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Minor Moves: Tomas, Oliver, Brignac, Zito

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Here are today’s minor transactions from around baseball, with the newest moves at the top of the post…

  • The Diamondbacks have optioned Cuban outfielder Yasmany Tomas, the team reports via Twitter. The club signed Tomas for $68.5MM over the offseason. He struggled both defensively and offensively this spring. A stint in Triple-A should give him time to adjust to the outfield and improve his plate approach.
  • Phillies Rule 5 pick Andy Oliver has elected free agency after he was outrighted, the club announced via Twitter. The hard throwing lefty has struggled with walks throughout his career. That continued this spring with 11 walks and 22 strikeouts in 12 and two-thirds innings. The club also announced on Twitter that they reassigned catcher Rene Garcia, first baseman Russ Canzler, and infielder Cord Phelps to Triple-A.
  • Marlins utility infielder Reid Brignac has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A, tweets Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. In 905 major league plate appearances, Brignac has a .222/.266/.314 line.
  • Athletics pitcher Barry Zito has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A, tweets Jane Lee of MLB.com. The former star is working his way back from a one-year hiatus. He posted a 4.79 ERA in 20 and two-thirds spring innings. The 37-year-old struck out 14 and walked five. A former ninth overall pick of the A’s, the southpaw struggled after moving across the Bay to San Francisco on a seven-year, $126MM contract. That deal concluded after the 2013 season.
  • The Red Sox have released Casey Crosby, Bryan LaHair, and Matt Hoffman per the MLB transactions page. Crosby was once a top prospect with the Tigers, but the 26-year-old lefty has yet to develop command. Lahair, 32, had a nice run with the Cubs in 2012 when he hit .259/.334/.450 with 16 home runs in 380 plate appearances. He spent the 2013 season in Japan and split 2014 between Cleveland’s Double and Triple-A clubs.
  • The Phillies have released shortstop Tyler Greene according to the MLB transactions page. Greene, an 11th round pick, was once rated among the Phillies’ best prospects. He missed the entire 2014 season and has never posted a strikeout rate below 33 percent at any level.
  • The Giants have released pitcher Edgmer Escalona per the MLB transactions page. Escalona pitched in parts of four seasons for the Rockies, accruing 100 innings. He has a career 4.50 ERA with 6.39 K/9 and 2.88 BB/9.
  • The Cubs have released lefty pitcher Francisley Bueno according to the transactions page. The 34-year-old has pitched in parts of four season for the Braves and Royals. The soft tossing lefty has a career 2.98 ERA with 4.92 K/9 and 1.79 BB/9 in 60 innings. He’s a pure platoon pitcher.
  • The Braves released former closer Matt Capps per MLB.com. The righty last appeared in the majors in 2012. He has a career 3.52 ERA with 6.53 K/9 and 1.72 BB/9. He’s thrown just 12 minor league innings over the last two seasons – both with the Indians.

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NL East Notes: Nats, Chapman, Duda, Braves

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ESPN’s Jayson Stark is picking the Nationals to win the World Series, and his opinion that they’re baseball’s best team is shared by many scouts and executives around the game.  The Nats have depth, playoff experience, an incredible pitching staff and an easy road (on paper) to the postseason since the NL East projects to be a weak division.  Also, with so many major free agents after the year, the Nationals have a great sense of urgency to win in 2015 and will surely be aggressive in filling roster needs throughout the season.  “They have what everyone wants — a ’now’ team with ingredients they can move if they need to,” one scout told Stark.

Here’s some more from around the NL East…

  • As an example of how aggressive the Nationals could get, Stark heard “a lot” of speculation that they could try to obtain Aroldis Chapman from the Reds at the trade deadline if Drew Storen underachieves as closer.  This would, of course, likely depend on whether or not the Reds are themselves contenders.
  • There’s no progress on extension talks between the Mets and Lucas Duda’s representatives, ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin reports.  The two sides are still talking but have yet Opening Day as the negotiating deadline.
  • No teams are showing any “significant interest” in Mets righty Dillon Gee, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports (via Twitter).
  • The Braves are still considering possible trades, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets, but it seems as if Pedro Ciriaco will make the roster as a backup outfielder.  Ciriaco signed a minor league deal with Atlanta last October and the Braves will have to create a 40-man roster spot for him if he indeed breaks camp with the team.
  • At the moment, the Braves aren’t close to making any trades, according to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link).

Minor Moves: Gillespie, Buschmann, Constanza, Coffey

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

  • Outfielder Cole Gillespie has accepted an assignment to Triple-A from the Marlins, tweets MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. Gillespie, 30, had the opportunity to elect free agency but has chosen to remain within the organization. The former third-round pick (Brewers, 2006) split the 2014 season with the Mariners and Blue Jays, hitting a combined .243/.300/.311 in 81 plate appearances. He posted a .690 OPS in 33 PAs this spring.
  • The Rays have acquired Minor League right-hander Matt Buschmann from the Athletics, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter). The 31-year-old, who is expected to serve as Minor League rotation depth, was a 15th-round pick of the Padres back in 2006 and has spent parts of six seasons at the Triple-A level. Last year, in his first and only season with Oakland, Buschmann worked to a 4.40 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 143 innings of Triple-A ball.
  • The Braves have released outfielder Jose Constanza and veteran right-handed reliever Todd Coffey, reports David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. The 31-year-old Constanza offers quite a bit of speed (298 Minor League steals) and posted perhaps surprisingly solid numbers with the bat in 2011, but he’s slumped to a .555 OPS in 121 PA since that debut. As for Coffey, the former setup man hasn’t pitched since 2012 due to Tommy John surgery, but he enjoyed a nice run from 2009-12 with the Brewers, Nats and Dodgers, pitching to a 3.76 ERA in 225 innings of relief. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets one more Braves release — veteran catcher Jesus Flores. The 30-year-old spent parts of five seasons as Washington’s backup catcher but hasn’t seen the Majors since 2012.

Braves Release Wandy Rodriguez

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The Braves released left-hander Wandy Rodriguez today, reports MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (on Twitter). Rodriguez had been competing with fellow southpaw Eric Stults for the final spot in Atlanta’s rotation, so it would seem that Stults has won that battle. Last night’s acquisition of Trevor Cahill limited the remaining rotation slots and seemingly forced the Braves to choose between one of the remaining candidates as opposed to each making the club.

The 36-year-old Rodriguez hoped to lock down a rotation spot with the Braves after missing the majority of the 2013 and 2014 seasons due to a forearm strain and knee surgery, respectively. Rodriguez made a name for himself in the Astros rotation beginning in 2008, and from that season through 2013, he worked to a combined 3.48 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 997 1/3 innings between Houston and Pittsburgh.

Injuries limited Rodriguez to just 26 2/3 innings and a 6.75 ERA last year, but he looked sharp for much of Spring Training with Atlanta. In 23 innings this spring, Rodriguez notched a 3.13 ERA (eight earned runs) on 22 hits and eight walks with 23 strikeouts. It would be difficult to say that Stults, 35, definitively outpitched Rodriguez. Though Stults’ 1.89 ERA was superior, he also struck out just seven hitters in 19 innings of work for the Braves.

Rodriguez was set to earn a $2MM base salary upon making the club, but he’ll now instead hope to latch on with another team seeking some depth in its rotation.

Braves Notes: Cahill, New Additions, Benson

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In the wake of the Braves’ trade for Trevor Cahill, here’s the latest out of Atlanta…

  • Though Cahill had an underwhelming 2014 season, assistant GM John Coppolella tells David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the Braves see a lot of upside in the righty.  “We saw his last outing, where he showed a real good fastball to 94 (mph) with real good sink,” Coppolella said. “We thought he was kind of a good buy-low, based on the fact he’s still young. He’€™ll be in a free agent walk year.”  Working with noted pitching coach Roger McDowell could also help get Cahill back in good form.
  • Coppolella didn’t comment on whether the team had decided to keep either of Eric Stults or Wandy Rodriguez, both of whom can opt out of their minor league contracts tomorrow.  The two lefties are battling for the fifth spot in Atlanta’s rotation, and Rodriguez has been announced as part of the staff earlier in the spring, though that doesn’t appear to be a sure thing at this point.
  • Acquiring a right-handed starter in Cahill checks one item off the Braves’ preseason to-do list, and MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports that the club is also looking to trade for relief depth and a backup center fielder.
  • That backup center field job could still go to an internal candidate, with Joe Benson and Todd Cunningham looking like the top prospects for the job, O’Brien writes.  Benson has already earned his way from the minor league camp to being an official non-roster invite to the Major League camp, even though Spring Training is almost over.  Benson’s nine-year pro career has only seen him play 21 MLB games, all with the Twins in 2011.

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.

Arodys Vizcaino Suspended 80 Games For PED Usage

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Braves right-hander Arodys Vizcaino will be suspended for 80 games after testing positive for performance enhancing drugs, tweets Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. The league has since announced the suspension, citing Stanozolol as the banned substance in question.

The Braves re-acquired the 24-year-old Vizcaino from the Cubs this offseason, swapping him straight up for second baseman Tommy La Stella. As Passan notes in a second tweet, the former top prospect was throwing significantly harder in spring this year and will serve his suspension at the Triple-A level, where he was optioned on Monday.

Vizcaino has just 22 1/3 innings of experience at the big league level, having allowed 12 runs in that time with a 21-to-12 K/BB ratio. Vizcaino had Tommy John surgery in 2012 and underwent a second elbow surgery to remove bone spurs from his elbow the following year. He split the 2014 season across three levels in the Cubs’ Minor League system, working to a 3.54 ERA with 42 strikeouts against 18 walks in 40 2/3 innings. One would think that a strong start to the season could have positioned Vizcaino to surface in the Majors as a bullpen option for the Braves.

The suspension is particularly detrimental to Vizcaino due to service time implications. While he was slated to start the season in the Minors, Vizcaino has two years, 77 days of Major League service time, meaning he needed just 95 days of big league service to reach three total years and somewhere in the vicinity of 53 days to put him on the bubble of Super Two status. Both of those distinctions will be difficult to reach now, as he’ll sit out half the season and would likely need to prove himself in the Minors following that suspension before warranting consideration at the Major League level.

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.

Braves Outright Zoilo Almonte

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Outfielder Zoilo Almonte has cleared waivers and been outrighted by the Braves, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com (via Twitter). Atlanta had signed the 25-year-old to a Major League contract this winter despite a very limited big league track record. By outrighting Almonte, they’ve cleared a spot on their 40-man roster.

The former Yankee hit just .245/.283/.265 in 53 plate appearances in his bid for a spot on the Braves’ 2015 roster. Instead, he can head to Triple-A Gwinnett and hope for another opportunity to join the roster at some point this season or elect free agency and seek an opportunity with another club, as he has previously been outrighted in his career.

Almonte has a solid track record at the Triple-A level, where he owns a .275/.333/.431 batting line in 747 plate appearances. It seems that Jonny Gomes will be ticketed for the bulk of the left field at-bats early in the season while Eric Young Jr. figures to man center field while Melvin Upton Jr. rehabs from injury.

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