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Braves Acquire Trevor Cahill

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The Braves have acquired right-hander Trevor Cahill and cash considerations from the Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league outfielder Josh Elander.  Both teams have officially announced the trade.  The D’Backs will send roughly $6.5MM to Atlanta to help cover Cahill’s $12MM salary for 2015, MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert reports (Twitter link).

Cahill brings the Braves some veteran stability to the pitching staff, as the righty looks to slot into the fourth rotation spot behind Julio Teheran, Alex Wood and Shelby Miller.  Eric Stults, Wandy Rodriguez and Mike Foltynewicz are in competition for the fifth spot, as the club was reportedly concerned about the possibility of using southpaws Stults and Rodriguez in consecutive order at the back of the rotation.  Mike Minor is expected to eventually be the fifth starter, though he’ll begin the season on the DL with shoulder problems.MLB: Arizona Diamondbacks at Washington Nationals

Atlanta potentially has two more years of control over Cahill, as the Braves hold a $13MM club option on his services for 2016 (with a $300K buyout) and a $13.5MM club option for 2017 ($500K buyout).  Cahill is looking to rebound from a rough 2014 season that saw him lose his rotation job for a large chunk of the year en route to posting a 5.61 ERA, 8.5 K/9 and 1.91 K/BB rate over 110 2/3 innings.  It’s fair to place part of the blame on poor luck, as opposing batters had a .350 BABIP against Cahill and his advanced metrics (3.89 FIP, 3.83 xFIP, 3.96 SIERA) were much more solid.

Prior to last year and an injury-plagued 2013, Cahill emerged on the scene as a promising young arm, averaging a 3.87 ERA and 196 innings per season from 2009-12 with the A’s and D’Backs.  He also has a career 54.6% ground ball rate, so Cahill will undoubtedly be thrilled to have Andrelton Simmons behind him in the infield.

Between trading Cahill and Miguel Montero this offseason, the Diamondbacks have cleared $45.5MM of future commitments off their books, including $17.5MM for 2015 alone.  That’s not a bad figure for a semi-rebuilding club, as it also opens up a spot in the rotation for top prospect Archie Bradley (as per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic), who has been impressive this spring.

Elander, 24, was Atlanta’s sixth-round pick in the 2012 amateur draft.  The TCU product has a .275/.356/.435 slash line and 21 homers over 870 minor league plate appearances, none above the high-A level.  The 2014 Baseball America Prospect Handbook ranked Elander as the 13th-best prospect in the Braves’ system prior to last season, praising his solid adjustment from catcher to the outfield and noting his “quick hands, and a compact right-handed with good bat speed.”  An injury-plagued 2014 season, however, dropped Elander’s prospect stock.

Nick Piecoro was first reported that the trade was official, also reporting earlier today that the D’Backs were shopping Cahill, the Braves’ interest and that Elander was involved.  USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported earlier tonight that a trade was “on the verge” of happening, while MLB.com’s Mark Bowman noted that the Braves still needed to review Cahill’s medicals before making anything official.

Photo courtesy of Brad Mills/USA Today Sports Images

Braves, D’Backs “On The Verge” Of Cahill Trade

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8:55pm: A deal appears close, though the Braves still need to review Cahill’s medical records, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports (Twitter links).  The Braves would be paying a little under $6MM of Cahill’s salary in 2015, and they would also obtain a compensation round draft pick in return.  Via last summer’s competitive balance lottery, the D’Backs earned an extra pick between the second and third rounds of the 2015 draft.  Braves minor league outfielder Josh Elander is involved in the deal, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.

6:04pm: The Diamondbacks and Braves are “on the verge” of sending Cahill to Atlanta, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (Twitter link).

3:45pm: The Braves are discussing starting pitchers with multiple teams, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com (Twitter links). Bowman, who also hears that Cahill has been discussed, says the Braves aren’t comfortable slotting two similar lefties — Stults and Rodriguez — back-to-back in the rotation.

3:39pm: The Diamondbacks and Braves have had discussions regarding Cahill, Piecoro adds in a followup tweet. The Braves have some uncertainty in the rotation with Mike Minor unlikely to be ready for the opener. Wandy Rodriguez, Mike Foltynewicz and Eric Stults have been competing for the final two rotation spot in Atlanta.

Rodriguez has pitched well but has been unable to stay healthy in recent seasons. Stults has a strong ERA (1.89) but has struck out just seven hitters in 19 spring innings. And Foltynewicz, though very well-regarded, has limited experience at the Triple-A level and even more limited experience in the Majors.

3:20pm: The Diamondbacks have discussed right-hander Trevor Cahill in trade talks, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Repbulic (on Twitter). There are clear obstacles to trading Cahill, however, and Piecoro adds that the team may need to eat at least $6MM of the $12MM that Cahill is owed in 2015.

Cahill, still just 27, came to the Diamondbacks in a 2011 trade that sent Jarrod Parker, Ryan Cook and Collin Cowgill to the Athletics. He enjoyed a strong, 200-inning season to open his D-Backs career in 2012, and although his ERA barely increased in the 2013 season, there were significant red flags that led to concern. Cahill’s strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates each trended in the wrong direction, and he also missed significant time after being struck on the hip by a line drive.

The 2014 season was a bit of a mixed bag for Cahill, as his walk and ground-ball rates continued to trend in the wrong direction, but he also posted the best strikeout rate (8.5 K/9) of his career. That was partly due to spending some time in the bullpen, but even as a starter, he whiffed better than eight hitters per nine. However, despite the increase in strikeouts, his bottom-line results were the worst of his career overall. Cahill recorded a 5.61 ERA in 110 2/3 innings last year and saw his once-elite ground-ball rate drop to a solid but unspectacular 48.5 percent. A fluky strand rate didn’t help his cause, but there are certainly reasons to be concerned for a soft-tossing right-hander that doesn’t miss bats and is seeing his control and ground-ball capabilities deteriorate.

If — and it’s a large if — an acquiring team were able to correct Cahill’s control and restore some of his grounders, they could have a bargain on their hands, especially if the D-Backs were to eat $6MM+ on this year’s salary. Cahill’s contract calls for a $13MM club option for the 2016 season ($300K buyout) and a $13.5MM club option ($500K buyout) for the 2017 season. Clearly, he’s a project, but given his age, some teams may be willing to dream on his 2010-12 success, knowing that in a worst-case scenario, he could be bought out for a nominal amount next offseason.

There’s reason beyond financial relief for the D-Backs to explore a trade as well. While the team has already named its starting rotation, recent indications have been that top prospect Archie Bradley was impressive enough to warrant consideration in the starting five. Moving Cahill before Opening Day would allow Arizona to slot the highly touted Bradley into that mix.

West Notes: Nix, Walker, Olson, Garcia, Bradley

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Late last night, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle followed up on his report that the Astros’ exact draft pool is unknown because two players after the 10th round received bonuses north of $100K. Per Drellich, 14th-round pick Nick Tanielu and 15th-round pick Connor Goedert each received bonuses of $200K — $100K above slot for each of them. As such, Drellich writes in a separate piece that the team’s final $616,165 offer to fifth-rounder Jacob Nix was virtually every dollar they had available to offer without losing future draft picks.

Here’s more from the game’s Western divisions…

  • Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon confirmed to Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune that both right-hander Taijuan Walker and left-hander Tyler Olson have made the team’s Opening Day roster (Twitter link). Walker’s inclusion on the 25-man roster is significant, as with 142 days of service time under his belt, he’ll almost certainly be a Super Two player two offseasons from now. The 25-year-old Olson, on the other hand, was in camp as a non-roster invite and will need to be added to the 40-man roster.
  • Freddy Garcia’s Minor League contract with the Dodgers does contain an opt-out clause, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, although the exact date of that opt-out remains unknown. Also pertaining to Garcia, Han Lee of Global Sports Integration has passed along Garcia’s Taiwanese stats to MLBTR. The veteran righty pitched to an 11-9 record with a 3.19 ERA, 6.0 K/9, 1.1 BB/9 and a 1.19 WHIP in 161 innings of work while pitching overseas in 2014.
  • Though the D-Backs have named their starting rotation, Zach Buchanan of the Arizona Republic writes that Archie Bradley has been so impressive that the Snakes may have to re-think at the last minute. Bradley fired six shutout innings Wednesday, including 5 2/3 no-hit innings, and after the game, manager Chip Hale told reporters: “We’ve named our five, but he’s pushed the envelope all the way down to the last possible chance he had. He’s looked great. We’ll have to sit down and evaluate everything.” Bradley could also begin his first full season in the Majors in a bullpen role, serving as a long man to get acclimated with the big leagues, Hale indicated.

Article XX(B) Free Agent Updates: Tuesday

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Per the latest iteration of Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement, players with six years of service time who finished the 2014 season on a 40-man roster or on the 60-day DL but signed Minor League deals over the offseason are entitled to a $100K retention bonus if their new team wishes to assign them to the Minor Leagues. Otherwise, they must be added to the MLB roster or Major League disabled list. Players who do receive the retention bonus are also given June 1 opt-out dates in their Minor League pacts.

MLBTR’s Jeff Todd ran down a list of this year’s Article XX(B) free agents earlier in the month, and we’re now arriving at the juncture of Spring Training where decisions must be made on these players — the deadline will come at 11am CT tomorrow. Many such players have already been released or granted their release today (some will re-sign with the teams that released them, as Chris Perez did in Milwaukee), but here are updates on players who were paid this bonus or learned that they’ve made their respective teams…

  • Yahoo’s Jeff Passan tweets that utility man Kelly Johnson has made the Braves’ 25-man roster. Johnson inked a Minor League pact that included a yet-unreported base salary. His versatility, the organization’s familiarity with him and the fact that the 32-year-old slashed a hefty .273/.396/.523 with a pair of homers in 54 plate appearances this spring likely all factored into the decision.
  • The Nationals will pay left-hander Rich Hill the $100K retention bonus, tweets James Wagner of the Washington Post. The 35-year-old yielded a pair of runs in 7 1/3 innings this spring and will give the Nats some left-handed relief depth. Of course, the Nats also just traded away some lefty relief by dealing out-of-options southpaw Jerry Blevins and his $2.4MM salary to the Mets.

Earlier Updates

  • Padres catcher Wil Nieves has received a $100K retention bonus, tweets Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Nieves is still in the running for the team’s backup catching slot, Lin adds. Tim Federowicz was slated to be the team’s backup, but knee surgery has sidelined him for the next several months. The team must make a final call by this Sunday.
  • The D-Backs and catcher Gerald Laird and agreed to a five-day extension that will allow him to remain in big league camp, reports Jack Magruder of FOX Sports Arizona (on Twitter). Zach Buchanan of the Arizona Republic adds some clarity, noting that Laird still received the $100K retention bonus but will have the opportunity to fight for a roster spot (Twitter link). The five days will give the Snakes a bit more time to determine whether or not they want to take the veteran Laird north with them to open the season.
  • The Blue Jays have paid the $100K retention bonus to both Johan Santana and Munenori Kawasaki, tweets Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. Both players were on Minor League deals, but Santana didn’t get into a game with the big league club as he continued to rehab from injury. Kawasaki hit .333/.481/.571 in 27 plate appearances but didn’t make the big league roster. He’ll head to Triple-A and wait for a call to the Majors in an organization with which he is quite familiar and where he is quite popular among the coaches and his teammates.
  • Right-handers Brad Penny and Jesse Crain both received retention bonuses from the White Sox, Passan also reports (on Twitter). The duo will remain in the Minors in the hopes of a spot opening with the big league club. Penny struggled to a 6.89 ERA in 15 2/3 innings this spring, though little can be gleaned from such a small sample, and he did issue only four walks along the way. Crain, like his former Twins teammate Santana in Toronto, didn’t pitch in a big league game as he continued to rehab from injuries that cost him the entire 2014 season in Houston.
  • Both Geovany Soto and Matt Albers, on the other hand, have made the White Sox’ roster and will be added to the 40-man, Passan reports in the aforementioned tweet. Presumably, Soto will be in the mix for everyday at-bats behind the plate following a strong spring performance. Albers will slot into the bullpen and bring an experienced arm to serve as a right-handed setup option. Soto’s base salary is an unknown, wheres Albers stands to reportedly receive a $1.5MM base for making the club.

Released: Bello, Herndon, Accardo, Rodriguez, Rogers

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Here are the latest minor moves, all via the MLB.com transactions page, the PCL transactions page, and/or the International League transactions page:

  • The Braves have released catcher Yenier Bello. Bello, of course, signed out of Cuba for a $400K bonus last year, but the 30-year-old obviously did not show enough to stay in the system. He slashed .308/.315/.404 over just 55 plate appearances last season split between the Rookie and low-A levels.
  • Brewers right-hander David Herndon will also be in search of a new organization after being released. The 29-year-old carries a 3.85 career ERA over 117 big league frames, but has not seen action at the game’s highest level since 2012.
  • The Diamondbacks have released big league veterans Jeremy Accardo and Henry Rodriguez. Both righties, Accardo (eight years) and Rodriguez (six years) each have seen their share of time at the major league level, including action in a closing role. Accardo owns a 4.30 ERA with 6.5 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 across 284 2/3 big league innings, but last saw action at that level in 2012. Rodriguez, still just 28, has worked to a 4.31 ERA over his 150 1/3 lifetime frames, striking out 9.0 and walking 6.4 per nine.
  • The Rangers also released a couple of right-handers in Mark Rogers and Mitch Atkins. Rogers, once one of the game’s brightes pitchign prospects, has struggled with a variety of injury issues and was not able to gain traction in camp. Atkins, 29, had worked to a 3.76 ERA with 7.0 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 in 141 1/3 innings last year in the upper minors. Both players have some big league experience to their credit, but none in recent campaigns.
  • Reds right-hander Wilmer Font and oufielder Felix Perez have both been released. Font is just 24 and has reached the bigs briefly in each of the last two seasons with the Rangers. But he ended last season with an elbow injury and never played in major league camp this spring. The 30-year-old Perez, meanwhile, hit .280/.325.450 at the Triple-A level last year but struggled in camp this spring.

Minor Moves: Scott Diamond, Sean Furney

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

  • Left-hander Scott Diamond has inked a Minor League contract with the Rays, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (via Twitter). Diamond was a Rule 5 pick of the Twins from the Braves organization back in 2010, and he surfaced with the team to post a strong season in 2012. That year, Diamond worked to a 3.54 ERA with 4.7 K/9, a league-best 1.6 BB/9 and 53.4 percent ground-ball rate. However, as we often see with low-strikeout pitchers, Diamond struggled in 2013 when his control regressed. His K/9 dipped to 3.6 while his BB/9 jumped to 2.5, and his ground-ball rate dropped to 46.9 percent. The result was a 5.43 ERA in 131 innings. Diamond will serve as depth for the Rays staff and hope to get a big league opportunity at some point this season.
  • The Braves have acquired righty Sean Furney from the D-Backs for cash considerations, according to the Braves’ transactions page. The 23-year-old joined the D-Backs organization as an undrafted free agent in 2013 and has pitched to a 3.74 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 182 2/3 innings. Furney worked mostly as a starter at Class-A in 2014, but he did reach Double-A briefly at season’s end, making one start at that level.

Minor Moves: Roberts, Baez, D-Backs, Putkonen

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the game.

  • The Royals have released 2B/3B Ryan Roberts, Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star tweets. Roberts, 34, played sparingly for the Red Sox last season and has a career .243/.320/.388 line in parts of nine seasons, also playing for the Blue Jays, Rangers, Diamondbacks and Rays.
  • The Royals have announced that they’ve traded righty Angel Baez to the Astros for cash considerations. Baez, 24, pitched 62 innings of relief for Double-A Northwest Arkansas last season, posting a 4.65 ERA with 10.3 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9, improving somewhat upon the control problems with which he had struggled in the low minors.
  • The Diamondbacks have released a number of players, including righty relievers Jeremy Accardo and Henry Rodriguez, MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert tweets. The 33-year-old Accardo spent 2014 in independent ball and last appeared in the Majors in 2012. He’s played parts of eight big-league seasons and appeared in the Blue Jays’ bullpen in every season from 2006 through 2010. The hard-throwing Rodriguez has appeared in the big leagues in all of the last six seasons (with the Athletics, Nationals, Cubs and Marlins), but has never really established himself, thanks in large part to control problems — he has 6.4 BB/9 for his career. Both pitchers signed minor-league deals with the D-Backs this offseason.
  • Twins utilityman Tyler Grimes has retired, LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune tweets. The 24-year-old Grimes played at Class A+ Fort Myers in 2014, hitting .232/.313/.355 in 307 plate appearances while, remarkably, playing catcher, second, third and all three outfield positions. He had been a non-roster invite to Twins big-league camp.
  • The Tigers have released righty Luke Putkonen, MLB.com’s Jason Beck tweets. Putkonen, 28, pitched 29 2/3 innings out of the Tigers’ bullpen in 2013 and handled himself well, posting a 3.03 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9. He missed most of the 2014 season due to elbow issues, however. The Tigers designated Putkonen for assignment and outrighted him in January.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Rays, Utley, D-Backs, Matusz

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Here are the highlights from an enormous notes post by Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports:

  • There’s the potential for lots of trade activity between now and Opening Day, with an unusual number of teams with logjams at particular positions. But there aren’t many good pitching options, and many teams are already close to their payroll limits.
  • The Rays are one of several teams looking for starting pitching, but they’re currently focusing their efforts on depth, figuring they only need to cover for injured starters Alex Cobb and Drew Smyly for a month or so.
  • If the Phillies struggle early in the year, trade whispers involving Chase Utley could grow louder, with the Padres, Angels and possibly Giants looming as potentially interested teams. Utley would, of course, have to waive his no-trade clause, but he has West Coast roots.
  • The Diamondbacks are currently unwilling to trade Mark Trumbo, but that could change if they become dissatisfied with their outfield defense.
  • The Orioles discussed trading lefty Brian Matusz to the Rangers before Texas acquired Sam Freeman, and have listened to other clubs interested in Matusz as well. But the Nationals might be more willing than the Orioles to trade a lefty reliever — some within the Orioles see Matusz as a better option than either T.J. McFarland or Wesley Wright.

West Notes: DeShields, Aiken, Lopez

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Here are some notes out of the game’s western divisions:

  • Rule 5 pick Delino DeShields Jr. appears to have a place on the Rangers roster, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. Taken from the Astros this winter, DeShields could be a force on the basepaths and would otherwise represent a backup center field and second base option.
  • The Astros–Brady Aiken fallout remains too clouded in uncertainty for final judgment, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle writes. While Aiken’s Tommy John procedure has led some to claim that Houston was justified in seeking to drop the price tag on the first overall pick last year, Drellich explains that it is more complicated than just looking at that result. There’s a lot of ground covered in the article, and it is worth a full read for those interested in understanding this complicated situation.
  • New Diamondbacks righty Yoan Lopez has shown steady improvement in spite of an unsightly ERA in his first professional action, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes. Rival scouts have raised some questions about his upside, but D’backs pitching coach Mike Harkey says that he fully expects the 22-year-old to become “a really good pitcher.” Lopez has not brought quite the level of velocity that led the team to sign him, but manager Chip Hale explains that velo isn’t everything: “I think the fastball hasn’t been quite the velocity that we thought, but 92 is nothing to sneeze at, especially when you can make it move and control it, spot it,” said Hale. “The electricity has been in the breaking ball, especially, and the change-up. But I think we do expect a little tick up in the velocity eventually.”

NL West Notes: Tulowitzki, Maxwell, Padres

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Here’s the latest from around the NL West…

  • While Carlos Gonzalez specifically stated that he wanted to stay with the Rockies, Troy Tulowitzki somewhat tellingly only said “I want to win here” when asked by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale if he wanted to stay with the club.  The Rockies discussed Tulowitzki with a few teams this winter (including the Mets), a process that GM Jeff Bridich said the star shortstop was kept fully informed about, even though there wasn’t much to discuss. “We had conversations this winter, and Tulo has an understanding what we’re thinking….We talked to teams, but there really is nothing that came close to being done,” Bridich said.
  • Justin Maxwell can opt out of his minor league deal with the Giants if he isn’t on the club’s Major League roster by Tuesday, March 31, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.  The 31-year-old Maxwell is battling for a reserve outfield job and said he hasn’t decided what his next step will be if he’s told he isn’t making the roster.
  • While the Padres have come up short in high-profile pursuits of Yasmany Tomas, Hector Olivera and Yoan Moncada, that doesn’t mean the club hasn’t been busy on the international signing front.  In a profile of Padres international scouting director Chris Kemp, MLB.com’s Corey Brock reports that the team has signed 12 international players between the ages of 16-19 are close to deals with several others.  Of particular note is right-hander Starlin Cordero, who is already throwing at 94 mph at age 16 and only two months after being converted to pitching from the outfield.
  • Diamondbacks catching prospect Peter O’Brien has played back-to-back games in the outfield, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.  O’Brien was having problems throwing the ball back to the mound in games earlier this month and he since hasn’t been back behind the plate.  Dubbed as the D’Backs’ catcher of the future by GM Dave Stewart and others within the organization, many scouts have questions about O’Brien’s long-term future behind the plate (even aside from his throwing issue).
  • In NL West news from earlier today, Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times discussed the Dodgers with Jeff Todd on the MLBTR Podcast…Jeff also asked MLBTR’s readers to rank the Dodgers’ many notable offseason moves…I profiled Juan Uribe as a possible trade candidate…the Padres claimed righty Jandel Gustave off waivers from the Royals…the Mets are checking in on both the Rockies and Dodgers as part of their search for relief pitching help.
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