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Minor Moves: Burton, Garner, Toles

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Here are Sunday’s minor moves from around MLB:

  • Three days after releasing him, the Yankees have signed right-hander Jared Burton to a minor league deal, reports Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. Burton was an Article XX(B) free agent, so the release/re-signing allows the Yankees to avoid paying the reliever a $100K retention bonus to remain in the organization.
  • The Phillies have released their 2010 second-round pick right-hander Perci Garner, tweets CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury. Garner never advanced beyond Double-A and compiled a mark of 4.50 ERA, 6.9 K/9, 5.1 BB/9 during 87 appearances (73 starts) in his five seasons in the Philadelphia organization.
  • The Rays have released outfielder Andrew Toles, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Toles, the Rays’ 2013 minor league player of the year, posted a line of .261/.302/.337 in 218 plate appearances last year at Class A-Advanced Charlotte despite missing two months for personal reasons. The 22-year-old was a third-round selection of the Rays in the 2012 draft.

Twins Outright Stephen Pryor

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The Twins have outrighted right-hander Stephen Pryor to Triple-A Rochester, tweets Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The Twins’ 40-man roster now stands at 38, which, Miller notes, will allow the team to add a pair of non-roster invitees, presumably reliever Blaine Boyer and outfielder Shane Robinson.

The Twins acquired the 25-year-old from the Mariners last July in exchange for Kendrys Morales. Pryor, who underwent surgery to repair his latissimus dorsi muscle in 2013, excelled at Triple-A for the Twins after the trade recording a 0.89 ERA and 9.7 K/9 in 14 relief appearances covering 20 1/3 innings, but demonstrated a lack of command as evidenced by his 7.1 BB/9 rate.

AL Notes: Wright, Vazquez, Russell, Pelfrey

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Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News writes Spring Training is broken. Grant suggests reversing the current reporting schedule of players with minor leaguers and non-roster invitees reporting at the beginning of camp and the 40-man roster showing up ten days later. Grant also proposes expanding the roster to 28 for the month of April with 25 designated as active for games. This would allow teams, Grant reasons, to carry more pitching in April, as the hurlers continue to build their durability.

In today’s news and notes from the American League:

  • In a separate article, Grant reports the Rangers have informed Jamey Wright he will not make the team, but the right-hander has decided to remain in camp. “If they change their minds, I’m still here,” said Wright, who is an Article XX(B) free agent. “But, if not, I’m showcasing for all the other teams.” As an Article XX(B) free agent, the Rangers must pay Wright a $100K retention bonus, if they decide to keep him in their organization.
  • Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez has an appointment with Dr. James Andrews on Wednesday increasing speculation his recent MRI results could lead to Tommy John surgery and the end to his season before it begins, according to Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal.
  • Despite the uncertain status of Vazquez, the Red Sox have not engaged the Blue Jays about Dioner Navarro, tweets CBSSports.com’s Jon Heyman. With Vazquez’s injury, Heyman notes the Red Sox will give prized catching propsect Blake Swihart an extended look during the final week of Spring Training.
  • James Schmehl of MLive.com tweets he wouldn’t be surprised if the Tigers take a flyer on James Russell, even though the left-hander has had a terrible spring. The 29-year-old was released by the Braves Sunday morning.
  • The Tigers will only go as far as their veteran stars take them, but there is some important young talent on the roster and their performance could prove pivotal as the franchise bids for its fifth straight AL Central title, opines MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince.
  • Twins GM Terry Ryan did not address whether Mike Pelfrey has requested a trade in the wake of the right-hander’s comments yesterday after losing the battle for a rotation spot, tweets Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Pelfrey threw one inning of perfect relief against the Orioles today needing just eight pitches in lowering his spring ERA to 1.23.
  • Ryan Madson, in camp with the Royals on a minor league contract, calls his comeback from elbow injuries “a challenge” and knows he can pitch again at the MLB level, writes MLB.com’s Barry Bloom. “If it doesn’t happen here, I will see if there’s any other interest and will go from there,” said Madson, who has a May 1st opt-out. “I mean, I came in not knowing whether I could pitch on consecutive days or three times a week, and now I’m past that. I know what I can do and I want to pitch again in the Major Leagues.“

Blue Jays Claim Andy Wilkins

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The Blue Jays have announced they have claimed first baseman Andy Wilkins off waivers from the White Sox. Toronto immediately optioned the 26-year-old to Triple-A Buffalo where he will serve as organizational depth at first base.

Wilkins made his MLB debut last year with the White Sox appearing in 17 games slashing .140/.178/.186 in 45 plate appearances. Wilkins spent the majority of 2014 at Triple-A, his first full season at that level, and batted .293/.338/.558 with 30 home runs in 529 trips to the plate.

MLBTR Originals

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A look back at the original reporting and analysis found on MLBTR this past week:

  • MLB Trade Rumors Podcast featured host Jeff Todd discussing the Christian Yelich extension with MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. Later in the podcast, as a follow up to his St. Patrick’s Day post naming Gerrit Cole as an extension candidate for the Pirates, Jeff and MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth weighed the likelihood of a Cole extension, along with other possible Pittsburgh candidates. A new edition of MLB Trade Rumors Podcast drops every Thursday and can be accessed on iTunes, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.
  • Zach Links visited Blue Jays camp and spoke with Dioner Navarro and Daniel Norris about how they have handled the trade rumors surrounding them.
  • “I think I’m at that point where I don’t even pay attention anymore, whether it’s here or somewhere else,” Navarro told Zach. “I’m just trying to get ready and let my agent do what he’s gotta do. If he gets something done, he’ll let me know.“
  • “At first it was like, I would never see it, but I would always get text messages from buddies back home like, ’Dude, are you getting traded?’ and they’d send me screenshots of MLB Trade Rumors and I’m like, ’What the heck?’” Norris explained to Zach. “But, at the end of the day, it’s just about throwing a baseball. It’s not like I can say, ’Hey, please don’t trade me, I like your organization.’ So you just have to take whatever is given to you.“
  • Jeff continued his review of the 2014-15 free agent spending by considering the context of multi-year contracts.
  • Tim Dierkes concluded his Out Of Options 2015 series (the 40-man roster players who have less than five years service time and are out of minor league options, per MLBTR sources) with his survey of the AL Central, NL Central, and NL East. Tim also combined the division-by-division breakdowns into one all-encompassing list sorted alphabetically by team.
  • Charlie posited a five-year contract extension worth $55-60MM with a team option and a player/vesting option is a fair deal for the Padres and right-hander Tyson Ross.
  • There were four installments of MLBTR’s Offseason In Review series this week: Cardinals (by Charlie), Giants (by Mark Polishuk), Astros and Twins (both by Steve Adams).
  • Charlie listed the teams who could be big spenders next winter.
  • Steve hosted the weekly live chat.
  • Zach gathered the best the baseball corner of the web had to offer in Baseball Blogs Weigh In.

West Notes: Trumbo, Chacin, Angels, Ethier, Quentin

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The dark side of Venezuelan baseball players reaping the riches of their profession is their family members, who decline to move permanently to the United States and remain in Venezuela, become targets of kidnappers. Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News chronicles the kidnapping attempt made on the brother of Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus last year. Fortunately, Andrus provided his brother’s family with armed bodyguards and they thwarted the attempt after being fired upon and struck in their bulletproof vests. “This happens with everybody who has family there,” said Andrus. “It’s easy for them to kidnap people and ask for money. And everybody knows how much money the players make. They can Google it. It’s just not safe. You have to take steps. It was pretty shocking, for sure.”

In other news and notes from baseball’s West divisions:

  • The Diamondbacks will not alleviate their outfield surplus by trading Mark Trumbo, reports CBSSports.com’s Jon Heyman. “We are not moving Trumbo,” GM Dave Stewart said. “Trumbo is a proven bat. Tough to move him for an unknown.” Stewart went even further with the New York Post’s Joel Sherman (Twitter link) telling the scribe he will not trade any of his outfielders because he values the depth.
  • The Rockies are to be commended for releasing Jhoulys Chacin because a team must change direction if a player isn’t performing and the right-hander wasn’t, tweets Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post.
  • The Angels enter 2015 with the most financial flexibility they have had in four years, but will wait until mid-season to decide if or how to spend that payroll, according to MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez. The Angels’ most likely area of need is second base with Gonzalez naming the Phillies’ Chase Utley, the Reds’ Brandon Phillips, the Diamondbacks’ Aaron Hill, and the Mets’ Daniel Murphy as possible targets.
  • The Dodgers’ pitching depth is sorely being tested in the wake of the team shutting down Hyun-jin Ryu with shoulder inflammation, notes MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick.
  • Andre Ethier tells Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com he isn’t monitoring trade rumors online or with his agent and he isn’t counting the number of scouts in attendance at the Dodgers’ Spring Training games. Ethier has said he is open to a trade and the club is reportedly willing to eat as much as half of the $56MM remaining on the outfielder’s contract to facilitate a swap, but have yet to find any takers.
  • Carlos Quentin asked to see some reps at first base in an attempt to earn more at-bats with the Padres, which could also make him more attractive to other teams, writes MLB.com’s Corey Brock.
  • Peter Gammons of DailyGammons.com opines some have been cynical of San Diego’s offseason overhaul, but a healthy and productive Matt Kemp can become the poster person of this new age for the Padres.

Rockies Release Jhoulys Chacin

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The Rockies have granted right-hander Jhoulys Chacin his unconditional release, tweets MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez. The Rockies and Chacin had agreed to a one-year, $5.5MM deal to avoid arbitration back in January. The Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders tweets Colorado will save $4.14MM by releasing Chacin now.

“It’s obviously a difficult decision to make,” Rockies GM Jeff Bridich told Root Sports Rocky Mountain (transcript courtesy of MLB.com’s Thomas Harding). “With what has transpired here in camp, and the way things have gone just from a pitching standpoint, a competition standpoint, that looking at it, Jhoulys didn’t have a spot on our club.”

The move comes one day after Chacin allowed four runs on seven hits during three innings of work against the Dodgers. “I’m surprised,” Chacin told Nick Groke of The Denver Post. “I didn’t expect it at this time, but now I have a chance to find something else. But my heart will always be with the Rockies.”

Chacin, who was battling for a spot in the Rockies rotation, saw his 2014 campaign cut short after only 11 starts and 63 1/3 innings (5.40 ERA, 6.0 K/9, and 4.0 BB/9) because of right shoulder inflammation. It was just two seasons ago the 27-year-old put together a mark of 3.47 ERA, 5.7 K.9, and 2.8 BB/9 while throwing 197 1/3 innings (31 starts) for the Rockies. With teams like the Rays looking for starting pitching reinforcements, it would not be surprising for someone to take a flyer on Chacin even though, as noted in a second Saunders tweet, he is struggling to regain his velocity. Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets the Rangers will discuss Chacin, but are unlikely to sign him.

David Hale, Jon Gray, Eddie Butler and Christian Bergman are the leading in-house contenders to replace Chacin in the Rockies’ starting rotation.

Cafardo On Roster Size, Cueto, Moncada, Maddon

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Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe opines baseball needs to expand its roster and suggests a 28-man limit with 25 eligible on game day. MLB spokesman Pat Courtney told Cafardo there have been discussions about roster expansion, but nothing has advanced. There are obstacles with increased salaries and insurances costs, but those issues, according to Cafardo, are outweighed by the 162-game schedule becoming too much for a player’s body to handle. Cafardo also proposes baseball convene a panel of players who avoided the disabled list throughout their careers to determine if there are any patterns to their remaining healthy.

In other items from Cafardo’s Sunday Baseball Notes column:

  • According to one GM, Johnny Cueto “will get a Max Scherzer deal” if the Reds right-hander can put together a 15-20-win season. Cueto ranks fifth on MLBTR’s 2016 Free Agent Power Rankings list.
  • The Yankees were given the opportunity to top the Red Sox’s $31.5MM offer to Yoan Moncada, but declined. “We scouted him extensively for years,” Yankees GM Brian Cashman said. “I feel we put him through the highest level of scouting and medical evaluation. I just wasn’t comfortable offering what we actually offered ($25MM), let alone going any higher.“
  • For now, the Red Sox will play Moncada at second base, but his eventual position will depend on Boston’s needs in the next couple of years.
  • The tampering allegation made by the Rays over the Cubs’ hiring of Joe Maddon is still alive.
  • The Red Sox are showcasing Jemile Weeks, likely ticketed for Triple-A, as a super utility player and may be able sell fairly high on him with the Tigers one of the teams in the market for such a player.

 

MLBTR Originals

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A look back at the original reporting and analysis found on MLBTR the last seven days:

Minor Moves: Ben Francisco, Jiwan James

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Here are Sunday’s minor moves from around MLB:

  • The Diamondbacks announced they have released outfielder Ben Francisco. Arizona signed the 33-year-old to a minor league deal last December after he spent 2014 with the independent Atlantic League’s Lancaster Barnstormers posting a line of .242/.303/.390 in 244 plate appearances (57 games). Francisco, who was 1-for-8 during his Spring Training run with the Diamondbacks, last played a MLB game in 2013 and has a career mark of .253/.323/.418 covering parts of seven seasons with the Indians, Phillies, Blue Jays, Astros, Rays, and Yankees.
  • The Tigers have signed outfielder Jiwan James after he participated in the team’s tryout camp last week, tweets MLB.com’s Jason Beck. The 25-year-old had signed last month with the Bridgeport Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League. Before being sidelined the past two seasons for surgery on his knee and for Crohn’s Disease, James was a top prospect for the Phillies being ranked on multiple occasions by Baseball America as the organization’s best athlete, fastest runner, and best defensive outfielder.

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