Quick Hits: Cardinals, Pirates, Angels, Jurrjens
So far, the Cardinals haven’t benefited from the offseason trade that sent David Freese and Fernando Salas to the Angels for Peter Bourjos and Randal Grichuk, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. Grichuk played well at the Triple-A level before being promoted, but his ability to make contact remains cause for concern, Miklasz argues. Meanwhile, Peter Bourjos has struggled, and so has Matt Carpenter, which means the Cardinals haven’t gotten the third base upgrade they hoped for, either. Here are more notes from around the big leagues.
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington denies a recent rumor that his team is still seeking a first baseman despite recently trading for Ike Davis, Bucs Dugout’s David Manel reports. “I typically hate to comment on any specific rumor, but it sounds like somebody, somewhere is trying to create a market,” Huntington says. The Bucs currently have Davis and Gaby Sanchez platooning at first.
- The Angels‘ bullpen struggles might lead one to think that they’ll have to go out-of-house for an upgrade, but the answer to their problem might lie in the minors, writes Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. “It’s funny, but right now, our primary weakness at the major league level is our primary strength at the minor league level,” says GM Jerry Dipoto. “We have some really nice bullpen arms in the system, and that’s fortunate.”
- Jair Jurrjens is looking to make a comeback after having knee surgery last fall, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman tweets. He is currently throwing 90 MPH. After posting a 2.96 ERA with 5.3 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 152 innings with the Braves in 2011, Jurrjens has struggled badly in the big leagues. He spent most of 2013 with the Orioles’ and Tigers’ Triple-A affiliates in Norfolk and Toledo, respectively.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Athletics Claim Nick Buss
The Athletics have claimed outfielder Nick Buss off waivers from the Dodgers, MLB.com’s Jane Lee tweets. They have optioned him to Triple-A Sacramento, and transferred A.J. Griffin, who recently had Tommy John surgery, to the 60-day disabled list to make room for Buss on their 40-man roster.
Buss, 27, was hitting .261/.330/.391 in 104 plate appearances for Triple-A Albuquerque. He hit .303/.363/.525 at that level in 2013. The Dodgers designated him for assignment on Thursday when they purchased the contract of Red Patterson.
Six players (the Marlins’ Greg Dobbs, the Yankees’ Chris Leroux, the Indians’ Elliot Johnson, the Reds’ Roger Bernadina, the Rays’ Heath Bell, and the Astros’ Raul Valdes) remain in DFA limbo, according to MLBTR’s DFA Tracker.
AL Central Notes: Buxton, Sierra, Nieto, Benoit
The Twins have activated top prospect Byron Buxton from the 7-day disabled list, so he’ll soon make his 2014 debut, MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger explains. The Twins are sending him to Class A+ Fort Myers even though he hit .326/.415/.472 in a half-season at that level last year. “If he gets rolling and it looks like he’s in mid-season form and ready to go, we’ll move him up to [Double-A] New Britain where we planed to have him be,” says assistant GM Rob Antony. “He played his way out of this league last year but we’ll give him enough time here to get going.” MLB.com ranks Buxton the top overall prospect in baseball. Here are more notes from the AL Central.
- The White Sox claimed Moises Sierra from the Blue Jays in part because of injuries to outfielders Adam Eaton and Avisail Garcia, CSN Chicago’s Dan Hayes writes. “It’s another piece,” says manager Robin Ventura. “With Eaton going down, we’re light in the outfield area. You can have Leury (Garcia) go out there, but it adds another piece to us and being right-handed keeps us more balanced that way.”
- The White Sox are satisfied with Rule 5 pick Adrian Nieto‘s progress so far this year, Hayes writes. When the team selected Nieto from the Nationals last offseason, he had never played above the Class A+ level, but he’s held his own in 11 games so far in the big leagues, hitting .280/.280/.360. That includes three hits on Friday.
- In the wake of the Joel Hanrahan signing, John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press explains that the reason the Tigers did not simply keep Joaquin Benoit is that Benoit wanted “closer-type money,” and the Tigers were already paying Joe Nathan to be their closer. They also wanted Bruce Rondon to slot into a late-inning role.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Angels Outright Yoslan Herrera
6:37pm: Herrera has already cleared waivers and will report to Triple-A, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports (Twitter link).
5:01pm: The Angels have announced that they’ve outrighted pitcher Yoslan Herrera in the series of moves that included the promotion of prospect C.J. Cron. They also placed David Freese on the 15-day disabled list, optioned outfielder J.B. Shuck to Triple-A, and promoted third baseman Luis Jimenez.
Herrera appeared in six games for the Angels in 2014 in his first big-league experience since 2008, when he played for the Pirates. The 33-year-old pitched six innings of relief with the Angels, striking out six batters and walking seven, three intentionally, while allowing three earned runs.
Minor Moves: Cubs, Gonzalez, Russell
We’ll keep track of today’s minor transactions here, with the newest moves at the top of the page…
- The Cubs moved right-hander Kyuji Fujikawa to the 60-day disabled list today, creating a 40-man roster spot for Chris Coghlan, the club announced. (Southpaw Zac Rosscup was optioned to Triple-A to make room for Coghlan on the 25-man roster.) Fujikawa underwent Tommy John surgery last June and isn’t expected back on the mound until at least midseason. In making the Cubs’ Major League roster, Coghlan will now earn $800K as per the minor league contract he signed with Chicago in January, and he has another $250K available to him in incentives.
- The Padres have acquired shortstop Benji Gonzalez from the Pirates for cash or a player to be named later, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets. Gonzalez, a seventh-round pick in 2008, hit .232/.314/.294 for Class A+ Bradenton in 2013. The Padres have assigned him to Lake Elsinore, which is at the same level.
- The Reds have signed pitcher Adam Russell to a minor-league deal, MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo tweets. The Diamondbacks released Russell in March. In 2013, the 31-year-old posted a 2.37 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 in 60 2/3 innings for the Orioles’ Triple-A Norfolk affiliate. He has pitched for the White Sox, Padres and Rays, last appearing in the big leagues in 2011.
Quick Hits: Towers, Cron, Johnson, Tigers
Kevin Towers of the Diamondbacks isn’t sure whether he’ll still have his job when his team turns its fortunes around, Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com writes. “When you spend $110 million and you’re 9-22 at the end of April, I wouldn’t be happy, either,” says Towers. “I’m also disappointed, but I still believe in the core group. I think they will get better. Will I be around to see it? I don’t know.” Towers also says the team’s poor start must have managing partner Ken Kendrick wondering if the Diamondbacks have the right GM and manager in place. Here’s more from around the big leagues.
- The Angels have promoted first baseman C.J. Cron, who is in their lineup tonight as their DH, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook 2014 rated Cron the Angels’ second-best prospect. The 2011 first-round pick got off to a great start this season for Triple-A Salt Lake, hitting .319/.369/.602 in his first 122 plate appearances there.
- The Braves feel like they’re getting a good deal in third baseman Chris Johnson‘s recent three-year extension, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman writes. “He was looking for stability and we were looking to have a solid player at a tough position to man,” says GM Frank Wren. “When this contract is over, he’s 32. We all feel like that is when they’re in their prime. So it was another example of tying up a player long term, but not extending beyond their prime.” Johnson will earn $4.75MM in his first year of arbitration eligibility this season, and the $23MM deal buys out Johnson’s last two years of arbitration eligibility, plus one year of free agency, with a reasonable option for a second.
- The Tigers aren’t yet sure what they’ll do to address their shortstop position, reports MLB.com’s Jason Beck. “We really haven’t approached those specific topics yet,” says GM Dave Dombrowski. Beck suggests that reinforces the perception that it’s unlikely the Tigers will sign free agent Stephen Drew before the draft in early June.
White Sox Claim Moises Sierra
The White Sox have claimed corner outfielder Moises Sierra off waivers from the Blue Jays, SportsNet.ca’s Shi Davidi tweets. The White Sox also placed outfielder Adam Eaton (hamstring) on the 15-day disabled list, moved pitcher Nate Jones (back) to the 60-day disabled list, and promoted pitcher Frank De Los Santos.
The Jays designated Sierra for assignment on Thursday. He has played sparingly in parts of three seasons in the big leagues, hitting .229/.290/.368 in 314 plate appearances. The 25-year-old is out options, so the White Sox will need to keep him on their active roster or risk exposing him to waivers again. He had gotten off to a slow start with the Blue Jays, with just two hits in his 35 plate appearances this season.
With Sierra’s situation now resolved, MLBTR’s DFA Tracker shows that four players (Greg Dobbs of the Marlins, Nick Buss of the Dodgers, Chris Leroux of the Yankees, and Elliot Johnson of the Indians) remain in DFA limbo.
Indians Designate Elliot Johnson For Assignment
The Indians have designated infielder Elliot Johnson for assignment, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets. The Indians also placed catcher Yan Gomes on the paternity list and promoted catcher George Kottaras and pitcher Nick Hagadone.
Cleveland signed Johnson to a minor-league deal in January after the Braves non-tendered him in December, and he made the Indians out of spring training. Johnson collected just 20 plate appearances with the Indians, hitting .105/.211/.316. In parts of five seasons mostly spent with the Rays, Royals and Braves, Johnson has a .215/.269/.316 line in 826 plate appearances.
Prospect Notes: Rodon, Aiken, Taveras
The Astros should take NC State’s Carlos Rodon with the top overall pick in the June draft even though Rodon’s stock has fallen, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo writes. There’s a decent chance that the worry over Rodon’s less-than-dominant performances this year are “much ado about nothing,” Mayo says. Rodon has gotten great results in his last two starts, and he has a long track record — Mayo notes that some scouts believe he could have been the first overall pick even in 2012 if he had been eligible then. Here are more notes on prospects.
- The best left-handed pitcher available isn’t Rodon, it’s California high-schooler Brady Aiken, writes MLB.com’s Jim Callis. Aiken’s velocity has increased this year, and so has his command. “I’d probably take Aiken No. 1, and I think if you asked 30 teams, 15-20 would say Aiken,” says a scouting official from an NL team. “He has taken a real step up. He’s more consistent, he has a good body, good arm action, three plus pitches at times.”
- Oscar Taveras is “checking off all the boxes” necessary for promotion to the big leagues, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny tells Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Matheny says the timeline for Taveras’ promotion has more to do with the picture at the big-league level than with Taveras’ performance. “They’re just trying to keep him going not knowing what it would look like up here,” Matheny says. “Knowing there probably wouldn’t be an extended amount of playing time as far as everyday goes. For him, just keep going.” The Cardinals recently promoted outfielder Randal Grichuk to help what had been a struggling big-league outfield. Unlike Taveras, however, Grichuk isn’t a top prospect, which might mean that the Cardinals weren’t as concerned about carving out regular playing time for him. Taveras is currently hitting .316/.370/.515 for Triple-A Memphis.
AL Central Notes: Harang, Porcello, Hanrahan
The Indians had Aaron Harang in spring training this year, but released him due to an out clause in his contract, the Plain Dealer’s Paul Hoynes explains. Since then, Harang has pitched very well for the Braves (despite a nine-run outing against the Marlins earlier this week), and Carlos Carrasco has struggled in the Indians’ rotation. Hoynes argues, however, that Harang is more of an NL pitcher, and that he has benefited from the Braves’ defense, which is much better than Cleveland’s. Here are more notes from the AL Central.
- Rick Porcello‘s improvements this season are legitimate, and it may be time for the Tigers to sign him to a long-term contract if they can, MLB.com’s Jason Beck writes. Through five starts, Porcello has a 5.50 K/BB ratio, thanks largely to a reduction in walks, and he’s getting lots of swings and misses. He’s also due to hit the free-agent market after next season, just before he turns 27. That could make him a valuable commodity indeed.
- The Tigers’ bullpen is “a mess,” which was why Detroit was wise to give Joel Hanrahan a guaranteed deal this week, MLive.com’s James Schmehl writes. The Tigers sent Hanrahan to the disabled list upon signing him, since he’s still recovering from Tommy John surgery, and it’s unclear exactly when he’ll return. If he does, though, and he’s anything like he was in the past, he could help transform the Tigers’ struggling bullpen into a “dangerous” one, Schmehl argues.