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Week In Review: 11/21/15 – 11/27/15

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Here’s a look back at the past week at MLBTR.

Key Moves

Trades

Signings / Re-signings

Avoided Arbitration

Designated For Assignment

Outrights

Released

Key Minor League Signings

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/21/15

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Here are the latest minor moves from around the league…

  • The Orioles have signed first baseman Ji-Man Choi to a minor league deal, according to South Korean media outlet Ilgan Sports (hat tip to Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun).  Choi will be invited to the Orioles’ Major League spring camp and he’ll earn a $650K base salary if he makes the club, plus at least another $350K available in incentives.  Still just 24 years old, Choi has five years of minor league experience in the Mariners’ system, hitting .302/.404/.481 with 35 homers over 1378 PA.  His bat has fallen off over the last two seasons, however, thanks to injuries and a 50-game PED suspension in 2014.
  • The Indians announced that Taiwanese righty C.C. Lee was sold to the Saitama Seibu Lions, with Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reporting that the Tribe received between $350K-$500K from the NPB club.  Lee has been in the Indians organization since 2008 and he posted a 4.50 ERA, 8.7 K/9 and 2.06 K/BB rate over 34 relief innings for the Tribe from 2013-15.
  • The Athletics have signed left-hander Patrick Schuster to a minor league contract, MLBTR has learned.  Schuster has a 3.46 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 1.92 K/BB rate over 408 career minor league innings, most of which came in the Diamondbacks’ farm system before he was dealt to the Reds last June.  The 25-year-old was also briefly property of the Astros, Padres and Royals during the 2013-14 offseason, in a flurry of transactions in the wake of Houston taking Schuster first overall in the 2013 Rule 5 draft.
  • The Braves have signed reliever David Carpenter to a minor league deal, Scout.com’s Bill Shanks writes. Carpenter elected free agency this week after being outrighted by the Nationals. He had two of the best seasons of his career with the Braves in 2013 and 2014 before being traded to the Yankees, so his signing with Atlanta represents a bit of a homecoming. Carpenter will now get a shot to re-join a Braves bullpen that struggled in 2015. Carpenter posted a 4.01 ERA, 5.5 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 24 2/3 big-league innings last season.
  • The Nationals have agreed to terms outfielder Chris Heisey on a minor league deal, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. Crasnick notes that Heisey will be reunited with Dusty Baker, who managed him with the Reds. After spending most of the previous several seasons in the big leagues, Heisey collected only 72 plate appearances with the Dodgers in 2015, instead spending most of the season at the Triple-A level (where he hit .223/.350/.445 in 302 plate appearances). Heisey’s batting average in the big leagues has decreased in each of the last three seasons, suggesting he’s lost a step offensively. He remains, however, a solid defender at any of the three outfield positions.
  • The Nationals have also signed infielder Scott Sizemore to a minor league deal, writes MLB.com’s Bill Ladson. Sizemore, a veteran of parts of four seasons with the Tigers, Athletics and Yankees, spent 2015 with the Triple-A affiliates of the Marlins and Nationals, batting .263/.369/.354 in 289 plate appearances while playing second base and third base.
  • The Blue Jays have signed Humberto Quintero to a minor league deal, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca writes. The 36-year-old, a veteran of 12 MLB seasons, will likely provide the Jays with catching depth at the Triple-A level. He spent the 2015 season with the Red Sox’ Triple-A affiliate in Pawtucket, batting .254/.287/.354 in 305 plate appearances.
  • The Brewers have announced a variety of minor league signings and re-signings, including righties Hiram Burgos and Jaye Chapman, outfielder Ben Guez, and catcher Rene Garcia. The 28-year-old Burgos, a longtime Brewers minor leaguer, had a solid year in the minors in 2015, pitching 149 1/3 innings with a 3.62 ERA, 8.9 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9. Chapman, also 28, pitched in the bullpens at Double-A Biloxi and Triple-A Colorado Springs for the Brewers in 2015, posting a 2.37 ERA, 9.3 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 64 2/3 innings. Guez established himself as a good minor league hitter in the Tigers system before heading to Colorado Springs in 2015. There, he hit a strong .287/.410/.504, although he missed three months in the middle of the season, apparently due to injury. Garcia, 25, spent 2015 in the Phillies system, batting .318/.332/.359 in 200 plate appearances in the high minors. His previous performances in the Astros system, however, suggest that he’s more of an organizational catcher type than that high 2015 batting average suggests.

KBO Notes: Kim, Son, Hwang

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Korean outfielder Hyun-soo Kim (whose name is occasionally Romanized as Hyeon-soo Kim) confirms today that he’s interesting in signing with an MLB team, Yonhap News Agency reports. (Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan had previously reported that Kim was looking to continue his career in North America.) Kim has recently been involved in the Premier 12 tournament in Tokyo.  “I haven’t had a chance to set specific plans for my future because I wanted to concentrate on the Premier 12,” he says. “I will have to talk to my agent afterward, but there’s no reason to turn down interest from major league clubs. I’d love to play in the majors.” Kim has played nine seasons for the Doosan Bears, batting an excellent .318/.406/.488 in what Passan notes is a tough hitting environment by KBO standards. Kim doesn’t have the power that Byung-ho Park and Jung-ho Kang demonstrated in Korea, but he’s a terrific contact hitter. “He’s just great at putting bat on ball,” a scout told Passan. “He’s got a Royals-type offensive profile.” He’s also still just 27, and as an international free agent, he’s free to sign with any team and won’t require a posting fee.

  • With Kang already having a year under his belt with the Pirates, and with Park, Ah-seop Son, Kim and Seung-hwan Oh potentially attracting interest this offseason (along with first Dae-ho Lee, a Korean first baseman who was playing in Japan), there’s no shortage of intrigue surrounding Korean players looking to join MLB teams. It’s possible that the talent in the KBO has simply improved recently, Joe Lemire of USA Today writes. But it’s also possible the increased interest is due not so much to improved talent in Korea, but to changes in the ways MLB teams are allowed to pursue talent. “There’s only so many avenues to acquire players,” says an NL executive. “With the cap on draft and international (amateur free agents), now you can go over there and acquire big league-ready players, and it doesn’t go against your spending cap.” Experts feel that about a dozen players in the KBO are capable of handling the jump to the Majors, writes Lemire.
  • Many executives prefer third baseman Jae-gyun Hwang to Son, his Lotte Giants teammate, Passan writes. The problem is a rule that stipulates that a KBO team cannot accept bids on two players that have been posted in the same offseason. The bidding for Son will conclude Monday. If Lotte accept the top bid, then it risks allowing Hwang to leave as a free agent next season without collecting a posting fee for him. Son, on the other hand, is not eligible for free agency until after 2017, so Lotte might be able to maximize its earnings by rejecting the top bid for Son, taking bids on Hwang, and posting Son again next year. The team, however, earned negative publicity when it refused to allow Son to skip a road trip to be with his dying father, so it’s possible the Giants could accept Son’s bid as a way of avoiding the perception that they’re treating him unfairly.

AL Notes: Yankees, K-Rod, Athletics

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The dwindling relief market could work in the Yankees’ favor, George A. King III of the New York Post writes. The Braves and Dodgers have recently been linked to Darren O’Day, and if O’Day signs with one of those teams, the best late-inning option available on the free agent market will be Joakim Soria, who doesn’t appear likely to be cheap. The lack of capable and reasonably priced late-inning relievers could increase the trade value of Andrew Miller, who the Yankees could potentially use as a trade chip to bolster their rotation. Here are more quick notes from the American League.

  • The Tigers pursued a number of potential upgrades for their bullpen before completing their deal for Francisco Rodriguez, MLB.com’s Jason Beck writes. They asked about Aroldis Chapman, Miller and Brad Boxberger, but any of those three relievers would have cost too much in prospects. They also had discussions with free agent Joakim Soria, but it appears he’ll get a three-year deal. Darren O’Day, meanwhile, seems likely to get four. So the Tigers approached the Brewers. Rodriguez was a good fit for them in that what’s left of his contract amounts to one year plus an option ($7.5MM for 2016, some of it deferred, and $6MM or a $2MM buyout for 2017), and the prospect cost (infielder Javier Betancourt plus a player to be named) wasn’t prohibitive.
  • The Athletics also had interest in K-Rod, as FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal writes. They balked, however, at the $9.5MM financial commitment. They have, of course, addressed their bullpen to some degree (while also shedding salary) with their trade of Jesse Chavez to the Blue Jays for Liam Hendriks.

Astros Strongly Interested In Acquiring Closer

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The Astros are “hell-bent” on acquiring a closer, sources tell ESPN’s Jayson Stark. The Astros have made calls on Aroldis Chapman of the Reds, Andrew Miller of the Yankees, and Brad Boxberger of the Rays, as well as potential free agent possibilities. They’ve also spoken with the Phillies about Ken Giles, as had previously been reported.

Adding a closer would move current closer Luke Gregerson back to the setup role in which he excelled with the Padres and Athletics. A dominant ninth-inning type like Chapman or Miller would also give the Astros not only a terrific ninth-inning option but also enviable depth, with a bullpen that would also feature Gregerson, Pat Neshek, Josh Fields and Will Harris. Also, the bullpen’s 5.63 ERA in September and October and its eighth-inning implosion in Game 4 of the ALDS against the Royals are surely fresh in the organization’s mind, particularly after watching a Royals team with a hard-throwing bullpen win the World Series after beating them. It’s easy, then, to see the appeal of adding a shutdown closer.

Still, overall, the Astros’ bullpen was a key element of the team’s success last season, and Gregerson is a perfectly good ninth-inning man in his own right (although Stark notes that Gregerson’s K/9 was relatively low for a closer, at 8.6). Stark notes that the Astros might not want to pay the prospect cost of acquiring Chapman, Miller or Giles, and therefore could ultimately pursue hard-throwing setup-type relievers instead. Given the potential departures of lefties Tony Sipp and Oliver Perez via free agency, a lefty appears likely to be a priority, whether they add a closer or not.

Week In Review: 11/14/15 – 11/20/15

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

Key Moves

Trades

Signings / Re-signings

Avoided Arbitration

Designated For Assignment

Claims

Outrights

Released

Key Minor League Signings

Other

  • Teams added a number of prospects to their 40-man rosters in preparation for the Rule 5 Draft.

Quick Hits: Rebuilding, Rangers, Maeda, D-backs

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The recent successes of the Cubs and Astros might ensure the team-building strategy of “tanking” (that is, intentionally fielding a series of non-competitive teams) will continue to remain popular in the near future, as Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle writes in a long feature story. The Braves, for example, appear to be employing a variation of the Astros’ rebuilding approach, the Phillies are doing something somewhat similar, and the Brewers could conceivably do the same. But “tanking” isn’t without its downfalls. “[Y]ou risk losing the fan base and alienating a fan base and in some cases they come back and in some cases they don’t come back,” says Pirates GM Neal Huntington, who traded many of his team’s key players beginning in 2008, after he had been on the job for about a year. “I don’t know, I mean, we’re a copycat society, let alone industry, so I think it’s worked remarkably well on a couple of fronts. I think once it doesn’t work well, then it probably won’t be a thing to do anymore.”

Part of the “tanking” strategy simply involves trading assets to acquire, and clear playing time for, younger talent, but another part of it is potentially more controversial — losing teams receive higher draft picks, so in some cases, it might be sound strategy for a franchise to structure itself so that it doesn’t play well. The results can be hard to watch, as the Astros frequently were before this season. And for some markets, tanking might be difficult or impossible. The Astros and Cubs “were losing for a long time and a lot of markets can’t do that,” says Reds president Walt Jocketty. “We can’t do that in our market.” Here’s more from around the game.

  • The Rangers have a void to fill at catcher, and it’s unclear how they’ll do it, Evan Grant of Dallas Morning News writes. Matt Wieters might have been one possibility, but he disappeared from the market when he accepted the Orioles’ qualifying offer. The Brewers could deal Jonathan Lucroy, and might even be more likely to with new GM David Stearns in place, but the market for Lucroy could be strong this winter given the lack of strong catching options available via free agency. The Rangers got solid performances from Robinson Chirinos and journeyman Chris Gimenez last season, but they have little depth behind them, particularly with Jorge Alfaro sent to Philadelphia in the Cole Hamels deal. They also traded Tomas Telis to the Marlins when they dealt for Sam Dyson. “We understood that it was going to leave a void in the system,” says GM Jon Daniels. “But we look back on those trades we made and don’t have any regrets.”
  • Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart says he’s continued to monitor Japanese righty Kenta Maeda, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick writes (Twitter links). Assuming Maeda is posted (which seems likely), it probably won’t be for at least another week or two, after Team Japan’s run in the WBSC Premier 12 international tournament comes to an end. The Diamondbacks’ interest in Maeda has never been a secret, and it still sounds strong now. Crasnick also notes that the D-backs could pursue Yovani Gallardo. They might not be able to afford a higher-tier pitcher like Johnny Cueto or Jordan Zimmermann.

East Notes: Hellickson, Pennington, Marlins

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Phillies GM Matt Klentak says his team will depend on newly acquired Jeremy Hellickson to help solidify its rotation, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com writes. “This offseason we made it a priority to add a stabilizing influence to our young rotation, and we think we found that guy in Jeremy,” says Klentak. “I think one of the things on top of the obvious is that he’s a veteran guy, but still just 28 years old. He’ll pitch at 29 this season, so we’re excited that he’s still in his prime.” Klentak says he’s hoping for bounce-back seasons from not only Hellickson but also James Russell and Dan Otero, both of whom the Phillies acquired earlier this month. Here are more quick notes from the East divisions.

  • Free agent infielder Cliff Pennington, who played down the stretch with the Blue Jays, is close to signing, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. He’s considering one- and two-year deals. SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets Pennington is choosing from among three teams. The 31-year-old Pennington hit just .210/.298/.281 in 2015. Given his solid defense and versatility (he can play shortstop, second base, third base and outfield and even pitch if needed), Pennington does have value, but it would be mildly surprising, in my opinion, if he wound up with a two-year deal following a down season.
  • The Marlins would like to acquire two veteran starting pitchers this offseason because they don’t want to force themselves to start the year with one of a trio of youngsters (Justin Nicolino, Adam Conley, Jose Urena) in their starting rotation, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes (scroll down). The three younger pitchers will compete for a spot, but the Marlins would like to have a veteran option to compete as well. It looks, then, like the Marlins’ rotation will be Jose Fernandez, Jarred Cosart, Tom Koehler, a veteran, and then either another vet or one of Nicolino, Conley or Urena. (The team also has Henderson Alvarez, David Phelps, Brad Hand and Kendry Flores on its 40-man roster, although each of them comes with at least one question mark related to injury, performance or inexperience.) Jackson also adds that the Marlins like Justin Bour at first base, but they want him to improve his conditioning and could consider adding a right-handed platoon partner for him.

More Reactions To And Effects Of The Craig Kimbrel Deal

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Earlier today, we collected a series of reactions to the Red Sox’ big move to acquire Craig Kimbrel from the Padres for prospects Manuel Margot, Javier Guerra, Carlos Asuaje and Logan Allen. Here are a few more that have trickled in throughout the day.

  • As noted in our previous post, reviews of the Red Sox’ end of the deal by outside analysts have not all been enthusiastic. But CSNNE.com’s Sean McAdam collected a number of takes from scouts and evaluators within the game who view the Sox’ decision to trade four prospects (including two highly rated ones in Margot and Guerra) somewhat more favorably. “I like Margot and Guerra. [They’re] middle-of-the-diamond kids with upside, (but) I doubt either becomes Betts or Bogaerts,” says one NL scout. “Prospects are nice, but in that market, give me Brady as QB over [Marcus] Mariota.” An NL evaluator points out that the Sox avoided giving up their very best prospects, like Yoan Moncada and Rafael Devers. Not everyone loved the deal from Boston’s perspective, however. Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski “is all about the short term and this trade made sense from that perspective,” says an MLB exec. “But if you do too many of the deals, you wake up in a few years like the Phillies … or the Tigers.”
  • One potential reason the Red Sox felt outfielder Margot was expendable was the presence of 2015 top draft choice Andrew Benintendi, who could move through the minors quickly, as Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal tweets. In an accompanying article, MacPherson compares Benintendi to Mets rookie Michael Conforto, who rocketed through the minors, and notes that Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia and Jed Lowrie all moved quickly through the Sox’ system after being drafted out of college, as Benintendi was. Benintendi hit .313/.416/.556 across two levels in his first taste of the minors this summer.
  • The Reds don’t feel the Padres’ trade of Kimbrel will have much effect on the market for Aroldis Chapman, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com writes. Chapman only has one year of control remaining, while Kimbrel has three, so although both are top-flight closers, they represent somewhat different types of commodities. “Kimbrel was a bit of a different animal than Chapman, in terms of club control,” says new Reds GM Dick Williams. “We didn’t feel like we missed out on a deal with them. There will be other teams that are interested in Chapman.”

AL Notes: Yankees, Red Sox, Boyer, Son

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The Yankees and Red Sox top the list of teams who could be aggressive this offseason, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. The Yankees might not be heavily involved with the free agent market, but they could pursue any number of trades, particularly now that their deal for Aaron Hicks, which made it possible for them to deal Brett Gardner. The Sox, meanwhile, have already traded for Craig Kimbrel and could top that move with an even bigger one for a top starting pitcher. Here are more quick notes from the AL.

  • The Royals and other teams have already shown interest in free agent righty reliever Blaine Boyer, but Boyer remains interested in returning to the Twins, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press writes. “I think I showed this year, and really my whole career, that I can step in for the eighth inning or the seventh inning,” Boyer says. “I can also go long. I pride myself on being a multi-role bullpen piece. I think they know that, and I conveyed that to [Twins manager Paul Molitor].” Boyer was a valuable part of the Twins’ bullpen last year, posting a 2.49 ERA and 2.6 BB/9 over 65 innings, albeit with a very low 4.6 K/9.
  • The Orioles did not win the rights to negotiate with Nexen Heroes slugger Byung-ho Park, but another KBO player, Ah-seop Son, might be a better fit for them, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun writes. The Orioles can use an outfielder who can hit leadoff, and Son fits the bill — he has a .398 on-base percentage in nine seasons with the Lotte Giants, and he’s been favorably compared to Nori Aoki, in whom the Orioles have previously had at least some interest. Son will be posted tomorrow.

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