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Angels Release Luiz Gohara

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The Angels released 39 minor leaguers last week, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic relays (click here for the full list). Left-hander Luiz Gohara may be the most notable player the Angels subtracted.

Now 23 years old, the Brazil-born Gohara was once a premium prospect as a member of the Braves, who acquired him from the Mariners in a January 2017 trade that saw outfielder Mallex Smith go to Seattle (though the M’s quickly flipped Smith to Tampa Bay). Gohara mowed down minor league hitters that year, combining for a 2.62 ERA with 10.7 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 123 2/3 innings, and ended up making his major league debut. That was the first of two straight seasons in which Gohara appeared in the majors, and though has only amassed 49 frames of 5.33 ERA pitching at the game’s highest level so far, he has managed nine strikeouts per nine against 2.94 walks.

It’s now anyone’s guess whether Gohara will make it back to the bigs. Shoulder problems prevented Gohara from pitching professionally last season, when the Braves released him in early August. Gohara caught on with the Angels a few weeks later, but his Halos tenure is now over before he ever threw a meaningful pitch as part of their organization.

Rangers Release 37 Minor Leaguers

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The Rangers have released 37 minor league players, per reports from TR Sullivan of MLB.com and Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Grant’s tweet contains the full list, which includes right-handers Austin Bibens-Dirkx and Taylor Jungmann and outfielder Eric Jenkins, to name a few.

The well-traveled Bibens-Dirkx, who has had several North American stops and has played in China, is a familiar name to Rangers fans. Originally a 16th-round pick of the Mariners in 2006, he made his major league debut with Texas in 2017 and also pitched for the club the next season. To this point, the 35-year-old is the owner of a 5.27 ERA/5.63 FIP with 5.59 K/9 and 2.68 BB/9 in 114 1/3 major league innings. Bibens-Dirkx spent some of 2019 as part of the Rangers’ Triple-A team, with which he struggled to 7.98 ERA over 38 1/3 frames.

Jungmann, 30, was a 2011 first-round pick (No. 12, Brewers) who cracked top 100 prospect lists in his younger days, but he only managed a 4.54 ERA in 146 2/3 innings as a Brewer from 2015-17. He spent the previous two seasons pitching in Japan.

Jenkins was also a high selection (a second-rounder in 2015), but the speedster didn’t hit enough in the minors for the Rangers to keep him in the fold. The 23-year-old hasn’t gotten past High-A ball, where he batted .176/.270/.278 with a 32.2 percent strikeout rate and 21 steals in 295 plate appearances in 2019.

Mariners Release Manny Banuelos

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The Mariners recently released left-hander Manny Banuelos, according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page. Banuelos only spent a few months with the Mariners, who signed him to a minors pact near the beginning of February.

Now 29 years old, Banuelos ranked as one of the sport’s premier pitching prospects while part of the Yankees’ farm system. Banuelos topped out as Baseball America’s 29th-best farmhand in 2012, though injuries – including Tommy John surgery – have played a part in preventing him from realizing his potential.

Although his career hasn’t turned out as hoped so far, Banuelos is at least coming off a year in which he racked up a solid amount of innings as a member of the White Sox. He totaled 50 2/3 frames over 16 appearances (eight starts), though Banuelos could only notch a 6.93 ERA/6.57 FIP with 7.82 K/9 and 5.86 BB/9. It was his first major league action since a 26 1/3-inning run with the Braves in 2015, when he pitched to a 5.13 ERA. But Banuelos has been far better in Triple-A, as his 3.98 ERA with 8.4 K/9 against 4.4 BB/9 over 396 frames demonstrates.

International Transactions: 5/29/20

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We’re not seeing any transactions in Major League Baseball, but here’s one from the Korea Baseball Organization that involves a former big leaguer:

  • The Kiwoom Heroes have placed utility player Taylor Motter on waivers, Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net relays. Motter was in his first season with the club, which signed him for $350K last December, but the 30-year-old got off to an abysmal start this season with a .114/.135/.200 line in 37 plate appearances. He’s known to MLB fans as a former Ray, Mariner and Twin, with whom he combined to bat .191/.263/.312 in 411 trips to the plate from 2016-18. Whether Motter will land elsewhere in the KBO is up in the air, as Kurtz notes a team that adds him would have to subtract a different foreign player. KBO clubs are only allowed three foreign players per roster. If nobody claims Motter, he’ll become a free agent, but he won’t be eligible to play in the KBO again this season, per Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap.

Alex Rodriguez, Jennifer Lopez Still Working On Mets Bid

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Three weeks ago, it appeared Alex Rodriguez no longer had any hope of purchasing the Mets. However, it now looks as if he and famous fiancee Jennifer Lopez have re-entered the picture. According to Thornton McEnery of the New York Post, Rodriguez, Lopez and some of JPMorgan Chase’s “very senior bankers” are working on putting together a bid to buy the franchise from current owners Fred Wilpon and Jeff Wilpon.

This is clearly a serious attempt from Rodriguez and Lopez, who McEnery hears are putting in “hundreds of millions” of their own dollars to land the Mets. It’s unclear exactly who else would be part of a Rodriguez-Lopez ownership group – Wayne Rothbaum was said to be in the mix earlier, but it doesn’t seem that’s the case anymore – though they have been talking with New England Patriots owners Bob Kraft and Jonathan Kraft. The Krafts don’t want to buy a baseball team, yet they’re “very intrigued” with the plans Rodriguez and Lopez have to breathe new life into Citi Field and its surrounding areas, McEnery details in his piece.

Regardless of whether the Krafts do accompany Rodriguez and Lopez, a source told McEnery that “the money is there,” that “a bid is coming,” and odds are the Mets will go for less than $2 billion if they do change hands. Furthermore, while the Wilpons have been reluctant to give up any part of the SNY television network in a sale, it seems they’re more open to it now. The Wilpons would still want to keep some portion of SNY in giving up the Mets, however, McEnery reports.

The coronavirus shutdown could continue to lead to major financial losses for the Wilpons, who may reportedly lose up to $150MM even during a half-season. That could increase their urgency to sell the team, and it now looks possible that Rodriguez and Lopez will swoop in if the Wilpons do step away.

Cubs Release Brock Stewart, Carlos Asuaje

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FRIDAY: J.J. Cooper of Baseball America tweets the full list of players the Cubs have released.

THURSDAY, 10:11pm: The Cubs have let go of 30 minor leaguers, according to Maddie Lee and Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago. However, aside from Stewart and Asuaje, the identities of the players aren’t yet known.

7:16pm: There are minor league cuts happening across baseball, and though the Cubs’ full list isn’t out yet, right-hander Brock Stewart and utilityman Carlos Asuaje are among the players they have released. Stewart announced his fate on Twitter, while Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reported on Asuaje’s exit (via Patrick Mooney of The Athletic). Those two and the rest of the minor leaguers the Cubs have parted with will be paid through the end of June.

Stewart, 28, is an Illinois native who attended Illinois State and was then a sixth-round pick of the Dodgers in the 2014 amateur draft. He went on to pitch for the Dodgers from 2016-19, but the club lost him on waivers to the Blue Jays last July. Stewart didn’t last long with the Jays, who lost him to the Cubs as a Rule 5 pick last winter. Between Los Angeles and Toronto, Stewart has pitched to a 6.05 ERA/6.25 FIP with 7.41 K/9 and 4.09 BB/9 during his 105 2/3-inning major league career.

Success at the game’s highest level has also been hard to come by for Asuaje. The 28-year-old amassed 586 plate appearances as a Padre from 2016-18, but he only managed a .240/.312/.329 line with six home runs with San Diego. Asuaje joined the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization last year, and he hit .252/.356/.368 with a pair of homers in 194 PA before the club released him. He finished 2019 with the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate.

Phillies Release T.J. Rivera

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Infielder T.J. Rivera was among the minor league players the Phillies released Friday, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. It’s not yet known which other players the Phillies cut.

Rivera signed a minors pact with the Phillies back in December, at which point he was coming off a respectable offensive run with the division-rival Mets. The 31-year-old was a .304/.335/,445 hitter with a meager 14.2 percent strikeout rate in 344 plate appearances from 2016-17, though health problems have taken a sledgehammer to his career since then.

Rivera underwent Tommy John surgery in September 2017, and his Mets tenure came to a close when they released him in March 2019. He has since played with the Nationals’ Double-A affiliate, in the Puerto Rican and Dominican Winter Leagues, and with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League. If another major league team does take a chance on Rivera, he’ll surely have to work his way back via the minors, where he has performed well. Rivera is the owner of a .335/.375/.490 line in 663 trips to the plate in Triple-A ball.

Remembering A Yankees-White Sox Blockbuster

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In late July of 2017, the Yankees were mired in a weeks-long skid and working to avoid their second straight season without a playoff berth. After a 38-23 start to the season, the Yankees suffered a loss to the Twins on July 17 to fall to a so-so 47-44. They were in the midst of a free-fall, and general manager Brian Cashman decided he had seen enough. While the Yankees did get a win on the 18th, Cashman acted aggressively that night to acquire third baseman Todd Frazier and two relievers – right-handers David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle – from the White Sox. In doing so, Cashman surrendered three prospects – left-hander Ian Clarkin and outfielders Blake Rutherford and Tito Polo – as well as reliever Tyler Clippard.

The deal played some role in helping the Yankees to a 91-win finish, a playoff berth and a trip to the ALCS, where they lost to the eventual champion Astros in seven games. Frazier seemed to be a hugely positive influence in the clubhouse (remember the thumbs-down craze?), and on the field, he slashed a decent .222/.365/.423 with 11 home runs in 241 plate appearances. Frazier was only a rental at the time, though, and he wound up with the Mets the next offseason on a two-year, $17MM guarantee.

Robertson, a Yankee from 2008-14 before he signed a four-year, $46MM contract with the White Sox prior to 2015, was excellent in his return to the Bronx. He threw 104 2/3 innings of 2.49 ERA ball with 12.21 K/9 and 2.37 BB/9 over parts of two seasons, though he left the Yankees as a free agent yet again when the Phillies inked him to a two-year, $23MM in advance of the 2019 campaign.

Kahnle, meanwhile, is still in the Bronx. The year the White Sox gave him up, Kahnle (who entered the pros as a fifth-rounder of the Yankees back in 2010) was amid a breakout season in which he wound up throwing 62 2/3 frames of 2.59 ERA/1.83 FIP ball with 13.79 K/9 and 2.44 BB/9 between the two teams. The 2018 season proved to be an injury-shortened disaster for Kahnle, who could only manage a 6.56 ERA/4.19 FIP in 23 1/3 innings, but he bounced back last year with a 3.67 ERA/3.33 FIP and 12.91 K/9 and 2.93 BB/9 across 61 1/3 innings.

The Yankees can control Kahnle at reasonable prices through 2021, so he should continue to be an important part of their bullpen for at least a little while longer. However, when they made this deal, the Yankees were no doubt hoping it would help propel them to a championship. That hasn’t happened, though they have made three consecutive playoff appearances since swinging the trade. As for the White Sox, who were still a long way from contention when they agreed to the swap, here’s how their return has gone so far…

  • Ian Clarkin: The former first-rounder (No. 33 in 2013) struggled enough in Double-A in 2018, his first full year in Chicago’s system, for the team to designate him for assignment. He threw 13 1/3 innings with the Cubs’ Double-A club last season and is now in the San Diego organization.
  • Blake Rutherford: The 18th pick in 2016, Rutherford topped out as Baseball America’s 45th-best prospect after 2017, though his stock has dropped since then. After the 23-year-old batted .265/.319/.365 with seven homers in 480 PA at Double-A last season, FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranked him as Chicago’s No. 15 prospect.
  • Tito Polo: Now 25, Polo only lasted in the White Sox’s system through 2018. He divided last season between the Mariners’ Triple-A team and the Mexican League. He’s currently a free agent.
  • Tyler Clippard: Less than a month after acquiring Clippard, the White Sox traded the veteran to the Astros for cash considerations.

Almost three full years since this trade occurred, it seems Kahnle has emerged as the most valuable long-term asset involved. Now, Chicago’s only hope is for Rutherford to turn into a viable major leaguer, as the other players it received left the organization and didn’t bring back any assets when they departed.

The 2008 Top 10: Four Teams Passed On Potential Hall Of Famer

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Twelve years after the 2008 amateur draft, one top 10 pick ranks far above the rest…

1.) Tim Beckham, SS, Rays:

Taking Beckham at No. 1 has long looked like one of the most regrettable moves in Rays history. Beckham was only a .247/.299/.421 hitter with 2.5 fWAR in 791 plate appearances with the team from 2013-17. and it flipped him to the Orioles for right-hander Tobias Myers in the last of those seasons. Myers hasn’t advanced past the High-A level for Tampa Bay, while Beckham didn’t offer much production for Baltimore in 2018 or Seattle in ’19. He’s currently a free agent after the league hit him with an 80-game PED suspension last August.

2.) Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Pirates:

Alvarez wasn’t a total bust for the Pirates, with whom he put up two 30-home run seasons worth 2.5-plus fWAR apiece. The former Vanderbilt Commodore hasn’t lived up to his draft status, though, and is now accompanying Beckham in free agency. Alvarez, who has also played for the Orioles, hasn’t taken a major league diamond since 2018. If his career in the bigs is over, he’ll end as a .236/.310/.447 hitter with 162 homers and 7.7 fWAR.

3.) Eric Hosmer, 1B, Royals:

Hosmer had an inconsistent run as a Royal from 2011-17, but the highs were high. He was a key part of the Royals’ most recent championship team in 2015, and his .284/.342/.439 line with 127 homers and 60 steals in their uniform helped lead to a notable free-agent payday heading into the 2018 season. The Padres forked over a guaranteed eight years and $144MM to Hosmer, but he hasn’t lived up to the deal so far. The 30-year-old has hit .259/.316/.412 with minus-0.5 fWAR since he signed with San Diego.

4.) Brian Matusz, LHP, Orioles:

Matusz once looked like a can’t-miss prospect, but he failed to match the hype. To Matuz’s credit, after a pretty rough run from 2009-12, he reinvented himself as a solid reliever for the Orioles from 2013-15. However, he hasn’t pitched in the majors since a horrid nine-inning run with the Braves and Cubs in 2016. Matusz hasn’t officially retired yet, but he’s likely to call it quits as the owner of a 4.92 ERA across 528 2/3 innings.

5.) Buster Posey, C, Giants:

Finally, a smash success. Posey, 33, is the lone member of the 2008 top 10 with a legitimate Hall of Fame case. He’s a six-time All-Star, an NL Rookie of the Year, an MVP and someone who has been instrumental in three Giants World Series titles. Posey’s also a lifetime .302/.370/.456 batter with 140 homers and 52.7 fWAR.

6.) Kyle Skipworth, C, Marlins:

“Why couldn’t the Giants have taken Skipworth instead of Posey?”-The Marlins now, probably. Skipworth totaled four plate appearances as a Marlin in 2013, the only year in which he appeared in the majors. He last appeared in pro baseball in 2016 as part of Cincinnati’s minor league system.

7.) Yonder Alonso, 1B, Reds:

Alonso had a brief run with the Reds from 2010-11, after which they sent him to the Padres in a mega-trade for righty Mat Latos. Alonso has since had just one above-average season – with the A’s and Mariners in 2017, when he batted .266/.365/.501 with 28 homers and 2.4 fWAR. He has fallen back to earth since then, though, and has only accounted for 5.4 fWAR with a .259/.332/.404 line and 100 HRs in the majors during his career. Alonso’s now with the Braves, who signed him to a minor league contract over the winter.

8.) Gordon Beckham, SS, White Sox:

Beckham had a poor run as a member of the White Sox, with whom he hit .242/.304/.370 in over 3,100 PA, and has also struggled to put up good numbers in a few other stops. The 33-year-old is now a free agent.

9.) Aaron Crow, RHP, Nationals:

Washington failed to sign Crow, so it received the No. 10 pick in the 2009 draft as compensation. The team used that choice on righty Drew Storen, who logged a 3.02 ERA with 95 saves and 72 holds in 334 innings with the Nats from 2010-15.

10.) Jason Castro, C, Astros:

Thanks in part to his well-known pitch-framing wizardry, Castro has thus far enjoyed a respectable career between Houston and Minnesota. He’s a career .231/.313/.390 hitter with 86 HRs and 14.5 fWAR, and is just a few months removed from signing a one-year, $6.85MM contract with the Angels.

—

Any other first-round notables?

Not many. Gerrit Cole went 28th to the Yankees, but they couldn’t sign him (they made up for that a few months ago). Justin Smoak (No. 11), Aaron Hicks (14), Andrew Cashner (19) and Lonnie Chisenhall (29) also came off the board in that year’s top 30. There was some more success in the supplemental round, where Jake Odorizzi (32), Lance Lynn (39) and Wade Miley (43) were taken.

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