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Andrew Romine

Twins Sign Andrew Romine To Minor League Deal

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The Twins announced this morning that they’ve signed veteran utilityman Andrew Romine to a minor league contract. The Moye Sports client will join the club’s Major League group in Spring Training as a non-roster invitee.

Romine, 35, has appeared in parts of 10 big league seasons — most of which came with the division-rival Tigers from 2014-17. He spent the 2020 season with the Rangers organization but appeared in only two big league games last summer, collecting a double in four trips to the plate. Through 1327 plate appearances in the Majors, the switch-hitting Romine is a .235/.291/.301 hitter.

Production at the plate has never been Romine’s calling card. He’s far more known for his defensive versatility, having spent at least 238 innings at each of the four infield positions and another 559 frames in the outfield (including 313 in center). The Twins got a first-hand look at that versatility late in the 2017 season, when then-Detroit skipper Brad Ausmus allowed Romine to play all nine positions on the same diamond in a game the Tigers topped the Twins by a 3-2 margin.

At 35, Romine might not be the defender he once was, but he’s turned in average career defensive marks at shortstop, above-average showings at second and third base, and above-average marks in left field as well.

The Twins already have several utility options in camp. With the signing of Andrelton Simmons, they’ll slide Jorge Polanco over as the everyday second baseman and move Luis Arraez into the super-utility role vacated by Marwin Gonzalez. Catcher/infielder Willians Astudillo could be in line to take another bench spot, and Minnesota also has second/third base prospect Travis Blankenhorn on the 40-man roster. Former Red Sox infielder Tzu-Wei Lin is in camp on a non-roster deal as well. All of that could make it tough for Romine to win a job to begin the year, but he’d be a reasonable depth option to stash in Triple-A St. Paul if a big league opportunity doesn’t present itself this spring.

Rangers Designate Nick Goody, Select Andrew Romine

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The Rangers have designated right-hander Nick Goody for assignment and selected infielder Andrew Romine, the team announced.

Goody, whom the Rangers claimed from the Indians last winter, has posted a couple of respectable seasons since he debuted in 2015 with the Yankees. He logged a 3.54 ERA/4.62 FIP with 11.07 K/9 and 4.87 BB/9 over 40 2/3 innings in Cleveland in 2019, for instance, but wasn’t able to keep that momentum going this year in Texas. As a Ranger in 2020, the 29-year-old Goody allowed 12 runs (11 earned) on 14 hits and totaled 13 strikeouts against eight walks over 11 frames.

Romine, 34, signed a minors pact with the Rangers on Sept. 15. The former Angel, Tiger and Mariner has amassed 1,323 major league plate appearances, but he has hit just .235/.291/.301 and hasn’t seen action in the bigs since 2018.

Rangers Sign Andrew Romine

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The Rangers have signed infielder Andrew Romine to a minor league contract, per a team announcement. He’s part of their 60-man player pool and will head to their alternate site.

Prior to joining the Rangers, Romine most recently spent time with the White Sox, who signed him to a minor league deal in the winter before releasing him in July. He has combined for a .235/.291/.300 line in 1,323 plate appearances among the Angels, Tigers and Mariners since he first became a major leaguer in 2010. Romine hasn’t played in the bigs since 2018.

While Romine hasn’t had much offensive success so far, he has been quite versatile as a defender. Most of his work has come at shortstop, third base and second – positions that have been sore spots for the Rangers in 2020. General manager Jon Daniels told TR Sullivan of MLB.com and other reporters Tuesday that shortstop Elvis Andrus and second baseman Rougned Odor aren’t guaranteed starting jobs going forward. However, it seems tough to believe Romine will wind up unseating either one of those struggling players. He’ll have to earn a roster spot first, after all, and even that may be a tall order.

White Sox Designate Carson Fulmer For Assignment, Sign Ryan Goins To Minor League Deal

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The White Sox set their Opening Day roster Thursday, announcing that they’ve designated former top-10 pick Carson Fulmer for assignment. Chicago also signed old friend Ryan Goins to a minor league deal and assigned him to its alternate training site and selected the contracts of four players: infielder Cheslor Cuthbert, outfielder Nicky Delmonico, left-hander Ross Detwiler and right-hander Codi Heuer. Additionally, veteran utilityman Andrew Romine was released by the organization.

Sox fans will surely be glad to see Yoan Moncada activated from the injured list and placed on the Opening Day roster after previously being out with Covid-19. The White Sox also called up right-hander Jimmy Lambert and catcher Zack Collins from their alternate site.

It’s a disappointing outcome for the Sox and Fulmer alike. The former Vanderbilt star was at one point considered during his junior year to be a possible No. 1 overall pick, but he’s simply never put it together in the Majors. I explored the Fulmer conundrum at length during the league’s shutdown, looking at the right-hander’s lengthy history of struggles in the Majors and upper minors. Fulmer was touted as one of the surest big leaguers in that year’s draft, as even his critics felt he was a high-probability late-inning bullpen piece. Those with reservations about taking him at the top of the draft weren’t so much worried that he’d bust completely but that he’d thrive “only” as a reliever rather than a starter.

Fast forward a half decade, and Fulmer is an out-of-options righty with a career 6.56 ERA in the Majors and 5.39 ERA in Triple-A. As detailed in the previously linked piece on him, there are plenty of positive indicators in his arsenal, and I personally have wondered how he might fare working at the top of the zone with his four-seamer, but the win-now White Sox clearly didn’t feel he was among their 30 best options. Perhaps his struggles will be pronounced enough that he’ll clear waivers, but one can also imagine a non-contender rolling the dice on his once touted arm.

Of the players selected to the 40-man roster today, Delmonico and Detwiler have both appeared for the Sox in the past. Delmonico will give them a left-handed bench bat with sparse MLB success, while Detwiler can soak up some innings if need be — either as a spot starter or long reliever. Cuthbert was once a high-end Royals prospect but has never hit much in five MLB seasons. Heuer, meanwhile, was Chicago’s sixth-round pick in 2018 and posted dominant numbers in the minors last year. He has long-term bullpen potential for them, and the Sox are surely excited to get a glimpse of how he’ll fare against MLB opposition.

As for Goins, he’ll return to the organization for a second season after hitting .250/.333/.347 in 52 games with the Sox last year. The longtime Blue Jays infielder doesn’t have much of a track record at the plate — he’s a career .230/.279/.335 hitter — but he can play all over the infield and is generally considered a strong up-the-middle defender.

White Sox Sign Andrew Romine

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The White Sox and utility player Andrew Romine have agreed to a minor league contract, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. Romine will earn a $900K salary if he reaches the majors in 2020.

A fifth-round pick of the Angels in 2007, Romine debuted in the majors in 2010 and has since combined for 1,323 major league plate appearances with the Halos, Tigers and Mariners. While Romine has lined up all over the diamond in that span, offensive success has been hard to come by for the 34-year-old switch-hitter. So far, Romine has only managed a .235/.291/.301 line with 10 home runs.

Romine saw at least some MLB action in each season from 2010-18, but he spent all of last year in Triple-A ball with the Phillies. He slashed .289/.342/.409 with eight homers and 21 stolen bases across 417 trips to the plate.

Phillies Re-Sign Andrew Romine To Minor League Deal

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The Phillies have re-signed veteran utilityman Andrew Romine to a minor league pact, tweets Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. He’s in Major League camp today and will head to minor league camp tomorrow before opening the season in the minors (presumably with Philadelphia’s Triple-A affiliate in Lehigh Valley).

Philadelphia released Romine late last week, but this new arrangement allows them to keep him without paying him the $100K retention bonus he’d have been due as an Article XX(B) Free Agent (essentially — a player with six-plus years of MLB service who finished the previous season on a Major League roster but took a minor league pact in the offseason). That may sound harsh, though it’s a rather common practice in this type of instance.

Romine, 33, doesn’t bring much to the table offensively, but few in the league can match his defensive versatility. He’s played every position on the field at the MLB level and has at least 200 big league innings at each of first base, second base, third base, shortstop, corner outfield (left and right combined) and in center field. Romine appeared in 17 games with the Phils earlier this spring and hit .270/.325/.378 through 40 plate appearances. He’s a career .235/.291/.301 hitter in 1323 Major League plate appearances and has a .721 OPS in more than 3000 career trips to the plate in Triple-A.

Phillies Release Drew Butera, Andrew Romine

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The Phillies have released catcher Drew Butera and infielder Andrew Romine, per a club announcement. Both had been in camp on minor-league deals with March 21st opt-out provisions, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia notes on Twitter.

Clearly, the Philadelphia organization had determined that neither player would make its active roster. The 35-year-old Butera, a light-hitting career reserve, had quite a strong offensive showing in camp but did not do enough to top youngster Andrew Knapp for backup duties. Romine, 33, didn’t hit much this spring. He rarely has done much with the bat in the big leagues, but has been trusted to appear at every position on the field.

Phillies Sign Andrew Romine, Gift Ngoepe

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The Phillies have inked infielders Andrew Romine and Gift Ngoepe, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). Both are joining the organization on minor-league deals.

Romine, now 33, has appeared in every one of the past nine MLB seasons, though only once has he surpassed three hundred plate appearances in a given campaign. Through 1,323 total trips to the dish at the game’s highest level, he’s a .235/.291/.301 hitter.

Clearly, teams are more intrigued by Romine’s glovework than his bat. The same holds for Ngoepe, who is the first African-born player to play in the big leagues. Soon to turn 29, Ngoepe has yet to show that he can hit enough to command more than spot duty in the majors. In 902 career Triple-A plate appearances, he’s hitting .212/.297/.344.

AL West Notes: Calhoun, Blackburn, Cotton, Cruz, Romine, Felix

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The Rangers optioned Willie Calhoun to Triple-A Round Rock yesterday after the top prospect struggled to a .243/.282/.324 slash through 39 Cactus League plate appearances. The 23-year-old seemed to have at least an outside chance of cracking the big league roster after impressing with a .300/.355/.572 slash in Triple-A last season, but he’ll instead head to the minors and continue to hone his defense (as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News suggests on Twitter). Calhoun got 20 days of big league service last September, so it seems unlikely that service time implications are a prevailing factor in the decision. But, that could be an added benefit for the Rangers. Calhoun would need 152 days of service time in 2018 to reach a full year, meaning he’d reach a full year if he’s up in the Majors on or before April 27 this season and is not optioned back down to the minors. With Calhoun in Round Rock, Ryan Rua and Drew Robinson could be in line to open the season in a left-field platoon. Utilityman Jurickson Profar also has a bit of experience in left.

More from the AL West…

  • Rangers righty Clayton Blackburn is awaiting word on an elbow MRI, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets, but it doesn’t sound as if there’s much room for optimism. Even in the best-case scenario, Blackburn will be expected to miss the entire first half of the season. The 25-year-old was expected to be an important part of the pitching depth in Texas, even if he had only an outside shot at opening the season in the majors. As Kevin Sherrington of the Dallas Morning News explains, there’s plenty still left to be resolved in the Rangers’ pitching staff even after a winter spent collecting arms.
  • The Athletics are holding their breath as right-hander Jharel Cotton undergoes an MRI on his right elbow after experiencing soreness in his most recent spring outing, writes MLB.com’s Jane Lee. Manager Bob Melvin acknowledged that “there’s some concern” over the test results rather than painting the MRI as any sort of precautionary measure. The skipper also noted that Cotton’s velocity has declined in his prior outing. At minimum, Cotton will not make his next start. He’d been largely penciled in for a rotation spot, however, so a significant injury would have a dramatic impact on Oakland’s rotation mix.
  • Nelson Cruz is the latest Mariners player to be hobbled by injury in Spring Training, as he exited yesterday’s game with a strained quadriceps, writes Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. He’ll also likely receive an MRI for further evaluation. Cruz laced a liner into the gap but pulled up on his sprint and eased his way into first base on what should have been a double, as Divish explains. Beyond Cruz, presumptive utilityman Andrew Romine suffered an injury to his left shoulder when lunging to apply a tag at third base in the ninth inning. Manager Scott Servais indicated that the shoulder “might have popped out or something,” and Romine, too, will be sent for further evaluation.
  • In more positive Mariners news, Divish also writes that Felix Hernandez threw more than 20 pitches in a bullpen session yesterday — his first mound work since being hit on the elbow/forearm by a line drive back on Feb. 26 — and reported no issues. Hernandez was originally slated to throw only fastballs but talked his way into throwing a few curveballs and changeups. He’ll likely have another bullpen session before making his return to a game setting with the M’s this weekend. King Felix is hoping to start on Opening Day with the Mariners, though his current trajectory might not make that possible. Even if he’s not the Opening Day starter, though, it seems likely that Hernandez would likely be ready to go at some point in the team’s first turn through the rotation.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: 12/1/17

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With the deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players set for 8pm tonight, there should be several agreements over the next few hours — particularly among players that were considered to be potential non-tender candidates. Many non-tender candidates will be presented with offers that are lower than what they’d project to earn via arbitration in a “take it or leave it” manner; some will agree to the lesser deal (as Brewers catcher Stephen Vogt did earlier this morning) while others will reject and likely hit the open market.

Here’s today’s slate of players that have avoided the arb process and locked in at least a partial guarantee for the upcoming season (arbitration contracts are not fully guaranteed, but each of these players will be guaranteed one sixth of the agreed-upon sum unless specifically negotiated otherwise). All projections are via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz…

  • The Padres announced that lefty Robbie Erlin has agreed to a contract for 2018. The 27-year-old missed all of 2017 due to Tommy John surgery and was projected to earn $700K through arbitration. Terms of his deal have not yet been reported.
  • The Braves appear to have agreed to terms with just-claimed righty Chase Whitley, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). Whitley, who was projected to earn $1.0MM in his first season of arb eligibility, is said to be in line for an opportunity to work as a starter. It’s a split deal that would pay Whitley $800K in the majors, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets.
  • The Mariners agreed with Andrew Romine on a $1.05MM contract, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). Romine, a versatile infielder, was claimed off waivers after the end of the 2017 season.
  • Outfielder Abraham Almonte has reached a deal to avoid arbitration with the Indians, per a club announcement. He had featured as a possible non-tender candidate but instead found common ground with the organization. Almonte, 28, slashed just .233/.314/.366 in his 195 trips to the plate in 2017. He had projected to earn a $1.1MM payday in his first season of arbitration eligibility but will take home $825K, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter).
  • The Royals have agreed to terms with righty Mike Morin to avoid arbitration, the club announced. He’ll receive a split contract, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan tweets, with a $750K annual earning rate in the majors and $250K in the minors. Morin, who projected at $700K, drew a mention on MLBTR’s non-tender candidates list. Indeed, his contract reflects the middling season that he turned in. Morin allowed 16 earned runs in twenty MLB frames, though he was more effective at Triple-A.
  • Yimi Garcia and the Dodgers have avoided arbitration, per J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group (via Twitter). Garia projected to command only a $700K salary after missing all of 2017 following Tommy John surgery; he’ll end up taking home $630K, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). Now 27, Garcia had established himself as a significant member of the Dodgers’ bullpen in 2015, when he compiled a 3.34 ERA with 10.8 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 over 56 2/3 innings. But injuries limited him in the ensuing season and ultimately culminated in a UCL replacement.
  • Per a club announcement, the Indians have agreed to a contract with righty Dan Otero. Otero will take home $1.3MM, per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian (via Twitter). He was projected to command $1.4MM. The 32-year-old Otero has been an unmitigated bargain for Cleveland over the past two years, turning in 130 2/3 total innings of 2.14 ERA pitching despite averaging just 6.5 K/9 in that span. Otero has succeeded with unfailing command (just 19 walks since joining the Indians) and a hefty groundball rate (over 60% in each of the past two seasons).
  • The Angels and righty Blake Wood agreed to a one-year, $1.45MM deal that falls well shy of his $2.2MM projection, as FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman was the first to report (via Twitter). Wood struggled mightily in Cincinnati before being picked up by the Halos late in the year and turning his season around a bit. In 17 innings with the Angels, he posted a 4.76 ERA with a much more promising 22-to-4 K/BB ratio. Heyman notes that he can earn up to $50K worth of incentives as well.
  • The White Sox announced that they’ve signed right-hander Danny Farquhar to a one-year deal worth $1.05MM — a pact that falls shy of his $1.5MM projection. In 49 1/3 innings between the Rays and ChiSox, the 30-year-old logged a 4.20 ERA with 8.2 K/9, 5.1 BB/9 and a 41.7 percent ground-ball rate.
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