Orioles Looking For Catcher, Could Deal Troy Patton
The Orioles are trying hard to find a backup catcher, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweets. Matt Wieters currently has an elbow injury that limits him to DH duty, leaving the Orioles with Steve Clevenger and Caleb Joseph behind the dish. Joseph, a minor-league veteran, had been hitting just .261/.284/.402 at Triple-A Norfolk, although he hit .299/.346/.494 for Double-A Bowie in 2013.
The O’s are considering offers for pitcher Troy Patton, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets, connecting that information to their backup catcher search. Patton has made three appearances out of the Orioles’ bullpen this season after serving a 25-game suspension for a positive amphetamine test. He posted a 3.70 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 for the Orioles in 2013.
Rosenthal On Ramirez, Sandoval, Drew, Morales
Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal, via two videos from FOX Sports:
- The Dodgers would like Hanley Ramirez to prove he can stay healthy before signing him to an extension, Rosenthal reports. Ramirez has played in fewer than 100 games in two of the past three seasons. He can become a free agent this winter.
- The Giants want to keep Pablo Sandoval, but would prefer to sign him to a shorter deal due to his inconsistency and weight issues. Sandoval is also off to a poor start this season, hitting .171/.250/.276 thus far.
- It might still make sense for the Red Sox to re-sign Stephen Drew, particularly given that signing him would prevent him from signing with the Yankees. The Red Sox could move Xander Bogaerts to third base in order to clear space for Drew. The team would prefer not to do that, though, allowing him to develop at shortstop.
- Scott Boras is trying to pique the Brewers‘ interest in Kendrys Morales, Rosenthal suggests. Whether the Brewers would have interest might depend on their perception of Morales’ defense at first base, however. Milwaukee currently has Mark Reynolds and Lyle Overbay splitting time at first.
Quick Hits: Chapman, Giants, Stroman
The Reds have announced that they have reinstated closer Aroldis Chapman from the disabled list. He will immediately move back into his usual ninth-inning role, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. Chapman had surgery to insert a metal plate into his head after being struck with a line drive in spring training. He made two rehab appearances for Triple-A Louisville this week. Here are more notes from around the big leagues.
- Outfielder Tyler Colvin has been promoted to the Giants, Alex Pavlovic of the Mercury News tweets. Colvin had been hitting .267/.315/.408 in 130 plate appearances for Fresno. Brandon Belt, meanwhile, is headed to the disabled list with a broken thumb, and CSN Bay Area’s Andrew Baggarly writes that Belt could be out six weeks. Mike Morse will be the Giants’ starting first baseman until Belt returns, ESPN’s Jim Bowden tweets. The Giants also activated Matt Cain and optioned pitcher George Kontos to Triple-A Fresno.
- Marcus Stroman of the Blue Jays is appearing as a reliever in his first stint in the big leagues even though he started in the minors, Ben Nicholson-Smith of SportsNet.ca notes. That’s a little bit unusual for a promising starting pitcher, but it’s not totally without precedent — Earl Weaver favored having rookie pitchers begin their careers in the bullpen, and the Cardinals frequently have top young starters pitch in relief in their first seasons. “We have been a very competitive team for the last ten years and we typically have had strong rotations,” says Cards GM John Mozeliak. “Getting pitchers to begin their careers in the bullpen allows them to experience the major league hitters, ballparks, and experience.” Mozeliak also adds that having young starters pitch in relief prevents them from becoming overworked. On the flip side, Nicholson-Smith points out, having an excellent young pitcher in the bullpen blunts his impact — having Jose Fernandez start his career in relief would have cost the Marlins wins, for example.
White Sox Designate Maikel Cleto For Assignment
The White Sox have announced that they’ve designated pitcher Maikel Cleto for assignment. They’ve also purchased the contract of fellow pitcher Frank Francisco.
The White Sox claimed Cleto from the Royals near the beginning of spring training, and Cleto quickly received a bit of buzz for his high-90s fastball. Things didn’t work out for him in Chicago, however, as he walked 15 batters in 14 innings of relief. Cleto pitched in the Cardinals and Royals systems in 2013, posting a 5.52 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 7.3 BB/9 in 91 1/3 innings.
Francisco signed with the White Sox in mid-April after pitching just 6 1/3 big-league innings (with the Mets) in 2013. The veteran was dominant for Triple-A Charlotte, striking out 12 batters and walking just one in eight innings there. Francisco has a 3.93 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in parts of nine seasons with the Rangers, Blue Jays and Mets.
AL Notes: Drew, Saunders, Leyland
Teams won’t be able to sign Stephen Drew or Kendrys Morales before the draft without forfeiting a draft pick, but that doesn’t mean teams shouldn’t consider signing them before then, FOX Sports’ Rob Neyer writes. The problem isn’t just the draft pick, but rather the draft pick plus the cost of the signing, so the right teams should be willing to sign Drew or Morales if the price is low enough. Teams negotiating with those players now would have the advantage of a limited market, since the draft pick will scare other teams away. Finding the right team for Morales is difficult at this point, but Drew would make a good deal of sense for the Yankees, Neyer argues. The Yankees would only lose the No. 56 pick in the draft as a result of signing Drew. Here are more notes from the American League.
- Joe Saunders wants to make it back to the Rangers as a starter, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes. Saunders has been out for a month with a stress fracture in his ankle, and the Rangers wanted to activate him in order to have him pitch as a long reliever. Saunders still believes he is a starter, however, and has asked the team to allow him to make two additional rehab starts in the minors. “Once you go to the bullpen, it’s hard to get back to starting,” says Saunders. “They paid me to start, and I think I can most help this club by starting.”
- Former Tigers manager Jim Leyland, who was honored at Comerica Park Saturday morning, has no regrets about stepping aside, George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press reports. “It was a great run,” says Leyland. “The missing piece was the World Series trophy, so we’ll be forever held against us, but it was such a wonderful run for everybody.” Leyland now serves as a special assistant to GM Dave Dombrowski. He’s done some scouting work and says he has watched almost every game the Tigers have played this year.
Erick Fedde To Have Tommy John Surgery
UNLV pitcher Erick Fedde needs Tommy John surgery, Baseball America’s Aaron Fitt reports. Fedde had an MRI on Friday after missing a start.
Fedde profiled as a potential top-ten pick in next month’s draft. BA’s John Manuel had Fedde going to the Rockies at No. 8 in his recent mock draft. He is the second potential early-first-round pick to require Tommy John surgery in less than a week, with news breaking on Wednesday that East Carolina pitcher Jeff Hoffman would also require the procedure.
Given the relatively good prognosis for pitchers needing Tommy John surgery, Fedde’s injury might not keep him out of the first round. As BA’s Clint Longenecker recently pointed out in an article about Hoffman, the Nationals’ selection of Lucas Giolito in the first round in 2012 and the Royals’ selection of Sean Manaea the following year show that teams are willing to take risks on talented pitchers with injury issues.
It is, however, now unlikely that Fedde will go in the top ten. The Twins, for example,are not considering either Hoffman or Fedde with the No. 5 overall pick, 1500ESPN.com’s Darren Wolfson tweets.
NL Notes: Giles, Phillies, Cardinals, Bourjos
The Phillies have promoted relief prospect Ken Giles to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, Matt Gelb of the Inquirer reports. Giles struck out an incredible 29 batters in 15 innings at Double-A Reading, walking five while posting a 1.20 ERA while throwing a fastball in the high 90s. The Phillies’ bullpen has struggled this season, and they recently outrighted Shawn Camp and promoted Luis Garcia. They aren’t promoting Giles all the way to the big leagues right now, but he might be capable of helping soon. Here are more notes from the National League.
- Teams are beginning to speculate that the Cardinals could trade Matt Adams or Allen Craig once they promote top prospect Oscar Taveras, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman writes, echoing a report from ESPN’s Buster Olney earlier in the week. “I’m not going to get into who we might trade, but we can’t rule out anything as the trade deadline approaches,” Cards GM John Mozeliak tells Heyman. Taveras can also play center field in addition to right, and Heyman suggests that the only current Cardinals outfielder who isn’t a trade candidate is left fielder Matt Holliday. Taveras is currently hitting .288/.341/.488 for Triple-A Memphis.
- The promotion of Joey Butler and demotion of Randal Grichuk indicate that Peter Bourjos has played his way back into the Cardinals’ lineup, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. Butler profiles as a bench outfielder, whereas Grichuk had primarily been playing center field at Memphis. “You’re going to see Peter out there on a pretty consistent basis if he keeps putting together consistent at-bats and keeps doing things the right way,” says manager Mike Matheny. “It would be hard for Randal to get the kind of time that would make it make sense for him to be here with Peter playing the way he is.” Bourjos was a key part of the Cardinals’ offseason, as they acquired him (along with Grichuk) in an attempt to upgrade their outfield defense. He got off to a very slow start, but has tripled and homered in his last two games.
Week In Review: 5/4/14 – 5/10/14
Here’s a look back at this week at MLBTR.
Top Prospect Promotions
- Rangers — IF Rougned Odor and IF Luis Sardinas (link)
- Blue Jays — P Marcus Stroman (link)
Trades
- Padres — acquired IF Benji Gonzalez from Pirates for cash or a PTBNL
Claimed
- Angels — P Brooks Raley (from Twins — link)
- Athletics — OF Nick Buss (from Dodgers — link)
- White Sox — OF Moises Sierra (from Blue Jays — link)
Designated For Assignment
- Twins — P Kenny Wilson (link)
- Padres — RP Hector Ambriz (link)
- Rangers — P Scott Baker, IF Josh Wilson (link)
- Angels — P Buddy Boshers (link)
- Mets — IF Omar Quintanilla (link)
- Indians — C George Kottaras (link)
- Rays — RP Heath Bell (link)
Outrighted
- Indians — IF Elliot Johnson (link)
- Padres — OF Xavier Nady (link)
- Yankees — RP Chris Leroux (link)
- Astros — P Raul Valdes (link)
- Reds — OF Roger Bernadina (Bernadina rejoined the big-league club later in the week — link)
- Tigers — 1B Jordan Lennerton (link)
- Orioles — IF David Adams (link)
- Angels — P Yoslan Herrera (link)
Released
- Marlins — 1B Greg Dobbs (link)
Elected Free Agency
- Phillies — RP Shawn Camp (link)
Key Minor-League Signings
- Reds — 1B/OF Shelley Duncan, C Lou Marson (link)
- Marlins — P Alex Sanabia (link)
Bernadina Clears Waivers, Will Rejoin Reds Tuesday
MONDAY: C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Bernadina has cleared waivers and will accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Louisville. The Reds will then recall Bernadina tomorrow to rejoin the team in place of the injured Jay Bruce, who will be out three to four weeks due to minor knee surgery.
SATURDAY: The Reds have designated outfielder Roger Bernadina for assignment, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. The move clears space for Skip Schumaker (who had a dislocated shoulder) to return from the disabled list.
Bernadina, 29, hit .143/.294/.179 in 35 plate appearances with the Reds, who signed him to a minor-league deal in January. In a seven-year big-league career also spent with the Nationals and Phillies, he has hit .237/.307/.355 in 1,285 plate appearances while playing all three outfield positions.
Quick Hits: Bruce, Lueke, Phillies, Roberts
The Reds will spend the next three to four weeks without right fielder Jay Bruce, who needs surgery to fix a partially torn meniscus in his knee, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. The Cincinnati Enquirer’s John Fay initially tweeted that Bruce might need surgery. Here are notes from around the big leagues.
- The slow start by Curtis Granderson of the Mets is worthy of panic, whereas Brian McCann‘s slow start with the Yankees is not, Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports writes in a piece about stars, and teams, who have struggled in 2014 so far. Passan cites the holes in Granderson’s swing, which could end up making his four-year, $52MM deal a poor one. Meanwhile, Passan suggests there isn’t anything glaringly wrong with McCann’s game — he has walked less than usual and swung at more pitches outside the zone, but Passan thinks those issues are correctable.
- Joe Maddon says the Rays decided to designate Heath Bell for assignment rather than Josh Lueke because they like Lueke’s potential, Bill Chastain of MLB.com reports. “From a scouting perspective, we still see a really big upside with [Lueke],” Maddon says. “At times, you have to be more patient with a more youthful player … We still think if he gets everything together that we’re going to be rewarded by that patience.” In 18 2/3 innings so far this season, Lueke has a 4.82 ERA with 5.3 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9.
- Phillies GM Ruben Amaro’s moves down the stretch last season and this offseason have helped the team in 2014, Bob Brookover of the Inquirer argues. A.J. Burnett has pitched well so far, and Roberto Hernandez has been at least moderately helpful. Also, Amaro didn’t break up the team’s veteran core, and Chase Utley, Carlos Ruiz, Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard have all hit well so far. Jonathan Papelbon has gotten good results as well. (Of course, the Phillies are still just 15-14, so they’re only performing modestly ahead of expectations.)
- Ryan Roberts of the Red Sox could have declined his outright assignment and become a free agent two weeks ago, but he opted to stay in the organization in order to get regular playing time at Triple-A Pawtucket, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal writes. “I didn’t need to go wait for another team to pick me up and go somewhere else,” says Roberts. “I didn’t have time to do any of that stuff. What I needed to do was start playing baseball. Sitting at home for a couple of weeks was enough for me.” Roberts spent most of the last three seasons in the big leagues with the Diamondbacks and Rays, but did spend a chunk of 2013 at the Triple-A level.