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Twins Outright Doug Bernier

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The Twins have outrighted utility infielder Doug Bernier, according to the MLB.com transactions page. He was back in the lineup for Triple-A Rochester late last week, so he evidently accepted the assignment.

The 35-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Twins after they outrighted him following last season. Bernier then played several weeks for Rochester before being promoted in early May. He collected just six plate appearances with the Twins before being optioned back to the minors.

Bernier has a .254/.326/.308 line in 188 plate appearances with Rochester this season. The Triple-A veteran has 83 career plate appearances in the big leagues, spread across four seasons with the Twins and Rockies.

Week In Review: 6/27/15 – 7/3/15

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Here’s a look back at this week at MLBTR.

Key Moves

  • Jerry Dipoto resigned as GM of the Angels.
  • The Dodgers’ signing of Yadier Alvarez, the Blue Jays’ deal with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the Giants’ signing of Lucius Fox, the Phillies’ signing of Jhailyn Ortiz and a series of high-profile signings by the Cubs highlighted the opening of the July 2 international signing season. You can track international signings here.
  • This week’s high-profile draft signings included Carson Fulmer (White Sox – link), Andrew Benintendi (Red Sox – link), Daz Cameron (Astros – link), Garrett Whitley (Rays – link), DJ Stewart (Orioles – link) and Richie Martin (Athletics – link). You can track top draft signings here.

Trades

Top Prospect Promotions

Designated For Assignment

Outrighted

Released

Key Minor League Signings

Miguel Cabrera To Miss Six Weeks

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The Tigers have placed first baseman Miguel Cabrera on the 15-day disabled list with a Grade 3 calf strain, and he will miss six weeks, according to Jason Beck of MLB.com (Twitter links). They’ve selected the contract of infielder Jefry Marte from Triple-A Toledo to take his place on the active roster.

Obviously, the injury represents a significant blow to the Tigers, who are trying to hold on against the Royals and Twins in the AL Central. Cabrera currently leads the American League in batting average (.350), on-base percentage (.456) and OPS (1.034).

The 32-year-old Cabrera has been one of baseball’s most durable players throughout his career, appearing in 148 or more games in every season since 2004. Remarkably, this will be his first career stint on the disabled list.

“When Miggy says he can’t play, you know it’s serious,” says Tigers manager Brad Ausmus, via MLive.com’s James Schmehl. “Miggy plays through anything.”

It’s unclear how the Tigers will replace Cabrera in their lineup. Marte, formerly a prospect in the Mets organization, hit a solid .271/.337/.497 for Toledo while playing third base and shortstop, although he’s also played first base on occasion in the past. Alex Avila and Andrew Romine are also currently on the Tigers’ active roster and have played first base this season. Avila, who recently returned from the disabled list himself, will start at first base today, Schmehl tweets.

Rays Designate Marc Krauss For Assignment

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The Rays have designated first baseman Marc Krauss for assignment, Bill Chastain of MLB.com tweets. The move clears space on the Rays’ 40-man roster for lefty Everett Teaford. They also optioned lefty C.J. Riefenhauser to the minors. Teaford, a starter in the minors, could provide the Rays with innings today after a 12-inning game against the Yankees on Friday.

The 27-year-old Krauss has collected 48 plate appearances with the Rays and Angels this season, and the bulk of his big-league experience came with the Astros in 2013 and 2014. He’s a career .192/.264/.332 hitter in 402 plate appearances in the Majors. He’s been a significantly better hitter in the minors, batting .289/.415/.453 in 195 plate appearances with the Angels’ Triple-A Salt Lake affiliate this season. The Rays acquired him for righty Kyle Winkler last week.

Jerry Dipoto Likely Out As Angels GM

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9:54pm: Rosenthal provides an overview of the situation, writing that “he and his staff viewed Scioscia and the coaches as practically insubordinate” in declining to utilize statistical information.

9:15am: The current situation is “chaotic,” tweets Passan, with “high-ranking members of the organization” unsure whether or not Dipoto is still the general manager.

9:07am: Dipoto cleared out his office and told members of his staff he was resigning, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

9:01am: A second source tells Crasnick that Dipoto is leaving the organization. (Twitter link.)

2:21am: Jerry Dipoto is “definitely out” as Angels GM after apparently resigning his post last night, sources tell ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. Multiple Angels players entered last night’s game under the impression that Dipoto was no longer at the helm, Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports tweets.

While the club has yet to make anything official, multiple reports emerged over night suggesting that change was afoot. MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez reported that Dipoto was considering resigning in the wake of the Angels’ organizational tensions. FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, meanwhile, tweeted that two sources told him Dipoto had packed up his office (though he noted the possibility that Dipoto might simply have been acting “out of emotion”). Crasnick tweeted that strife between Dipoto and manager Mike Scioscia had only increased since Rosenthal reported earlier this week that the two again weren’t getting along (after having also had significant disagreements in 2012). Crasnick also indicated that Dipoto approached Angels owner Arte Moreno with an ultimatum that “backfired.”

With the Halos experiencing a somewhat underwhelming start to the year, tensions apparently boiled over recently. According to a Rosenthal report, a pair of meetings called by Dipoto — one with Scioscia and his staff, and the other will both uniformed staff and players — turned “contentious” last weekend. The club’s top baseball decision maker reportedly drew strong reactions from an unnamed coach as well as Hall of Fame-bound first baseman Albert Pujols.

The immediate issue seemed to involve the manner in which information on in-game decisions (e.g., shifting, strategies against certain hitters) was distributed to players. But Rosenthal raised the possibility that there were deeper philosophical and relational differences between the club’s two key leaders.

The working relationship between Dipoto and Scioscia was once said to be nearly irreconcilable, but they had seemingly worked together in at least a reasonably workable truce. When asked about the report earlier this week, Scioscia said that the pair continued to “work together the same way that we’ve worked the last couple years” (via Gonzalez, on Twitter).

In recent days, however, those former hostilities had seemingly been rekindled. Two club officials spoke anonymously with Yahoo! Sports’ Tim Brown, with one telling him that there were “a lot of closed doors” around the club’s facility Tuesday, given the persistent tension.

The second source indicated that he or she felt the end result could be rather drastic change. “Something’s going to give this time,” said the source. “Looks irreparable.” Owner Arte Moreno had managed to patch things up previously, at least for a good stretch, but it remains to be seen what can be salvaged this time around.

Then, there’s the reported involvement of Pujols, the team’s highest-paid player, who has finally played up to his massive contract this year. The highly respected veteran said today that he was not going to comment on what had gone on in the clubhouse, as Gonzalez reported.

But Pujols did address the idea, as reported by Rosenthal, that he had said that the club simply does not have as good a roster as it did last year. As Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times tweeted, Pujols said he would never disrespect his teammates in the manner implied in that supposed comment. According to Gonzalez’s sources, however, Rosenthal’s report was quite accurate (Twitter link).

Regardless of what actually happened, there’s yet another layer to the controversy. Gonzalez writes that there was “anger” among the players that the story was leaked in the first place. And Pujols also called it “really embarrassing” (to whoever revealed the information) that the story had reached the public sphere. “We’re supposed to be a family here,” he said.

Giancarlo Stanton Has Broken Bone In Hand

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TODAY: Stanton underwent surgery today and is indeed expected to miss 4-6 weeks of action, the Marlins told reporters (including MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro).

SATURDAY, 1:00pm: Stanton’s agent, Joel Wolfe of the Wasserman Media Group, tells ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick that no decision on a specific course of action will be made on his client prior to being re-evaluated later today (Twitter link).

9:25am: Stanton will be out four to six weeks, according to ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian (via Twitter). Frisaro reports (also via Twitter) that Stanton will have surgery and that the injury is to Stanton’s hamate bone.

9:07am: Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton has a broken bone in his hand, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (all Twitter links). Stanton’s injury occurred while swinging in the ninth inning of yesterday’s game against the Dodgers. The severity of the injury is unknown, although hand injuries can often be troublesome for hitters, affecting their power in particular. MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweets that Stanton is experiencing lots of swelling and will likely miss significant time. The injury comes in the midst of a banner season for Stanton, who led the National League in homers with 27 and RBIs with 67. He’s currently hitting .265/.346/.606.

As Rosenthal notes, Stanton’s injury could affect the Marlins’ approach to this summer’s trade market, possibly making them sellers. Rosenthal suggests that, given their huge contract with Stanton, the Marlins are unlikely to trade players who appear set to contribute over the long haul. They could, however, trade more short-term assets, like Mat Latos and Dan Haren, who are both eligible for free agency after the season. Neither of those pitchers are likely to have much trade value, although Haren is in the midst of a decent season.

After a busy offseason that included the acquisitions of Latos, Haren, Dee Gordon, Martin Prado, Michael Morse and Ichiro Suzuki as well as extensions for Stanton and Christian Yelich, the Marlins have been a significant disappointment. They’re in the midst of a five-game losing streak and are currently 30-45, ahead of only the Phillies in the NL East.

A Look At The Marlins’ Trade Chips

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As others have noted today, the news that Giancarlo Stanton will miss four to six weeks with a broken hamate bone increases the likelihood that the Marlins will reach a conclusion that they might have reached anyway: 2015 doesn’t appear to be their year. Under owner Jeffrey Loria, the Marlins have never been shy about change — they’ve traded players, replaced managers and changed organizational directions far more rapidly than other franchises might. Their 31-45 start already seemed likely to lead them to sell, even before Stanton’s injury.

In fact, this year’s Marlins team bears certain similarities to their 2012 club. The 2012 team headed into the offseason intending to make a splash. Instead, they flopped, and in July, they dealt Carlos Lee, Anibal Sanchez, Omar Infante, Hanley Ramirez, Randy Choate, Edward Mujica and Gaby Sanchez.

What do the 2015 Marlins have to sell, though? This year’s team doesn’t appear to be primed for a complete rebuild, and thus it doesn’t have many top-quality trade chips like Ramirez or Anibal Sanchez. The Marlins still have Stanton and Christian Yelich signed to long-term deals, and Jose Fernandez is cost-controlled and is clearly an elite pitcher when healthy. The Marlins seem highly likely to keep those players, even though Yelich is having a disappointing season and Fernandez is only on the verge of returning from Tommy John surgery. Here’s a look at who the Marlins could consider trading.

  • Dan Haren and Mat Latos are eligible for free agency after the season, so they seem like obvious trade candidates. The question is what the Marlins will be able to get back. Haren is having a solid season, but he seemed mostly unwanted as of last winter, and his age (34) and stuff (Haren’s admirably self-effacing “Ithrow88” Twitter handle isn’t even accurate anymore, since his fastball has averaged 86 MPH this season) suggest he won’t fetch much now, either. Still, useful starting pitching is useful starting pitching, and the Marlins might try convincing a team in a homer-suppressing ballpark to give up a prospect or two for Haren. The Phillies got two fairly good lottery tickets in Victor Arano and Jesmuel Valentin for Roberto Hernandez last year — that might provide a good template, even though the stock of both players has slipped in 2015. The Marlins might also have to convince Haren to play for the team they trade him to if it’s not a West Coast team, given that he considered retiring last offseason rather than heading to Miami.
  • Latos currently has a 5.49 ERA and missed time due to a knee injury, so his trade value would appear very limited. Since he would only be a rental, there would be little point in a contending team taking him on as a project, even though his peripherals suggest he should be somewhat better than that ERA. The curse of struggling teams trying to become deadline sellers is that they typically mostly have disappointing players to sell, and Latos is a case in point. It’s not impossible, though, that Latos could raise his trade value by pitching well over the next month.
  • As the New York Post’s Joel Sherman pointed out today, Martin Prado’s versatility could make him an interesting trade chip next month, since he can play third base, second base and both outfield corners. First, though, he’ll have to show he’s healthy — he’s currently on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. He’s owed $11MM both this year and next, although the Yankees are paying $3MM in each of those years.
  • Pitchers Tom Koehler and Brad Hand were both recently the subject of rumors. Koehler missed a start last week with neck and back pain, but his successful return today should help the Marlins’ cause if they choose to trade him. The problem is that neither Koehler nor Hand are the kinds of difference-makers most appealing to contenders — a contending team likely wouldn’t want either one of them starting a playoff game. And since they’re also cheap and capable of eating innings, they could have value to the Marlins as they retool. David Phelps, who has been solid but not outstanding in his first season in Miami, falls into the same category.
  • Mike Dunn isn’t having a good season by traditional measures, with a 4.68 ERA, but his strikeout rate (9.0 K/9 in 2015) and velocity remain intact, so a contender might view him as a sneaky way to upgrade the left side of its bullpen, especially since his contract is reasonable. He’s signed through next season, though, so the Marlins could also decide the better route might be to keep him around for another year and hope he rebounds.
  • Like Dunn, Steve Cishek has a poor ERA this year. Unlike Dunn, though, Cishek isn’t cheap, at $6.65MM, and his control issues are a key reason for his downturn in performance. It would likely be hard for the Marlins to deal Cishek without taking on salary, despite his closer pedigree.
  • Infielder Jeff Baker is a career .297/.352/.513 hitter against lefties, so he could conceivably help a contender in need of a right-handed bat. He’s mostly limited to first base at this point, however, so his utility is limited.

Other Marlins veterans, like Michael Morse and Ichiro Suzuki, probably have even less trade value than most of the players mentioned above. The Marlins could, of course, make outside-the-box trades involving some of their better, younger players (Dee Gordon, Adeiny Hechavarria, Marcell Ozuna), and given the Marlins’ history, it would be unwise to discount that possibility. (Relievers A.J. Ramos and Carter Capps would make very interesting trade pieces if the Marlins were to make them available.) Unlike the 2012 team, though, the 2015 Marlins don’t have many veteran trade candidates who appear likely to command a significant return.

Paco Rodriguez To Have Elbow Surgery

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Dodgers lefty reliever Paco Rodriguez needs surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow and will miss eight to ten weeks, as Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register notes. The Dodgers do not appear likely to pursue bullpen help at the trade deadline, however.

The Dodgers placed Rodriguez on the disabled list with an elbow strain in late May, and he had made a series of successful rehab appearances, leading the Dodgers to believe his return to the big leagues was imminent. “It seemed like it was going pretty good,” says manager Don Mattingly. “There was even talk of activating him here in Miami. So it was really the last second.”

Even with Rodriguez likely out for much of the rest of the season, however, the Dodgers do not appear to be seeking outside relief help. J.P. Howell and Adam Liberatore have had success as lefties out of the Dodgers’ bullpen, and the team also has Daniel Coulombe as a backup option. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman also recently said that adding extra relievers would not be a top priority.

“Bullpens, by nature, are a little inconsistent but we feel like we’ve not only got a talented ‘pen but a very deep ‘pen,” said Friedman. “Once we get guys back, I think it’s going to end up being a strength for us.” The team activated Pedro Baez this weekend after he spent six weeks on the disabled list with a pectoral strain.

Rodriguez was a key part of the Dodgers’ bullpen as a 22-year-old in 2013, but he spent most of last season pitching for Triple-A Albuquerque due to a roster crunch. He’s had modest success in brief stints in the big leagues in each of the last two seasons.

NL Notes: Marlins, Gordon, Dodgers, Cardinals

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Giancarlo Stanton’s injury is a loss for baseball as a whole, and the first domino likely to fall as a result is that the Marlins will become sellers, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. The team should trade free-agents-to-be Dan Haren and Mat Latos. Infielder Martin Prado is also worth watching if he can prove his shoulder is healthy by the deadline, and he might make sense for the Mets, since he can play multiple positions and provide an insurance policy at third base. Prado’s versatility could make him an attractive target for many other teams as well, Sherman suggests. Here’s more from the National League.

  • Dee Gordon has blossomed with the Marlins, but the seeds of his growth this season had already been planted before his 2014 season with the Dodgers, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register writes. “I was terrible for two years. No one has to provide any fire for me. The chip on my shoulder is self-inflicted,” he says. After struggling in 2012 and 2013, Gordon seemed to hit his stride last season, but this year, he’s been outright brilliant, currently leading the NL in batting average (.356) and hits (110). Dodgers manager Don Mattingly says he thinks Gordon might have been somewhat motivated by the Dodgers trading him to Miami last winter, but that doesn’t bother Mattingly. “He doesn’t seem vengeful or anything,” says Mattingly. “I hope when he plays San Francisco or Colorado or Arizona or San Diego that he’s really motivated to show us.”
  • More than four months after the FBI seized computers from the Cardinals while investigating their hacking scandal, the team is still waiting for the fallout, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. At this point, there’s no indication that owner Bill DeWitt, GM John Mozeliak, or any other top brass were involved. “I’m not beating myself up, because I feel I haven’t done anything wrong,” says Mozeliak. “I beat myself up because I feel the organization has taken a black eye and I feel bad for that. And I feel bad because the (front-office) team we’ve assembled might be broken up.” Commissioner Rob Manfred could punish the Cardinals with fines, suspensions or lost draft picks, Strauss writes, although there’s little to no chance the team would be denied postseason eligibility.

Minor Moves: Mazzaro, Gillespie, Brigham, Carson

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

  • The Marlins have outrighted righty reliever Vin Mazzaro, according to MLB.com’s transactions page. Mazzaro had recently been designated for assignment. It’s not clear whether he’ll accept the outright. He pitched 12 innings for the Marlins this season, posting a 3.75 ERA with six strikeouts and six walks. Mazzaro has pitched in the big leagues in all of the last seven seasons, but in the past two years he’s spent most of his time in the minors. He’s pitched 20 innings with Triple-A New Orleans this season, with a 3.15 ERA, 9.9 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9
  • The Marlins have announced that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Cole Gillespie, who will take Giancarlo Stanton’s place on the active roster as he heads to the disabled list with a hamate fracture. The 31-year-old Gillespie has played for the Diamondbacks, Giants, Cubs, Mariners and Blue Jays in a big-league career that has spanned small parts of four seasons. He was hitting .291/.356/.360 in 281 plate appearances for Triple-A New Orleans.
  • The Braves have selected righty Jake Brigham’s contract, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets that the Braves haven’t made a corresponding move but that that could depend on whether the Braves’ game today in Pittsburgh is postponed due to rain. Williams Perez hurt his foot in yesterday’s game and could be placed on the disabled list, but if the Braves have to play a doubleheader tomorrow, Brigham could simply be used as the 26th man. The 27-year-old Brigham has a combined 3.13 ERA, 7.0 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 at Double-A and Triple-A this season. He has never pitched in the big leagues.
  • The Athletics have released outfielders Matt Carson and Kent Matthes, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy tweets. The 33-year-old Carson hit .209/.296/.336 for Triple-A Nashville after the A’s acquired him from the Dodgers last month. The 28-year-old Matthes was once a highly regarded prospect in the Rockies system, but he also struggled for Nashville in 2015, hitting .233/.294/.358 in 239 plate appearances after also hitting poorly at the Triple-A level last year.
  • The Red Sox have released catcher/first baseman Luke Montz, Bill Koch of the Providence Journal tweets. The 31-year-old was hitting .167/.270/.333 for Triple-A Pawtucket. He appeared briefly for the Nationals in 2008 and the Athletics in 2013 and has a .163/.250/.347 in his very brief big-league career.

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