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NL West Notes: Castillo, Olivera, Jansen, Peralta

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Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart joined Mike Ferrin of MLB Network Radio (audio link) to discuss last night’s multi-player deal sending Mark Trumbo to the Mariners. He explained that Welington Castillo (acquired in the deal) was not initially a backstop that had interested him upon taking the helm in Arizona — as he hinted, the club conceivably could have made that move when shipping Miguel Montero to the Cubs — but that the loss of Tuffy Gosewisch forced the team’s hand. “The first guy on my list of catchers was [Dioner] Navarro up in Toronto,” said Stewart, who explained that he “had [him] in my sights even in the winter months, before the Winter Meetings.” Stewart added that prospect Gabby Guerrero, who also comes over in the trade, impressed the club this spring.

That deal is a subject that Steve Adams and I tackle in today’s podcast, which will be available in a few hours. Meanwhile, here’s more from the NL West:

  • New Dodgers infielder Hector Olivera will make his professional debut tomorrow at Double-A, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register tweets. Director of player development Gabe Kapler had positive things to say about Olivera’s early time in the organization, as Plunkett also reports. “He clearly can handle either” second or third, Kapler added.
  • Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen was unavailable last night for unknown and somewhat mysterious reasons, as Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com reports. Something apparently occurred during the game itself that changed his status, but what that is has yet to be reported. Meanwhile, four other relievers oversaw a 9th-inning meltdown in Colorado. After the game, the team said that Jansen “wasn’t feeling well, while ESPN’s Rick Sutcliffe tweeted that he was “sending [his] prayers” to the Dodgers and their closer, adding to the intrigue. The outstanding power pitcher has dealt with heart issues in the past, including experiencing an irregular heartbeat while in Denver.
  • Diamondbacks outfielder David Peralta has changed agencies and is now a client of ACES, Devan Fink tweeted recently and ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick confirms (Twitter link). The 27-year-old has quickly established himself as a solid major leaguer, and owns a .280/.323/.460 slash line in his first 490 plate appearances. With just 120 days of service accumulated last year, he’ll likely not qualify for arbitration until 2018.

Mariners Acquire Mark Trumbo In Six-Player Deal

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With an offense that is again struggling to score runs in Seattle and a logjam of corner outfield types in Arizona, the Diamondbacks and Mariners have agreed to a rare, significant early-June trade that will send Mark Trumbo from Arizona to Seattle, the teams announced. Left-hander Vidal Nuno is also heading to the Mariners, who will send catcher Welington Castillo, right-hander Dominic Leone and prospects Gabby Guerrero and Jack Reinheimer to the D-Backs.

Mark Trumbo

From the Mariners’ perspective, Trumbo will add significant power to a lineup that has struggled to score runs, as they rank 28th in the Majors with 191 runs. However, Seattle has thrived as a collective unit against left-handed pitching, which is where Trumbo does most of his damage. The 29-year-old is a lifetime .263/.311/.528 hitter against southpaws but owns a more pedestrian .242/.293/.444 line against same-handed pitching. Despite questionable OBP skills and his so-so numbers against right-handed pitching, Trumbo does figure to make the Mariners’ offense more formidable, though it may come at the cost of some defensive value. The acquisition of Trumbo also forces the team to either displace Logan Morrison at first base or utilize one of Trumbo or Nelson Cruz in the corner outfield, where both are regarded as defensive liabilities. Trumbo, who is earning $6.9MM in 2015 and is under team control through 2016 via the arbitration process.

Looking at the trade from Arizona’s perspective, it’s not difficult to see why the team felt the need to move Trumbo. The signing of Yasmany Tomas this offseason gave them a pair of slow-footed corner outfielders whose most appealing asset was right-handed pop. The D-Backs have been playing Tomas at third base while highly regarded prospect Jake Lamb is on the disabled list, but Lamb is nearing a return, and Tomas’ defensive work in the infield has not been particularly strong. With this move, Tomas can shift to right field in Trumbo’s place, joining A.J. Pollock and a combination of Ender Inciarte and David Peralta in the outfield. The move also saves the D-Backs some significant money; Trumbo is owed $4.68MM for the remainder of the 2015 season, compared to Castillo’s $1.43MM, making for a total savings of about $3.25MM.

Nuno has been told that he will be joining the Mariners’ rotation, the lefty himself told reporters, including MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert (Twitter link). The 27-year-old has struggled throughout his brief MLB career as a starter, but he’s pitched quite well in a long relief capacity for Arizona this season, posting a 1.88 ERA with a 19-to-5 K/BB ratio in 14 1/3 innings. Of course, that small sample consists of just three appearances, and Nuno’s larger body of work is relatively suspect. He’s tallied 196 innings at the Major League level between the Yankees and Diamondbacks, posting a 4.13 ERA with 7.2 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and a 38.1 percent ground-ball rate.

As a fly-ball pitcher, his first stint in an expansive, pitcher-friendly environment figures to benefit Nuno, but his peripheral profile doesn’t exactly indicate that he’s been the recipient of much poor luck. Metrics such as FIP (4.36), xFIP (4.15) and SIERA (3.97) all feel that Nuno’s ERA are more or less reflective of his talent level. The Mariners will hope that he can produce improved results in a more favorable setting, however, and if not, he seems like he could at least be a useful bullpen piece. Nuno has stifled opposing lefties to this point in his career, yielding just .191/.271/.317 batting line in 190 plate appearances. The Mariners will be able to control him through the 2019 season.

Castillo is the most established player headed back to Arizona in the trade, and he will pair with Jarrod Saltalamacchia behind the dish to form the D-Backs’ new catching tandem. That’s a far more established duo than Tuffy Gosewisch and Jordan Pacheco, who have handled the bulk of Arizona’s catching duties this season. Arizona GM Dave Stewart stated on multiple occasions this offseason that he had no intent of adding a catcher, and he held to his word through Opening Day, but he’s since seen Gosewisch go down for the year due to a torn ACL, while a back injury has ended veteran Gerald Laird’s season. Rule 5 pickup Oscar Hernandez is on the shelf as well, creating an even larger dearth of catching options for the Diamondbacks.

Arizona values prospect Peter O’Brien’s bat quite a bit, but scouts have long questioned whether or not he can handle catching from a defensive standpoint. Late in Spring Training, those questions became even more pronounced when O’Brien developed an issue throwing the ball back to the mound. He’s seen more time in the corner outfield this season at Triple-A than he has behind the plate.

Therefore, Castillo and Saltalamacchia give the Diamondbacks a more experienced tandem without forcing them to try O’Brien at catcher before he is ready (if he ever is). Castillo is a career .250/.316/.392 hitter that posted a combined 105 OPS+ from 2012-13 before taking a step back in 2014. All told, his bat has been about five percent below the league average over the course of his career, which is solid offensive output from a catcher. Castillo has also caught an above-average 30 percent of attempted base stealers in his career, though like Saltalamacchia, he does not grade out well in terms of pitch-framing metrics. Castillo is under team control through the 2017 season.

In Leone, the Diamondbacks will acquire a 23-year-old reliever who was dominant in his 2014 rookie campaign but has struggled to repeat that success. Leone emerged from out of nowhere in 2014 to post a 2.17 ERA with 9.5 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 54.7 percent ground-ball rate in 66 1/3 innings for the Mariners. Both FIP and xFIP pegged him at 3.07, while SIERA was more bullish at 2.81. Entering the 2015 season, Leone looked like a potential long-term bullpen cog. However, he’s seen his control erode dramatically, issuing nine walks in 11 1/3 innings against just seven strikeouts. The 94.6 mph he averaged on his heater in 2014 has dropped to 93.3 mph, leading to further cause for concern. His ERA to this point is a sky-high 6.35, while ERA estimators peg him for a mark in the 5.40 to 5.80 range. Put simply, Leone is a reclamation project for the Diamondbacks, but if he can return to anything close to his 2014 output, he’d be one of the most effective pieces in Arizona’s relief corps, if not the most effective piece.

Guerrero, 21, is the best prospect in the deal, despite a rough year at Double-A so far (.215/.262/.305). The nephew of famed slugger Vladimir Guerrero, Gabby has ranked among the Mariners’ Top 15 prospects in each of the past three offseasons, topping out at seventh this past winter. In their most recent scouting report, BA noted that Guerrero has plus-plus raw power, a plus-plus arm in right field (sound familiar?) and plus range as well, but he’s overly aggressive at the plate and swings too hard too often. Guerrero has baseball in his genes and is a high-risk, high-reward type of prospect; BA and other outlets such as MLB.com (where he ranks fifth among Mariners prospects) and Fangraphs (eighth) all feel that he could ultimately be an everyday right fielder, but the likelihood isn’t great without adjustments to his approach.

The 22-year-old Reinheimer reached Double-A for the first time this season and has slashed .277/.323/.351 thus far. Ranked as Seattle’s No. 17 prospect by BA, he also ranks 19th per Fangraphs and 14th per MLB.com. Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis at MLB.com call Reinheimer a singles hitter at the moment, noting that he has above-average speed and the range/arm to handle shortstop defensively. Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs agrees for the most part and comps him to Mariners shortstop Chris Taylor, noting that there’s very little power and a utility player might be the ultimate outcome.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported that Trumbo and Nuno had been traded to Seattle in exchange for Castillo, Leone and two prospects (Twitter links). 

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NL West Notes: Dahl, Aardsma, Bradley, Cahill

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Rockies prospect David Dahl was at one point thought to be out for the season following a collision that led to a massive laceration on his spleen, but he’s now opted for a splenectomy and, incredibly, is hoping to return to the field within six weeks, agent Adam Karon tells ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. “David has put in an incredible amount of work the last two offseasons, and he just couldn’t fathom the idea of a shortened season,” Karon told Crasnick. “…A normal person would just leave the spleen in. But for an athlete, there’s an additional risk of the spleen rupturing again in a collision. David said, ’I can’t play the rest of my career worrying about this, and I don’t want to miss any more time this year than I have to.'” Dahl got off to a slow start at Double-A this season, but it seems likely that he’ll get a chance to improve those numbers yet — an outcome that seemed impossible as recently as one week ago.

Here’s more from the NL West…

  • The Dodgers are in the midst of a 72-hour window to make a decision on veteran right-hander David Aardsma, writes Jacob Unruh of The Oklahoman. The 33-year-old Aardsma has been lights-out in relief for the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City this year, but the team may not be able to find room for him on the 25-man roster. Aardsma’s contract contains a June 1 opt-out that triggers the 72-hour window; he must be added to the roster or he can elect free agency. Aardsma reworked his mechanics and went throw a program called Top Velocity this offseason in an effort to rediscover his velocity, and he tells Unruh that he feels he can contribute to a Major League bullpen again. If the results in Triple-A are any indication, that may well be true, as Aardsma has posted a 2.55 ERA with a 21-to-7 K/BB ratio and 15 saves in 17 2/3 innings thus far.
  • Archie Bradley is placing the Diamondbacks in a tough spot, writes Zach Buchanan of the Arizona Republic. The top prospect won a job in the rotation out of Spring Training — impressing the team so much that they traded Trevor Cahill to clear a place for him — but he’s struggled since returning from a frightening injury. Bradley missed two weeks after being struck in the face by a Carlos Gonzalez line drive, and since coming back, he’s averaged just four innings a start and allowed 19 runs in 15 2/3 innings. Bradley maintains that the injury isn’t the reason for his downturn in performance, but as Buchanan notes, the D-Backs rank at the top of the league in terms of innings pitched by their bullpen. Bradley’s current inability to work deep into games is further stretching the club’s relief corps, but despite that troubling trend, general manager Dave Stewart told Buchanan that there are “no plans right now” to make a move involving Bradley.
  • Speaking of Cahill, the right-hander recently spoke to the Republic’s Sarah McLellan about being traded to Atlanta at the end of Spring Training. Cahill said that it was “kind of shocking” to be traded with just one day of camp remaining, but he ultimately told himself to view the transaction as a new opportunity. Of his time with the Snakes, Cahill told McLellan, “I worked hard and competed as best as I could, but I wished I could have done more to help the team.” His struggles have persisted to this point in Atlanta, where he’s pitched to a 7.33 ERA with 12 strikeouts against 11 walks in 23 1/3 innings and ceded his spot in the rotation to young flamethrower Mike Foltynewicz.
  • A pair of NL West news items came in late last night as well, for those who had turned in for the evening: the D-Backs announced that Tuffy Gosewisch will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL, and veteran righty Juan Gutierrez opted out of his minor league deal with the Giants.

Tuffy Gosewisch Out For Year With ACL Tear

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Diamondbacks catcher Tuffy Gosewisch will miss the rest of the season after being diagnosed with a torn ACL, the club announced. The 31-year-old had already been placed on the 15-day DL.

Gosewisch earned his first opportunity at a regular role this year for Arizona. Generally a meager offensive producer in his time in the minors — most of it spent with the Phillies — Gosewisch was able to crack the lineup due to his quality glovework and the club’s lack of options behind the plate.

Through 138 plate appearances this year, Gosewisch largely matched the batting output he put up in reserve duty last year. All told, he has taken 317 turns at bat in the majors, slashing .212/.241/.285 with two home runs and two stolen bases. But Baseball Prospectus has valued him as a slightly above-average performer behind the dish.

Fellow backstop Wilson Ramos also suffered a May ACL tear back in 2012, ultimately missing the entire rest of the season. Despite missing the early part of Spring Training, he recovered in time to open the year on the active roster. Barring any setbacks, Gosewisch figures to follow approximately the same timeline.

With Gosewisch down for the rest of the year, it seems likely that mid-season signee Jarrod Saltalamacchia will do most of the receiving, with Jordan Pacheco functioning as the backup. But the door is now slightly more open for prospect Peter O’Brien, who is bludgeoning Triple-A pitching (.339/.379/.650) while he continues to work to establish himself as a viable defensive option.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Trumbo, Grichuk, Morales, Bour, Zobrist, Starters

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For his latest notes column, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports spoke with Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart about the possibility of trading Mark Trumbo this summer — a notion which Stewart seems to strongly oppose. “We know there’s interest in Trumbo,” said Stewart. “…With all of our players, if you overwhelm me with something, I’ve got to listen. I guess most people would say the trade deadline is where we’ll find the best value. But at this moment, Mark Trumbo is my guy. He gives us something in our lineup that none of our other guys do other than Goldschmidt – a guy who can hit the ball out of the ballpark.” However, as Rosenthal points out, Trumbo is controllable only for one season beyond the 2015 campaign and will be bringing big power numbers to his final arbitration case just one year after landing a $6.9MM salary. Trumbo, hitting .273/.314/.533 with nine homers, will undoubtedly be expensive. And, the team has Jake Lamb nearing a return from the DL, and his return to third base would push Yasmany Tomas to the outfield. A trade does seem like something that the D-Backs will have to consider, though they could always move a different piece or option Tomas back to Triple-A. He’s hitting well, however, despite a lack of home runs.

A few more highlights from Rosenthal’s latest work…

  • Randal Grichuk’s importance to the Cardinals is only growing, Rosenthal writes. While he’s the type of bat that could find himself mentioned in trade rumors as the team looks to upgrade potential areas of need, Rosenthal wonders if the team can afford to part with Grichuk. The aging Matt Holliday is under control through 2017, but Jon Jay and Peter Bourjos are free agents after 2016, and Stephen Piscotty isn’t hitting as well as they’d hoped in the minors. Jason Heyward will be a free agent at season’s end and hasn’t hit at the level the Cards had hoped when they acquired him.
  • Rosenthal also spoke with Royals GM Dayton Moore about the team’s decision to sign Kendrys Morales to a two-year deal this winter. As he notes, many were surprised to see Morales land a $17MM commitment after a terrible 2014 season — you can include yours truly among those who did a double-take upon seeing the contract details — but Moore and his staff saw plenty to like in Morales. “Makeup, character, his desire to play, his professionalism, the way he competes in the batter’s box,” said Moore upon being asked what drew the Royals to Morales. Special assistants Luis Medina and Jim Fregosi Jr. were both high on Morales as well. Each felt that he still had good bat speed but faced a difficult challenge in jumping back into the Majors last June after a long layoff at a time when pitchers were peaking.
  • Marlins first baseman Justin Bour looks at this point to be one of the better bargains in the history of the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft, writes Rosenthal. As he notes, Baseball America has written that “almost no future big leaguers” come from the minor league portion of the Rule 5, which is used to fill out teams’ minor league affiliates more than anything else. Selecting Bour cost the Marlins $12K, but GM Michael Hill said the whole organization was high on him. “He played against us in the Southern League, so our staff liked him — as did our scouts that covered the league,” said Hill. Miami liked his peripherals and Double-A production.
  • Athletics second baseman Ben Zobrist “might be the player most certain to be traded before July 31,” writes Rosenthal. Zobrist was recently tied to the Cubs, and while the team lacks an obvious everyday spot on its roster, the connection to manager Joe Maddon and the front office’s love of Zobrist may very well outweigh a perceived lack of everyday at-bats. I’d imagine Zobrist could get some time in left field and play all around the infield in an effort to get him five or six starts a week. Injuries may also pop up between now and the deadline.
  • In a second article, Rosenthal looks at the upcoming class of free agent pitchers and notes that it might not be as great as many had expected. Doug Fister is on the DL and was below-average when healthy. Mat Latos has been injured and ineffective this season, and there have been recent injury concerns for both Johnny Cueto and Scott Kazmir. Rosenthal wonders how much more likely all of this makes Zack Greinke to opt out of his contract with the Dodgers, though I personally don’t think there was ever a great likelihood that a healthy Greinke would’ve gone any other route than opting out. Even at age 32, he can top the remaining three years and $71MM handily, even if it comes with a lesser average annual value.

Minor Moves: Barfield, Bianchi, Frandsen

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • The Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League have signed former A’s prospect Jeremy Barfield, tweets Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Barfield, the son of former major leaguer Jesse Barfield and brother of Josh Barfield, spent parts of four seasons with the Athletics’ Double-A affiliate and reached as high as Triple-A. The 26-year-old is a career .261/.334/.402 hitter in the minors.
  • Infielder Jeff Bianchi has rejected an outright assignment from the Red Sox after clearing waivers, Tim Britton of the Providence Journal tweets. He is now a free agent. Bianchi enjoyed a proverbial cup of coffee with Boston this year, but spent most of his time in the organization compiling a useful .302/.373/.340 slash at Triple-A. He has seen more extensive time with the Brewers in the past.
  • The Diamondbacks have released veteran utility infielder Kevin Frandsen, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports on Twitter. Frandsen, 33, owns a .309/.352/.333 slash over 89 plate appearances for Triple-A Reno. He spent last year with the Nationals, contributing only a .259/.299/.309 batting line in his 236 plate appearances. Since a strong year for the Phillies in 2012, Frandsen — who mostly plays at second and third — has been at or below replacement level.

NL Notes: Cubs, Nationals, Strasburg, Heyward, Gosewisch, Giants

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Earlier, we discussed a report from Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times indicating that the Cubs will be players if Ben Zobrist is marketed. In that piece, he also discusses the team’s need for pitching. Chicago is “in the mix” for Rafael Soriano and could also be interested in Diamondbacks lefty Oliver Perez. Discussing the team’s summer plans, president of baseball operations Theo Epstein hinted that the club will be looking hard at additions — as Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago said he expected on last week’s MLBTR podcast. “We’re trying to balance short- and long-term interests,” said Epstein. “But we’re in a situation [in which] we have a fairly competitive team right now, and we have some needs. So you don’t ignore that. You keep it in mind. But at the same time you can’t just go out and unilaterally add.”

  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo indicated that he believes the club can get by with internal options like Michael Taylor and Tyler Moore while Jayson Werth recovers from a fractured wrist, as Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports. The left-handed-hitting Clint Robinson could also see time. My own guess is that another lefty bat could be acquired if the right player becomes available, but that the team will not be aggressive unless the need becomes more apparent. It’s worth recalling, too, that Matt den Dekker is still available at Triple-A, with Nate McLouth still a possible candidate to return later in the year.
  • Stephen Strasburg left tonight’s start for the Nationals after just five batters. As Dan Kolko of MASNsports.com reports (Twitter links), Strasburg is said to have suffered a left trap muscle issue of some kind. The righty, who has struggled uncharacteristically, said that his neck tightened up so much that he had trouble turning his head. While it does not appear that there is any concern with arm issues, Strasburg’s general difficulties and neck and back issues are certainly an increasing problem for him and the club.
  • Cardinals GM John Mozeliak says he does not have any retrospective qualms over his acquisition of outfielder Jason Heyward, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. Heyward has shown some signs of life after a rough start, but the outstanding early performance of Shelby Miller stands in stark contrast at present. “I think whenever you make those kind of deals, there are reasons behind it,” Mozeliak explained. “And at the time, we felt that we had to do something. Not only looking at how we want this club to be put together, but we did not feel like there might be any other opportunities that would meet the type of criteria we’re looking for.” 
  • Though he has not yet been evaluated, injured Diamondbacks catcher Tuffy Gosewisch says a radiologist that looked at the MRI on his knee believes he may have a torn ACL, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets. Certainly, that would mean a disappointing end to the year for the 31-year-old, who has struggled at the plate in his opportunity at a starting role. Arizona has called up recent signee Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who will presumably take a good portion of the time behind the dish.
  • Several Giants players have upcoming opt-out dates, Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News writes. Righty Kevin Correia can become a free agent on the first of June, while third baseman Casey McGehee can opt out on June 5.

West Notes: Kazmir, Crisp, Saltalamacchia, Halos

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The Athletics had somewhat of a scare yesterday when Scott Kazmir left his start in the third inning and underwent an MRI due to shoulder soreness, but MLB.com’s Jane Lee tweets that the injury isn’t serious. Kazmir’s MRI revealed no structural damage, and the left-hander is expected to miss only one start before rejoining the Oakland rotation. It’s good news for the A’s on multiple fronts, as a healthy Kazmir will either be a key to a theoretical turnaround of their season or a highly desirable trade chip come July.

Some more news from the game’s Western divisions…

  • News on Coco Crisp, however, isn’t as encouraging for the Athletics, writes Joe Stiglich of CSN Bay Area. Doctors have recommended that Crisp receive an epidural injection to attempt to alleviate the chronic pain in his neck. The center fielder will be shut down from baseball activities for the next month or so, according to manager Bob Melvin. That, as Stiglich notes, would mean that Crisp would likely be out past the All-Star break, as he wouldn’t resume baseball activities until late June or early July.
  • The D-Backs are planning to promote Jarrod Saltalamacchia from Triple-A Reno tomorrow, reports Steve Gilbert of MLB.com (via Twitter). Saltalamacchia signed a minor league pact with Arizona after being surprisingly designated for assignment and subsequently released by the struggling Marlins. Saltlamacchia has struggled some at Triple-A after a notable absence from playing in games — he was on paternity leave prior to his DFA, then waited 10 days before being released and another couple of days before signing — but he does have a pair of homers in nine games with Reno. The Diamondbacks will need to add Saltalamacchia to the 40-man roster before he can join the big league club.
  • The addition of Kirk Nieuwenhuis doesn’t figure to be the only trade the Angels will make in the coming months, as GM Jerry Dipoto told reporters, including Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times, that the search for offense will continue for the next few months. “We’ll be looking for the remainder of the trade season,” said Dipoto, whose team surprisingly ranks 26th in runs scored, 29th in OPS and 26th in wRC+. Dipoto specifically states that he’s not interested in trading the pitching depth he worked long and hard to acquire — presumably referring to Andrew Heaney, Nick Tropeano and Sean Newcomb. He also doesn’t sound like a GM ready to act rashly. “Quite frankly, you try to fix something now, you cost yourself pitching depth, and many different things that could happen along the way would tell you that was the wrong way to go,” he adds.

NL West Notes: Gutierrez, Uribe, Thomas, D-Backs

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Giants right-hander Juan Gutierrez has a June 1 opt-out clause approaching in his contract that will allow him to request his release if he is not added to the 25-man roster, as MLBTR reported back at the end of Spring Training. The 31-year-old has struggled in some regards at Triple-A this season, as he’s posted a 4.94 ERA thus far. However, he’s posted a nice 21-to-8 K/BB ratio in that time and is sporting a 3.42 FIP, suggesting that he may have better results were it not for a .400 BABIP. Gutierrez worked to a 3.96 ERA with 6.2 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 in 63 2/3 innings for the Giants’ big league club in 2014.

A few more NL West items as the day’s games come to a close…

  • Though Juan Uribe was choked up about leaving the Dodgers when interviewed by reporters following last night’s contest, president of baseball operations told reporters today that Uribe’s agents at Praver/Shapiro had made it known earlier in the week that their client would welcome a trade (Twitter link via the Orange County Register’s Pedro Moura). Uribe, Friedman continued, had hoped for a situation that would allow him to play every day. He may very well have that opportunity with the Braves, though Atlanta does have Chris Johnson as an option at the hot corner as well.
  • Also via Moura, Friedman told reporters that he’s tried on multiple occasions to acquire left-hander Ian Thomas from the Braves before landing him in this six-player trade. Friedman feels that Thomas’ floor is that of a quality Major League reliever. However, multiple reporters (including the L.A. News Group’s J.P. Hoornstra) have noted that the Dodgers will stretch Thomas out as a starter for now at the Triple-A level.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports looks at a number of different reasons that the Dodgers made the trade. While some have already questioned the move, Rosenthal hears that the Dodgers preferred Callaspo’s switch-hitting bat and ability to cover first base. Rosenthal, too, notes that the team is high on Thomas, and he adds that they weren’t sure if they’d be able to keep Chris Withrow on the 40-man roster this winter, as his 2016 production figures to be somewhat of a question mark. Shedding Uribe’s contract also saves the team not only $1MM in salary, but a greater amount in luxury taxes, as Uribe’s $7.5MM average annual value creates a bigger luxury tax hit than Callaspo’s mere $3MM AAV.
  • Tony La Russa’s one-year anniversary as the Diamondbacks’ chief baseball officer was May 17, and Zach Buchanan of the Arizona Republic writes that La Russa is pleased with the organization’s progress. “I think we feel good about the front-office team and we feel good about our scouts and scouting directors and our player development and our coordinator,” La Russa said. Of course, that front office looks markedly different, as Dave Stewart has replaced Kevin Towers at GM and been joined atop the baseball operations pyramid by senior VP De Jon Watson. Also new to the organization is scouting director Deric Ladnier, who formerly held that position with the Royals and replaced the well-respected Ray Montgomery in Arizona. With the new front office in place, the team aggressively pursued international free agents and trade veteran players, and the fruits of those efforts are already surfacing with the big league team. Rubby De La Rosa, Buchanan notes, is outperforming Wade Miley, for whom he was traded. (Arizona also got Allen Webster in that deal.) Yasmany Tomas is contributing at the plate, and the decision to trade Trevor Cahill to free up a rotation slot for Archie Bradley has injected some youth and upside into the starting mix (though Bradley has struggled since returning from a line-drive to the face).

Draft Notes: Jay, Kaprielian, Cubs, Bloodlines

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The lack of clear front-line talent at the top of this year’s draft means there’s plenty of uncertainty, as John Manuel’s latest mock draft for Baseball America demonstrates. Manuel has the Diamondbacks choosing a new name with the top overall pick: that of Illinois lefty Tyler Jay. That would be a surprising selection, given that Jay is relatively small and a reliever, but many scouts believe he’s capable of starting, and one scouting director tells Manuel that Jay has terrific stuff and an easier delivery than Vanderbilt’s Carson Fulmer, another potential No. 1 overall pick. Here are more quick notes on the draft.

  • Cubs president Theo Epstein watched UCLA righty James Kaprielian in Oregon last night, FanGraphs’ Kiley McDaniel tweets. The Cubs have the No. 9 overall pick. McDaniel notes that Kaprielian is attracting interest from other top-ten teams as well. MLB.com notes that Kaprielian throws a good changeup and likely projects as a mid-rotation type of pitcher.
  • This year’s potential draftees includes Mariano Rivera, Jr., son of the great Yankees closer, Paul Casella of MLB.com writes. The Yankees took the younger Rivera in the 29th round last season, but he headed back to Iona for another season and became the MAAC Pitcher of the Year. He should be drafted significantly earlier in 2015. Several other draft prospects also have pro baseball bloodlines, including outfielder Kyle Tucker (the brother of Preston Tucker of the Astros), outfielder Daz Cameron (Mike Cameron’s son) and infielder Ke’Bryan Hayes (the son of Charlie Hayes).
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