Red Sox Notes: Ziegler, Clark, Trade Market
New Red Sox reliever Brad Ziegler is a throwback to former Royals submariner Dan Quisenberry, ESPN’s Keith Law writes (subscription only). Like Quisenberry, Ziegler has been an effective closer for years despite not having elite velocity or throwing overhand. He can be a good eighth-inning option for the team, or he can work multi-inning stretches. Law characterizes the Diamondbacks’ return in the deal as being good enough, given that Ziegler is 36 and will be a free agent at season’s end — second baseman Luis Alejandro Basabe runs well and has good plate discipline, and Jose Almonte‘s fastball might not be good enough for him to start in the long run. Here’s more on the Red Sox.
- With negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement looming, MLB Players Association head Tony Clark recently offered his take on a few key labor-related issues, via Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. In the wake of the Red Sox being punished for circumventing rules governing international amateur prospect bonuses (resulting in several players’ deals with the team being voided), Clark describes both international and domestic baseball prospect development as “the wild, wild west.” He names domestic amateur travel baseball — which he describes as both costly and time-consuming — as one problem. As Drellich notes, amateurs and minor-leaguers are not part of the players union, but they are affected by collective bargaining. “With respect to these young players, to say we are concerned about how they were treated, is an understatement,” says Clark. “So suffice it to say from start to finish we have been and continued to be engaged on everything that’s going on.”
- The Sox did well to hang on to All-Stars Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley and Xander Bogaerts, Peter Gammons writes. The team held onto all three despite some fans’ insistence the team make a big trade for a pitcher, and they’ve been key to the team’s resurgence this season. Of course, the Red Sox still have a need for starting pitching, partially because not enough of their prospects have developed into good back-end options. This time, though, the trade market is heavy on pitchers who don’t qualify as aces, which means that there likely won’t be much question of whether the Red Sox hold onto top prospects like Andrew Benintendi.
Craig Kimbrel To Miss 3-6 Weeks
JULY 11: Kimbrel underwent successful left knee arthroscopy and partial medial meniscectomy surgery Monday, the team announced, and is on track to return in three to six weeks.
JULY 9: Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel needs surgery to repair cartilage in his left knee and will be out three to six weeks, Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald tweets. Kimbrel had an MRI after experiencing knee soreness yesterday.
The 28-year-old Kimbrel, acquired at the start of the season in a big trade with the Padres, has a modest 3.55 ERA in his first year with Boston, but with his usual dominant peripherals — he has a ridiculous 13.6 K/9 to go with 4.1 BB/9 over 33 innings. He’s also recorded 17 saves this season.
Koji Uehara picked up a save yesterday for Boston, and the Red Sox added Diamondbacks closer Brad Ziegler last night, acquiring him from Arizona for two prospects. That move certainly looks to have been related to this one, although FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweeted before the seriousness of Kimbrel’s injury was known that the Red Sox were motivated primarily by the desire to add a different type of reliever, and via ESPN’s Scott Lauber (on Twitter), Sox exec Dave Dombrowski says the Sox and Diamondbacks were discussing a Ziegler trade before Kimbrel’s injury. In any case, the Red Sox’ timing looks fortuitous. Uehara and Ziegler will close until Kimbrel returns, according to Lauber (on Twitter). (Also via a tweet from Lauber, however, Ziegler will not be active today.)
[Related: Updated Red Sox Depth Chart]
At least from a health perspective, the Red Sox’ bullpen has had a rough time recently. In addition to Kimbrel’s injury, Junichi Tazawa was unavailable yesterday due to shoulder soreness. The Red Sox also lost offseason trade acquisition Carson Smith, who recently had Tommy John surgery.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Hill, Upton, Bruce, Hellickson, Stanley, Mets, Puig
Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal, via a pair of videos on FOX Sports:
- When the Athletics put Rich Hill on the market, they can be expected to charge a high price for him, Rosenthal says. Hill’s stats — if only for this season — compare favorably to David Price‘s last year, and he might be amenable to an extension with his new team.
- Prior to this season, there was no trade interest in Melvin Upton unless the Padres took on the rest of his contract. After a .268/.315/.464 performance this year, though, that’s changing, at least to a degree. San Diego still owes Upton a little under $40MM through 2017, but teams are now willing to give up talent, with the Padres’ return increasing depending upon how much salary they’re willing to take on. The Padres might be motivated to deal Upton and/or Matt Kemp to clear space for former first-round pick Hunter Renfroe, who’s batting .335/.362/.611 for Triple-A El Paso. Austin Hedges has also hit well for the Chihuahuas, which means the Padres could also look to move fellow catcher Derek Norris to clear space in the big leagues.
- Jay Bruce to the Blue Jays would make sense, Rosenthal opines. Acquiring Bruce from the Reds would allow the Jays to move Jose Bautista (who’s currently on the DL with a toe injury) to DH and reduce playing time for the underwhelming Justin Smoak. The Jays have a greater need for pitching, but might play to the strengths of the market by acquiring hitting instead.
- The Phillies could consider keeping Jeremy Hellickson, who’s in the midst of a solid season — he could eat innings for them down the stretch, with the Phillies perhaps gambling on him by extending a qualifying offer this coming winter and hoping to grab a draft pick as a result. But they would still “jump” at a good trade offer. Of their relievers, the Phils are more likely to deal David Hernandez or Andrew Bailey than Jeanmar Gomez, who they can control for 2017. Other Phillies candidates to be dealt include Andres Blanco and Peter Bourjos.
- Rosenthal begins the second video with a brief discussion of an article of his from earlier today about former Cardinals minor leaguer Cody Stanley, who has already received a 162-game suspension and expects to receive a lifetime ban for repeatedly testing positive for the steroid Turinabol. Stanley claims to not know why he keeps testing positive. “I will never apologize for something I didn’t do,” Stanley said in a statement. “We will not stop searching for why all of this has happened.” Chris Colabello of the Blue Jays, Alec Asher and Daniel Stumpf of the Phillies and Boog Powell of the Mariners have all tested positive for Turinabol and received suspensions, and all claim not to know what happened. “Who would be stupid enough to take the same steroid again?” Stanley asks Rosenthal.
- The Mets are likely to trade for pitching after a series of injuries to their hurlers, Rosenthal says. Recent injuries to Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard could have the team looking in different directions this month than previously anticipated, perhaps to starters, perhaps to relievers.
- The Dodgers will consider dealing Yasiel Puig before the August 1 deadline, Rosenthal suggests. Whether they actually do deal him could depend, however, on the timing of Andre Ethier‘s return and whether they acquire another outfielder.
Minor MLB Transactions: 7/9/16
Here are today’s minor moves from around the league.
- Veteran lefty Tom Gorzelanny has declined his outright assignment with the Indians and is now a free agent, the team has announced. The Indians designated Gorzelanny for assignment on Monday after he allowed seven runs in three innings for them. Gorzelanny, who turns 34 this week, has a career 4.40 ERA, 7.3 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in parts of 12 seasons with the Pirates, Cubs, Nationals, Brewers and Tigers in addition to the Indians.
- The Cardinals have announced that they’ve allowed outfielder Carlos Peguero to depart for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in Japan. They will receive cash considerations in return. The 29-year-old Peguero has played with the Mariners, Royals, Rangers and Red Sox in parts of five big-league seasons, but has never stuck, accumulating just 319 career plate appearances. He’s shown big power in the minors, though, with 95 home runs and a .277/.346/.520 in the equivalent of about three full seasons at Triple-A.
- The Rays have signed reliever Casey Coleman to a minor league deal, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Coleman opted out of his deal with the Mariners last week after posting a 2.08 ERA, 8.8 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 39 strong innings with Triple-A Tacoma.
- One of Coleman’s new Durham Bulls teammates is lefty Dana Eveland, who was designated for assignment this week. Via SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (on Twitter), Eveland has accepted the Rays’ outright assignment. He posted an 8.55 ERA, 8.1 K/9 and 6.8 BB/9 in 20 innings of relief with the Rays this season.
- The Pirates have outrighted catcher Jacob Stallings, as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Bill Brink tweets. The Bucs designated the defensive specialist for assignment last week. The 26-year-old has batted just .200/.235/.326 this season, but he received a brief callup because of a rash of injuries to Pirates catchers.
Indians Claim Tyler Olson From Royals
The Indians have announced that they’ve claimed lefty Tyler Olson from the Royals and optioned him to Triple-A Columbus. The Royals designated Olson for assignment last week.
Olson has had a busy few months moving from organization to organization — the Dodgers and then Yankees acquired him in minor deals over the offseason, and the Royals claimed him last month. The 26-year-old appeared briefly for the Mariners last year and with the Yankees this year, mainly throwing in the upper 80s in his big-league stints. He’s pitched for two Triple-A teams this season, posting a 4.81 ERA, 6.1 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 over 33 2/3 innings mostly spent in relief.
Notable Draft Signings: 7/9/16
Here are today’s notable draft signings.
- The Angels have signed No. 60 overall pick Brandon Marsh for the slot value of $1,073,300, Jon Heyman tweets. The Georgia high school outfielder was committed to Kennesaw State. Various reports prior to the draft indicated he was signable, although he said at one point last month that he would not sign. MLB.com ranked Marsh the No. 48 prospect available in the draft, with Baseball America ranking him No. 59. BA’s subscription-only writeup compares him to Colby Rasmus and praises his speed, arm and hitting potential. The Angels have now signed all their picks in the first ten rounds.
White Sox Place Carlos Rodon On DL With Sprained Wrist
The White Sox have announced that they’ve placed lefty starter Carlos Rodon on the 15-day DL. Via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times (on Twitter), the move is retroactive to July 6 and is due to a sprained left wrist. They’ve promoted righty Tommy Kahnle to take his place on the active roster.
The White Sox had already elected to skip Rodon’s last start due to neck and arm discomfort, although it appears his current situation is unrelated — via the Chicago Tribune’s Chris Kuc (on Twitter), Rodon injured his wrist Friday after he slipped on the dugout steps. There is no indication yet of the seriousness of his current injury, but with the All-Star break coming up, it would appear to at least be possible that his stay on the DL could result in him missing little time.
It’s been an uneven sophomore season for the 2014 third overall pick, who’s maintained a strong 8.9 K/9 and has significantly reduced his walk rate to 3.1 BB/9 but has had serious issues with home runs, giving up 15 in 92 innings. All the home runs, plus a .349 BABIP, have led to a 4.50 ERA that rates as worse than league average. Still, Rodon has maintained his solid velocity this season (with an average fastball velocity of 93.0 MPH), and he’s been deadly against lefties (.552 OPS against), thanks to his plus slider.
This Week’s 5 Key Stories
Here were this week’s top stories here at MLBTR.
Red Sox bolster bench, bullpen as Diamondbacks change directions. The trading season isn’t really in full swing yet, but the Red Sox made two deals for veterans this week. First, they acquired veteran infielder Aaron Hill from the Brewers for prospects Wendell Rijo and Aaron Wilkerson. Then, on Friday night, they got reliever Brad Ziegler from Arizona for two more prospects, Luis Alejandro Basabe and Jose Almonte. Significantly, the Diamondbacks’ decision to deal Ziegler suggests they could do more selling as the deadline approaches, despite having a splashy offseason last winter. The Diamondbacks also placed ace Zack Greinke on the DL with an oblique strain this week.
Matt Harvey‘s season ends. The Mets have lost Matt Harvey for the rest of 2016, as the righty has elected to undergo surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome. The Mets had already placed Harvey on the 15-day DL. It’s been a tough season for Harvey, who has endured a loss of velocity and a corresponding decline in performance, with a 4.86 ERA, 7.4 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 over 92 2/3 innings.
CarGo drama. A report emerged Thursday suggesting Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez had shown interest in being traded, but Gonzalez vehemently denied the rumors. “Whenever I get home, I’m frustrated because maybe I didn’t do well, or we didn’t win the game, but I never complain about it … or say I want to go somewhere else,” he told Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. Either way, it sounds like Gonzalez and fellow Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon could be on the trade market this summer.
Promotions in Pittsburgh. The Pirates made noise this week by promoting two top prospects to the big leagues, as they had Tyler Glasnow make a start against the Cardinals (in which he allowed four runs over 5 1/3 innings, but notched five strikeouts and touched 97 MPH), then replaced him on their active roster with first baseman Josh Bell. Bell’s promotion appears likely to be temporary, just as Glasnow’s was, but the two players will probably be fixtures in Pittsburgh by the end of the season.
Padres continue international market splurge. The Padres haven’t had a good season at the big-league level, but they’ve been big spenders in the market for international free agents, spending heavily on Luis Almanzar, Gabriel Arias and others on July 2 and then really breaking the bank this week on Cuban lefty Adrian Morejon, with whom they agreed on an $11MM bonus. They’ll also pay a 100% tax on the deal.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Tigers To Sign Alex Presley To Minor League Deal
The Tigers have agreed to a minor league deal with veteran outfielder Alex Presley, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. Presley is a client of Danny Burgers and Sports Pro Services.
Presley collected 129 plate appearances with the Brewers this season, hitting .198/.271/.293 before being designated for assignment late last month and electing free agency soon thereafter. Despite his struggles in the big leagues this year, the 30-year-old provides quality minor-league depth — he has a .306/.370/.441 line in 1,644 career plate appearances at the Triple-A level, and he can play all three outfield positions. He’s played parts of seven big-league seasons, suiting up with the Pirates, Twins and Astros in addition to the Brewers, batting .253/.296/.383.
Reds To Sign Alfredo Rodriguez
MONDAY: The Reds have officially announced the minor league deal, as per the club’s Twitter page.
SATURDAY: The Reds have agreed to terms with Cuban shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez on a $7MM deal, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez writes. Rodriguez is a strong defensive shortstop with good speed, as Sanchez notes. He was the 2014-15 Rookie of the Year in Cuba’s Serie Nacional.
Rodriguez ranked sixth on MLB.com’s list of the top international prospects available this signing period. He has excellent speed and range. He doesn’t yet hit well, although MLB.com notes there is some hope his bat will develop.
Despite Rodriguez’s pro experience, he is subject to rules regarding international bonus pools, so his $7MM bonus represents a significant financial outlay for the Reds, who have a bonus pool of $5,163,400 and currently project to be penalized as the result of the signing, although they could trade for more international bonus slots to avoid any serious punitive measure. The Reds have long been connected to Rodriguez, with some reports indicating they had a deal with him all the way back in January, in the previous signing period.