solid .248/.328/.476 line in 235 plate appearances after signing a minors pact with the Nationals in April.
  • Braves right-hander Mike Foltynewicz has been down with elbow soreness, but it’s “expected” he’ll resume throwing Monday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com tweets. Foltynewicz isn’t on track to serve as the Braves’ Opening Day starter, but it appears he’ll be able to make his regular-season debut sometime during the first week of the campaign. The 27-year-old will attempt to build on a breakout 2018 showing in which he pitched to a 2.85 ERA/3.37 FIP with 9.93 K/9, 3.34 BB/9 and a 43.1 percent groundball rate over 183 innings.

Twins Acquire International Bonus Money From Orioles

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The Twins have acquired $750K in international bonus pool space from the Orioles for right-hander Xavier Moore, per Betsy Helfand of the Pioneer Press. This is the second trade of the day involving Moore, whom the Twins acquired from the Rangers a couple hours ago for outfielder Zack Granite.

The Orioles have now traded away international spending room in back-to-back weekends, having previously sent an undisclosed amount to the Rangers for righty David Lebron last Sunday. It’s unexpected on the surface, as Baltimore has recently vowed to spend more internationally after long ignoring the foreign market under owner Peter Angelos. His sons are now at the helm of the team, and they’ve brought in Mike Elias to replace previous general manager Dan Duquette, but the act of parting with international money for relatively unexciting minor leaguers harks back to the prior regime.

Of course, even after these deals, the Orioles continue to lead the majors in international spending capacity. Thus, they could see these trades as easy ways to pick up minor league talent they like while continuing to hold the league’s largest bonus pool. It’s unclear how much the Orioles have left at the moment, but they had $6MM remaining – far more than the second-place Dodgers ($1.4MM) – before the Lebron and Moore acquisitions. With that in mind, the Orioles could still be in on Cuban shortstop Yolbert Sanchez, whom they’ve scouted since he became free to sign with a major league team Feb. 5.

In Moore, the Twins are quickly bidding adieu to a 20-year-old who struggled at the lower levels of the Rangers’ system a season ago. By flipping him, the Twins are adding a notable amount to their bonus pool, as they had just under $80K remaining as of Feb. 8. Minnesota entered the current international market with upward of $6MM to play with, but it has since gone on a spending spree, with outfielder Misael Urbina ($2.75MM) being its most expensive pickup.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Votto, Bauer, Arenado, Harper, White Sox, Padres

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This week in baseball blogs…

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