Week In Review: 4/9/16 – 4/15/16
Here’s a look back at the past week at MLBTR.
Key Moves
- The Rangers signed third baseman Adrian Beltre to a two-year extension. They also promoted top outfield prospect Nomar Mazara.
- The Giants extended first baseman Brandon Belt through 2021.
Trades
- Cubs – acquired P Giovanni Soto from Indians for cash considerations
- Dodgers – acquired UT Zach Walters and OF James Ramsey from Indians for cash considerations
Claimed
- Orioles – P Scott McGough (from Marlins)
- Marlins – P Eric Jokisch (from Cubs)
- Angels – P Danny Reynolds (from Astros)
Designated For Assignment
- Blue Jays – P Arnold Leon (link)
- Pirates – 1B Michael Morse (link)
Outrighted
- Braves – P Jose Ramirez (link)
- Pirates – SS Pedro Florimon (link)
- Brewers – P Ariel Pena (link)
- Rangers – OF Justin Ruggiano (link)
- Reds – 1B/OF Brandon Allen (link)
Returned
- Padres – P Josh Martin (to Indians)
Released
- Braves – OF Michael Bourn (link)
- Pirates – P John Holdzkom (link)
Key Minor League Signings
- Pirates – P Justin Masterson (link)
- Twins – OF David Murphy (link)
- Giants – P Alex Torres (link)
- Yankees – 1B/OF Nick Swisher (link)
- Red Sox – P Wesley Wright (link)
- Braves – UT Emilio Bonifacio (re-signed)
Hector Olivera Arrested In Domestic Dispute, Charged With Misdemeanor Assault
4:09pm: Goldberg tweets that Olivera has been charged with one count of misdemeanor assault and battery.
11:50am: Goldberg tweets that Olivera will appear before a judge this afternoon between 3:00-4:00pm and is likely to be charged with misdemeanor assault and battery.
11:29am: The Braves have issued the following statement on the situation:
“We are extremely disappointed and troubled to learn of the allegations involving Hector Olivera. We will continue to gather information and will address this matter appropriately as we determine the facts. Major League Baseball has placed Oliver on Administrative Leave effective immediately.”
The Braves have recalled infielder Daniel Castro from Triple-A Gwinnett to fill Olivera’s spot on the roster.
10:18am: MLB has placed Olivera on administrative leave, and the commissioner’s office has begun to investigate his situation, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post tweets.
9:50am: Braves outfielder Hector Olivera has been arrested in connection with a domestic dispute near Washington DC, Jeff Goldberg of ABC7 News writes. The Braves are in Washington playing a series against the Nationals. According to Goldberg, the victim dialed 911 early this morning and said she had been assaulted. She reportedly had bruises and was taken to the hospital. Olivera was arrested but has not yet been charged.
MLB has lately dealt with a number of high-profile domestic violence issues surrounding players like Aroldis Chapman and Jose Reyes. Olivera’s situation could end up adding another name to that list. Chapman received a 30-game suspension from the Commissioner’s Office despite not being arrested or have charges filed against him, so the situation with Olivera has the potential to lead to considerably stronger discipline.
Olivera signed with the Dodgers last year as a high-profile free agent from Cuba, receiving a $62.5MM contract that continues through 2020. The Dodgers sent him to Atlanta in a three-team trade last July. He is currently the Braves’ starting left fielder.
Yankees Sign Nick Swisher To Minor League Deal
APRIL 13: Swisher’s deal is now official, tweets Feinsand. He’s on his way to Scranton and will be in the starting lineup there on Thursday.
APRIL 9: Nick Swisher is working out at the Yankees’ minor-league complex, and the team will likely sign him to a minor-league deal, Chad Jennings of LoHud.com tweets. Swisher will receive a June 15 opt-out if he isn’t in the Majors by then, according to Mark Feinsand of the Daily News (On Twitter). Swisher is a client of MVP Sports Group.
The Braves released Swisher late last month. He’s owed $15MM for 2016, but the Braves and Indians will be on the hook for the vast majority of that amount. The $56MM deal to which the Indians signed Swisher prior to the 2013 season has not gone well, to say the least — he’s produced just a .224/.315/.373 batting line since then, also producing little in the way of defensive value while splitting his time between outfield, first base and DH.
Swisher enjoyed better days with the Yankees from 2009 through 2012, batting .268/.367/.483 with 105 home runs in his tenure in New York and playing on four straight playoff teams, including the Yanks’ 2009 championship squad. At this point, though, it’s unclear how much gas the 35-year-old has left in the tank, or how he might now fit on a 2016 team that has Alex Rodriguez at DH, Mark Teixeira at first and Brett Gardner, Carlos Beltran, Dustin Ackley and others to play the corner outfield positions.
Twins Place Glen Perkins On DL With Shoulder Strain
The Twins have announced that they’ve placed closer Glen Perkins on the disabled list with a left shoulder strain, and promoted lefty Taylor Rogers to take his place on the active roster. MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger was first to tweet the news.
It’s unclear how serious Perkins’ injury is at this time. He last pitched on Sunday in a game in which he allowed two runs and blew a save against the Royals. His velocity has been significantly down so far this season, from an average fastball velocity of 93.7 MPH in 2015 to 91.3 MPH this year, via FanGraphs. It might be too early in the season to assess the significance of those numbers, however.
Perkins has spent the last three and a half seasons as the Twins’ closer, and has pitched to a 2.98 ERA, 9.9 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 with 118 saves in 253 1/3 innings since the start of 2012. He has made the All-Star team in each of the last three seasons. However, he’s also missed time due to neck and back injuries in each of the past two seasons. Last year in Perkins’ absence, July acquisition Kevin Jepsen stepped into Minnesota’s ninth-inning role, making him a likely candidate to step up now with Perkins on the shelf. Hard-throwing Trevor May represents another option for second-year manager Paul Molitor.
Rogers, who turned 25 in December, rates as Minnesota’ No. 13 prospect per MLB.com and No. 14 per Baseball America. Both scouting reports note that Rogers has the durability to pitch at the back of a big league rotation (he threw a combined 199 innings between the minors and the Arizona Fall League last year), though he’ll presumably be used in a relief role in his first taste of big league action. Rogers is particularly tough on left-handed hitters, who batted a paltry .177/.209/.193 against him last season at Triple-A.
AL Notes: LaRoche, Indians, Murphy
Former White Sox first baseman Adam LaRoche, who retired amidst a storm of controversy in Spring Training, has an outlook different than that of most ballplayers, ESPN’s Tim Keown writes. Now that LaRoche has stepped away from his big-league career after a disagreement with his front office about the presence of his son in his team’s clubhouse, he’s planning a lengthy RV trip with his family to the Pacific Northwest. LaRoche also stars in a reality show (Buck Commander) and owns a meat company. And improbably, in November, he joined with Brewers pitcher Blaine Boyer and a nonprofit to try to travel to Southeast Asia to go undercover to try to save underage sex slaves. “Something huge happened there for us,” says Boyer. “You can’t explain it. Can’t put your finger on it. If you make a wrong move, you’re getting tossed off a building.” Here’s more from the American League.
- Michael Brantley (shoulder) and Lonnie Chisenhall (wrist) have begun rehab assignments with Triple-A Columbus, so the composition of the Indians‘ outfield seems likely to change soon, Cleveland.com’s Paul Hoynes writes. Part of the issue, in Brantley’s case, is that he missed most of Spring Training, so he needs to get enough repetitions in his rehab assignment so that he can be ready to play. “With Michael it’s about him building enough volume and feeling comfortable at the plate,” says Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti The Indians’ roster currently includes four outfielders — Marlon Byrd, Collin Cowgill, Rajai Davis and Tyler Naquin. Of those, only Naquin is optionable. The 38-year-old Byrd, interestingly, shares that no teams showed interest in him before the Indians signed him to a minor-league deal in mid-March. “There was no interest … zero,” he says. “I would have to ask the 29 other teams what the reason was.”
- Veteran outfielder David Murphy does not plan to retire and is looking for an MLB job, the MLB Network’s Jon Morosi tweets. Murphy had opted out of his deal with the Red Sox in Spring Training. He had previously said he might retire if he did not get a big-league job.
NL Central Notes: Liriano, Finnegan, Saves
Pirates lefty Francisco Liriano will miss his scheduled start tonight against the Tigers due to hamstring trouble, as Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes. The cause of Liriano’s hamstring issue isn’t yet known. Starting in his place will be Ryan Vogelsong, who lost in a three-way battle with Juan Nicasio and Jeff Locke for the Bucs’ last two rotation jobs coming out of camp. Here’s more from the NL Central.
- Reds lefty Brandon Finnegan is looking more and more like a starter, Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs argues. Finnegan is developing confidence in his secondary pitches, throwing his changeup almost twice as frequently this season than he did as a starter in 2015. He’s also showing better command of the pitch. Sullivan goes so far as to compare Finnegan to Liriano. If Finnegan develops as a starter, the Reds will be that much closer to getting their money’s worth from last summer’s Johnny Cueto trade.
- Cardinals manager Mike Matheny has been candid in the past about tailoring his usage of closer Trevor Rosenthal to the save statistic, as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. “There are personal statistics that help drive personal achievement as far as salaries go,” Matheny explained last season. “For us to be completely oblivious to that, I think is a mistake as well. Then you start having some friction.” Saves can, indeed, drive salaries, particularly for a player like Rosenthal who’s in the midst of his arbitration seasons. But managing with a closer’s saves total in mind might not be the best way to preserve the closer’s arm and his availability. One potential fix, Goold suggests, might be to somehow redefine the statistic to award saves for getting key outs. Such a fix might prevent teams from doing what the Cardinals did Sunday, when Rosenthal pitched the last out of the eighth inning and then threw 26 pitches in the ninth even after the Cardinals scored five runs.
East Notes: deGrom, Inciarte, Aybar, Biagini
The Mets will skip Jacob deGrom‘s next turn in the rotation, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com writes. Logan Verett will get a spot start in his place. Mets manager Terry Collins says deGrom’s sore lat muscle has “improved, but it’s not enough.” The team has not placed deGrom on the disabled list, though, and deGrom says he and the team are merely “erring on the side of caution.” DeGrom showed diminished velocity in his first start of the season Friday (throwing mostly in the low 90s, rather than the mid 90s), but he got good results overall, and the Mets don’t believe his lack of velocity is connected to his lat trouble. Here’s more from the East divisions.
- The Braves have placed outfielder Ender Inciarte on the 15-day DL with a hamstring injury, Mark Bowman of MLB.com writes. The team has promoted prospect Mallex Smith to take his place, as Bowman had previously suggested was a possibility. Smith, one of the players the Braves acquired when they dealt Justin Upton to San Diego, is a very speedy center fielder who’s gotten base and stolen bases at very high rates throughout his time in the minors. MLB.com currently rates him as the Braves’ 11th-best prospect.
- The Braves are already considering moving Erick Aybar out of the starting shortstop job, writes Bowman. The Braves won’t consider early promotions for top prospects Dansby Swanson or Ozzie Albies, but they could move Aybar to second base — where his glove won’t be so exposed — and promote Daniel Castro, a better defender, to take his place at short. They would likely then send Jace Peterson to Triple-A Gwinnett.
- Rule 5 Draft pick Joe Biagini is contributing to the Blue Jays not only with his 95-MPH fastball, but with his sense of humor, Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith writes. When asked if he’s always been a pitcher, Biagini replied, “After I was born. I wasn’t really a pitcher before I was born.” The 25-year-old Biagini has done well on the mound, too, keeping Red Sox batters off the board while pitching his first two innings of his big-league career over the last two days. Last season, the righty was a starter for Double-A Richmond in the Giants system, posting a 2.42 ERA, 5.8 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 130 1/3 innings.
Angels Claim Danny Reynolds From Astros
The Angels have announced that they’ve claimed righty Danny Reynolds from the Astros and returned him to Double-A Arkansas, where he pitched last season. The Astros designated Reynolds for assignment on Thursday.
The 24-year-old Reynolds was previously a prospect in the Angels system, but he was claimed last December by the Dodgers and then the Astros. Last season, the 24-year-old posted a 4.57 ERA, 10.4 K/9 and 5.8 BB/9 in 43 1/3 innings of relief at Arkansas, increasing his strikeout rate but also his walk rate. Reynolds, a third-round pick of the Angels in 2009, has never pitched in the big leagues.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Greinke, Hurdle, Alford, Cave, Dodgers, Rodgers
Here’s this week’s look through the blogosphere:
- Inside The ‘Zona examines Zack Greinke‘s first start with the Diamondbacks.
- Bucs Raise It argues that Clint Hurdle’s strategic changes have helped propel the Pirates’ strong start.
- BP Toronto interviews Blue Jays prospect Anthony Alford.
- Pinstriped Prospects interviews Jake Cave, who was recently returned to the Yankees from the Reds.
- Think Blue Planning Committee argues that the Dodgers bullpen’s recent struggles might not suggest a trend that will continue through the season.
- Notes From The Sally offers a first-hand look at top Rockies prospect Brendan Rodgers.
- Camden Depot considers the possibility of MLB expansion into Japan.
- McCovey Chronicles grades the last decade of Giants home-opener lineups.
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Dodgers Acquire Zach Walters, James Ramsey
The Indians have announced that they’ve traded utilityman Zach Walters and outfielder James Ramsey to the Dodgers for cash considerations. In corresponding moves, the Dodgers have announced that they’ve moved Andre Ethier (broken leg) and Josh Ravin (broken arm) to the 60-day DL.
Walters has seen bits of big-league action in the past three seasons with the Nationals and Indians, batting .182/.233/.394 while playing various infield positions and the corner outfield. He was in the midst of a strong Triple-A season upon being traded from Washington to Cleveland for Asdrubal Cabrera in 2014 and looked like he might be somewhat of an unconventional power-hitting prospect as an older player who could man several positions, but he hasn’t shown much offensively since the deal. The Indians designated him for assignment last week.
In a separate move, the Indians also designated Ramsey last week, just months after adding him to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. The 26-year-old hit .243/.327/.382 while playing all three outfield positions for Triple-A Columbus last season. Ramsey is a former first-round draft pick and has the distinction of being traded for a big-leaguer (Justin Masterson, in 2014), but he’s never played in the big leagues.