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Braves To Sign Alex Torres

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The Braves have struck a minor league deal with lefty Alex Torres, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports on Twitter. He’ll receive an invitation to big league training camp this spring.

Torres just turned 28 in December and has seen fairly consistent time in the big leagues over the past three years. But he was designated for assignment by the Mets last August.

At the surface, that was a puzzling move for New York, which had acquired Torres over the prior winter and received 34 1/3 innings of 3.15 ERA pitching with 35 strikeouts. But a closer look revealed the obvious cause: Torres also permitted 26 free passes in that span and was ineffective against opposing lefties, who touched him for a .268/.406/.393 batting line.

Atlanta will hope that Torres can return to the form he showed over 2013-14. While he was still wild at times — especially in the latter season — he did put up 112 innings of 2.49 ERA pitching while posting 9.1 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9.

The route back isn’t immediately clear. Torres hit the strike zone with just 41.0% of his pitches in 2015, but that was actually up from his 2014 campaign. The biggest issue, it seems, was a drop in his swinging strike rate — from nearly 13% in the prior two years to 9.2% — that occurred as batters made more frequent contact while chasing less of his offerings outside of the zone.

If the Braves and Torres can figure things out, there’s some potential future upside for the team — and not just through the possibility of a mid-season flip. Torres will enter the year with just 2.095 days of service, meaning he could be controlled for up to three more seasons via arbitration.

NL Notes: Dews, Nationals, Desmond, Baez, Reds

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The Braves organization suffered a difficult loss over the weekend, as long-time coach, advisor, and instructor Bobby Dews passed away at 76 years of age. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman explains how deeply embedded he was in the team’s fabric, even as he spent less time around the ballclub in recent years. We join all those around the league in tipping our cap to Dews and offering our condolences to his family and friends.

A few notes from the National League …

  • Following the Nationals’ reported agreement with Stephen Drew on a one-year deal, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post breaks down what the club’s bench could look like. As Janes notes, the addition of Drew will give first-year Nationals manager Dusty Baker four left-handed bats on the bench (Jose Lobaton, Clint Robinson and Matt den Dekker being the others, as things stand). His versatility, as well as the versatility of fellow newcomer Daniel Murphy (who can also handle third base, first base and, in a pinch, left field) gives Baker plenty of options to mix and match. A significant addition may or may not be coming, Janes writes, noting that the pursuit of top free agents such as Jason Heyward and Ben Zobrist at least indicates that the club has money to spend. However, even if the team doesn’t land an additional center field option, the much-needed addition of some left-handed options in recent weeks has brightened the 2016 outlook.
  • Former Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond has long been rumored to be dabbling in the idea of signing as a Zobrist-esque super-utility player, and ESPN.com’s Buster Olney suggests the Giants could be a fit for him in such a role. Desmond could be the regular left fielder, even see time in center, and function as a reserve or injury replacement in the infield, Olney reasons.
  • Speaking of converting infielders to the outfield grass, Cubs youngster Javier Baez has seen time in center field in the Puerto Rican winter league, MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat noted recently. It doesn’t seem that the organization is looking to press him into regular duty there, at least at present, but would at least like to have the option of deploying him in the outfield on occasion.
  • The Reds’ two Rule 5 picks have a solid chance of sticking with the club, C. Trent Rosecrans writes for Baseball America. Outfielder Jake Cave (from the Yankees) makes for a good fit because he hits from the left side, assistant GM Nick Krall tells Rosecrans. And Krall adds that southpaw Chris O’Grady (via the Angels) has shown an ability to retire batters on both sides of the box, with good command helping to make up for average stuff.

NL East Notes: Howard, Guyer, Murphy, Walker, Riley

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Last night, news broke of an Al Jazeera TV news documentary (that aired tonight) which alleged that Ryan Howard, Ryan Zimmerman, Taylor Teagarden and several NFL stars all received illegal PEDs.  Denials have been issued by many of the parties named in the report, including Howard and Zimmerman to Al Jazeera and their mutual attorney to MLBTR.  The Nationals released a statement earlier today in support of Zimmerman, and the Phillies released a statement tonight regarding Howard:

“Ryan Howard has vigorously denied the allegations contained in tonight’s airing of Al Jazeera’s report titled ‘The Dark Side.’  Ryan has spent his whole career with the Phillies and, during that entire time, has been an extremely well respected member of our team and an outstanding contributor to our community.  We will fully cooperate with any investigation conducted by Major League Baseball and will refer all further questions to them concerning the Al Jazeera report.”

Dr. Dale Guyer, of the Guyer Institute, also denied the allegations made by former intern Charles Sly (that have since been recanted) that NFL legend Peyton Manning received HGH from the clinic under his wife’s name.  Guyer made his statement on his website, as passed on by Nat Newell, Zak Keefer and Justin L. Mack of the Indianapolis Star:

“I have no reason to believe these allegations are based in fact or have any truth.  In fact, I can say with absolute certainty they are not. I find it extremely disturbing that the source of Al Jazeera’s story, a former unpaid intern named Charles Sly, would violate the privacy of Mrs. Manning’s medical records and be so callous and destructive as to purposely fabricate and spread stories that are simply not true.

“I would emphasize that Mr. Sly was never an employee of the Guyer Institute and his brief three-month internship occurred in 2013 during which time Peyton was not even being treated or present in the office. I am proud to have treated Peyton and helped him through his rehabilitation. Mr. Manning is one of the most honorable and upstanding individuals I have had the pleasure of knowing.”

You can follow more details on the NFL side of the story on Pro Football Rumors, MLBTR’s sister site.  Here’s more from around the NL East…

  • While Trea Turner has a ton of upside, the Nationals weren’t going to go into the season with an unproven rookie at short and Danny Espinosa as the everyday second baseman, MASNsports.com’s Byron Kerr writes.  The signing of Daniel Murphy answers the Nats’ clear need for an experienced veteran at second who has a proven postseason track record, since Washington fully expects to contend.  With the pennant race in mind, the Nats had no time to let Turner learn on the job in April or May.
  • The Murphy signing, the Nationals’ scuttled trade for Brandon Phillips and the Mets’ trade for Neil Walker are all addressed by Fangraphs’ David Laurila, who feels New York ended up in the best shape after all these second base shuffles.  The Mets benefited by adding Walker for one contract year rather than the Nats signing Murphy for three, Laurila opines, and he also feels the Nats would’ve been better off with Phillips (who has two years remaining on his contract) than Murphy.  I disagree with Laurila on that point, as Murphy is both three years younger than Phillips and has been the better player over the last three seasons.
  • Braves prospect Austin Riley is profiled by David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in the wake of the 18-year-old’s first pro season.  Riley was taken 41st overall in the 2015 draft, a selection that surprised some pundits who had Riley much lower on their board.  He was still drawing a lot of attention from teams, including some who saw him as a pitcher, though the Braves instead shifted him from short to third and focused on his power potential.  Riley hit .304/.389/.544 with 12 homers over 252 combined plate appearances for two Rookie League teams.

NL East Notes: Nats, Murphy, Marlins, Fernandez

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Greg Golson was the 21st overall pick in 2004 by the Phillies and appeared to be on his way to a promising career as he graded out as one of the organization’s Top 10 Prospects in four separate seasons.   However, thanks in part to injuries, the outfielder never fulfilled his potential and only had a cup of coffee in the major leagues.  Now, in an effort to get back on track, Golson is playing winter ball in Mexico, as he writes in an interesting read for Baseball America.

Here’s more out of the NL East:

  • The Nationals front office was apparently split on whether to sign Daniel Murphy, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.  However, there are two clear pros to adding the second baseman.  One is that the Nationals have effectively taken away a rival team’s best contact hitter.  The other is that Murphy fills a need by hitting left-handed.  On Thursday, the Nationals and Murphy reached agreement on a three-year deal worth $37.5MM.
  • There has been talk of an attitude problem when it comes to Marlins star Jose Fernandez, retired pitcher Dan Haren disagrees with that notion, as Scott Miller of Bleacher Report writes.  “No way,” Haren said. “No way. A lot of those things in [Slater’s] article were actually right. But at least from a pitcher’s standpoint, there’s no way anybody was on the bench rooting for Jose to get hit.”   Marlins starter Tom Koehler echoed Haren and backed Fernandez.  Still, multiple sources close to the Marlins indicated to Miller that Fernandez has grown more and more blunt with management, and some are miffed by the way he sometimes speaks to his superiors.
  • Borrowing a page from the NFL’s Green Bay Packers, the Braves are placing a heavy emphasis on building from within, Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes.  Prospects are never a sure thing, but Atlanta has more leeway to be wrong about their youngsters because they now have so many of them.  Pitcher Touki Toussaint, only 19 years old, is considered to be their strongest prospect and we could potentially see him make his big league debut in 2016.

Outrighted: Rondon, Monell, Cunniff, Robertson

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In addition  to the large number of minor signings and waiver claims today, there have been quite a few outrights from around the league. Righty A.J. Achter has already been outrighted by the Angels, but here are the rest of the day’s outright assignments…

  • The Pirates have outrighted right-hander Jorge Rondon to Triple-A Indianapolis. While Rondon hadn’t been previously designated for assignment, the Buccos needed to clear a roster spot to make way for John Jaso and his new two-year contract, and Rondon was the 40-man casualty. Rondon carried a 2.23 ERA over 60 2/3 innings at Triple-A last year, with 7.4 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9. He was once rated among the top thirty prospects of the Cardinals, and has a track record of solid, if unspectacular, numbers in the minors.
  • The Mets have outrighted catcher Johnny Monell to Triple-A Las Vegas, according to ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin (Twitter link). Monell was designated for assignment last week when the team needed a roster spot for the recently re-signed Bartolo Colon. Monell, 30 next March, received his second taste of Major League action last season, collecting a career-high 52 plate appearances with New York. Prior to that, his lone experience in the big leagues was a brief eight-game stint with the 2013 Giants (nine plate appearances). In the Majors, Monell is a .161/230/.196 hitter across his small sample of 61 PAs, but he has a sound track record in the minors, where he’s put together a .279/.356/.455 batting line with 31 homers across 1012 PAs in Triple-A.
  • Right-hander Brandon Cunniff has been outrighted to Triple-A Gwinnett by the Braves after clearing waivers, according to a tweet from the team. A former 27th-round draft pick by the Marlins, Cunniff spent three seasons in the independent Frontier League following his brief minor league career with the Marlins. The Braves plucked him from the indy circuit in June of 2013, and he rather quickly rose through their ranks over the past two years. Cunniff posted a brilliant 2.02 ERA in Double-A and jumped directly to the Majors, where he posted a 4.63 ERA with a 37-to-22 K/BB ratio in 35 innings.
  • MLB.com’s Greg Johns tweets that outfielder Daniel Robertson has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A by the Mariners after being designated for assignment last week. Robertson lost his roster spot to the re-signed Hisashi Iwakuma but is clearly a player valued by GM Jerry Dipoto, who acquired him from Texas while serving as GM of the Angels and again picked him up from the Halos this winter after taking over the Mariners’ GM job. In 277 career plate appearances, Robertson is a .274/.324/.325 hitter. He also boasts a solid minor league track record and is capable of playing all three outfield positions, making him a valuable depth option for a big league team.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/23/15

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We’ll track the day’s minor moves here:

  • Today’s Dodgers minor league additions include outfielders Alex Hassan and Rico Noel, the previously reported Lisalverto Bonilla, and righty Daniel Corcino, Eddy tweets. Hassan is an OBP specialist who bounced around quite a bit last year and has spent most of his time at the Triple-A level over the past several seasons. Noel, soon to turn 27, has big-time speed on the bases and cracked the Yankees’ roster late last year as a pinch runner. And the 25-year-old Corcino has at times looked like a reasonably promising young pitcher, but missed most of last year after Los Angeles claimed him off waivers from the Reds.
  • The Yankees have agreed to sign veteran righty Vinnie Pestano and catcher Sebastian Valle, Eddy adds on Twitter. Pestano, 30, has had some strong MLB campaigns in the past. But he only notched 11 2/3 big league frames last year with the Angels, though he’s posted impressive strikeout tallies at every level. Valle, a 25-year-old backstop from Mexico, spent most of his career in the Phillies organization before moving to the Pirates last year. He’s yet to reach the majors.
  • Joining the Mets on a minors deal is first baseman/outfielder Marc Krauss, per another Eddy tweet, along with pitchers Buddy Carlyle and Duane Below. Krauss has racked up 435 major league turns at the plate over the last three years, slashing .188/.255/.324. Carlyle, who just turned 38, has posted strong numbers in the upper minors and majors over the last several years.
  • The Padres have added pitchers Jose Dominguez and Carlos Pimentel on minor league deals, Eddy tweets. As Eddy notes, Dominguez has a live right arm while Pimentel was named the PCL’s pitcher of the year last season with the Cubs.

Earlier Updates

  • The Braves have added first baseman Nate Freiman on a minor league deal, Matt Eddy of Baseball America tweets. Recently released by the A’s, Freiman put up a meager .220/.279/.321 batting line last year at Triple-A but has shown more in recent years.
  • Heading to the Orioles on a minor league deal is outfielder Xavier Avery, Eddy also tweets. Avery, who’ll soon turn 26, spent time with three organizations last year at the Triple-A level and has yet to return to the majors since a 2012 debut in Baltimore.
  • Catcher Jhonatan Solano has signed a minor league deal with the Nationals that includes a major league camp invite, the club announced. Solano, 30, spent last year with the Marlins — his first season outside of the Washington organization. He’s never done much damage with the bat, but is a well-regarded receiver.
  • The Tigers also added several other players on MiLB pacts. In addition to making the Valdespin addition official, Detroit announced the signings of righties Logan Kensing, Melvin Mercedes, and Dustin Molleken as well as infielder Alberto Gonzalez and outfielder Nate Schierholtz. Mercedes and Molleken have spent the vast majority of their time in the minors, but the others all have ample big league experience. The 33-year-old Kensing allowed ten earned runs in 15 1/3 frames with the Mariners last year. Gonzalez, a seven-year MLB veteran, spent last year in the upper minors with the Detroit organization. And the 31-year-old Schierholtz failed to reach the majors last year after a string of eight seasons, playing instead for Japan’s Hiroshima Carp.
  • The Tigers have reached a minor league deal with infielder/outfielder Jordany Valdespin, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports on Twitter. Valdespin, who turns 28 today, does not receive an invitation to major league camp, per MLB.com’s Jason Beck (also via Twitter). The Dominican utilityman has seen MLB action in each of the last four seasons, but made it into only two games with the Marlins last year. He slashed .291/.378/.371 over 457 plate appearances at the Triple-A level in 2015.

Braves To Sign Alexi Ogando

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The Braves have struck a minor league deal with righty Alexi Ogando, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports on Twitter. The veteran reliever will receive an invitation to major league camp. He would earn a $2MM base salary with up to $1MM in available incentives if he can crack the big league roster, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets.

Atlanta has opportunities available in its pen, which may have helped the team land Ogando without making any commitment. Boston had outrighted Ogando rather than tendering him a contract through arbitration, where MLBTR projected he could earn $2.4MM.

Now 32, Ogando worked to a 3.99 ERA in 65 1/3 frames last year for the Red Sox, with 7.3 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9. But that didn’t represent a full return to form for a player who was once a highly-regarded young pitcher for the Rangers. Major ERA estimators all viewed his actual contribution at 4.18 or higher.

Quick Hits: Soler, Lucroy, Swanson, Chen

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In a radio interview on The 670 Score’s “Inside The Clubhouse” show, Theo Epstein said the Cubs are committed to Jorge Soler as a big part of their roster, CBS Chicago’s Bruce Levine reports.  “We are putting our stock into his future,” Epstein said.  “Barring anything [an overwhelming trade offer], he knows to ignore all the trade rumors and take it as a compliment.”  Epstein praised Soler’s hitting potential and his offseason training, as Soler “is down to 225 [pounds] and is working hard on his quickness and flexibility” to improve his right field defense.  The Cubs could add a defense-first backup outfielder, Epstein hinted, which probably isn’t a surprise given Soler’s inexperience and the questions about whether or not Kyle Schwarber can handle left field.  Here’s some more from around baseball…

  • The Brewers don’t want to sell low on Jonathan Lucroy in the wake of his underwhelming 2015 season, though they could be taking a risk by waiting to make a trade, Fangraphs’ Jeff Sullivan writes in a piece for FOX Sports.  If Lucroy’s concussion and injury history continues to diminish his ability, Milwaukee will have missed its window to recoup significant value for the former All-Star.  Midseason deals for catchers are also somewhat uncommon, as it’s somewhat hard for a new catcher to instantly develop a rapport with pitchers.
  • The Braves targeted Dansby Swanson even before they created room at short by dealing Andrelton Simmons, GM John Coppolella tells Fangraphs’ David Laurila.  “We’ve been in talks with Arizona since the end of the 2015 season,” Coppolella said. “We hoped to get Swanson, but we didn’t know if, or how, the deal would materialize. We saw him as a fit for us, whether we made the Simmons trade or not. We just want really good players and he’s a really good player.”
  • Wei-Yin Chen may have the most value of any remaining free agent pitcher, MLB.com’s Mike Petriello writes, as he has posted comparable numbers to Jeff Samardzija or Jordan Zimmermann and probably won’t cost as much.  Of course, Chen and his agent Scott Boras are looking for healthy compensation for the southpaw’s services in the form of a five-year, $100MM contract.
  • While opt-out clauses are usually considered to provide little benefit to a team, the Boston Herald’s Scott Lauber notes that there’s certainly upside if a club can avoid paying big money to a player outside of his prime years.  For instance, Lauber reports that had the Red Sox been successful in obtaining Alex Rodriguez from the Rangers in the 2003-04 offseason, they had no intention of re-signing him after he opted out of his deal (as expected) after the 2007 season.  The Yankees, who did deal for A-Rod and then re-signed him to a whopping 10-year, $275MM contract after 2007, have surely regretted not letting Rodriguez walk when they had the chance.
  • Blue Jays director of analytics Joe Sheehan is profiled by the Toronto Star’s Brendan Kennedy, who notes that Sheehan’s promotion to the newly-created position is a sign of the team’s increased focus on analytics under Mark Shapiro.
  • The Giants are the most likely team to sign Yoenis Cespedes, MLB.com’s Jim Duquette opines.  The Tigers, Orioles, White Sox and Angels round out Duquette’s list of Cespedes’ most likely landing spots.

Latest On Braves, Ender Inciarte

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Ender Inciarte has been a member of the Braves for less than three weeks and teams are already trying to pry him away.  Since acquiring the outfielder, Braves GM John Coppolella says that he has been contacted by more teams with interest in Inciarte than there were with Shelby Miller (Twitter links via Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports).  The GM says that like Miller, the Braves are not necessarily looking to move Inciarte.  Of course, the Braves wound up trading Miller when they got a sizable offer from the D’Backs.

Ultimately, Coppolella says that he is open to dealing “any player not named Freddie Freeman” if the price is right.  It has been reported that the Braves’ plan is to keep Inciarte in the organization and use him as a leadoff hitter and center fielder for the foreseeable future.  Still, if there are more teams in on Inciarte than there were on Miller, than it stands to reason that Atlanta could get a package strong enough to part with him.  It was reported in late November that “as many as 20 teams” checked in on the right-hander.

Inciarte, 25, was largely unheralded as a prospect but has batted a combined .292/.329/.386 in his first two Major League seasons, including a stellar .303/.338/.408 line in 2015.  Inciarte is an elite defender at any of the three outfield spots; he’s amassed 52 Defensive Runs Saved in just 1972 innings at the Major League level or, if you prefer, +33.7 runs, per Ultimate Zone Rating.

While he lacks much in the way of power and may see his surface-level rate stats decline by moving away from the hitters’ haven that is Phoenix’s Chase Field, Inciarte is expected to help the Braves’ chances both in 2016 and into the next planned phase of the team’s status as contenders.  Of course, with five years of club control to go, there are tons of clubs who would like to add Inciarte to the fold as well.

Bronson Arroyo Drawing Interest From Multiple Teams

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Free agent hurler Bronson Arroyo is drawing interest from multiple teams this winter, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark (on Twitter).  So far, the Nationals, Pirates, Orioles, Padres, Braves, Reds, and Phillies have all called on Arroyo.

Arroyo, 39 in February, is now 17 months removed from Tommy John surgery.  For his part, Arroyo tells Stark that he is “perfectly fine.”  It’s been a while since Arroyo took the hill, as he missed about half of 2014 and all of 2015 after going under the knife. He bounced between organizations as part of the salary-swapping elements of a pair of trades, but he has said in the past that he expects to be ready to go in the spring.

The Reds’ interest in Arroyo was reported back in November, but GM Dick Williams indicated that they would only have interest if if he can first demonstrate that he’s healthy.  Arroyo enjoyed a solid eight-year run with the Reds before departing for the D’Backs via free agency after the 2013 campaign.  He contributed nearly 1700 innings in that stretch, carrying a 4.05 ERA with 5.9 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9.

Considering all he’s been through in the last year-and-a-half and the money he’s earned over his career, no one would fault Arroyo for considering retirement.  However, now that he’s apparently healthy and has interest from at least seven teams, it sounds like the right-hander has no intentions of hanging up his spikes.  For his career, Arroyo has pitched to a 4.19 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 across 15 big league seasons.  He’s not hurting for cash either, as he has raked in more than $90MM in the sport.

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