Athletics Agree To Terms With Brett Anderson
The Athletics have agreed to a contract with veteran lefty Brett Anderson, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. It’s a minors deal, but other terms are not yet known.
If the deal becomes official, Anderson will return to the place where he first broke into the majors back in 2009. He turned in strong efforts for Oakland for parts of five seasons, working to a cumulative 3.81 ERA over 450 2/3 innings. Of course, that only worked out to about ninety frames per season, as Anderson dealt with a variety of injuries.
Anderson has had his successes since leaving the A’s, as well. In particular, he turned in a strong effort in 2015 for the Dodgers, making over thirty starts for the first time since his rookie year and finishing with a 3.69 ERA over 180 1/3 frames. That earned Anderson a qualifying offer, which he accepted for the ensuing season.
Unfortunately, Anderson has been neither healthy nor effective since that point. The 2016 season was mostly lost to back surgery. And Anderson limped to a 6.34 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 55 1/3 innings last year after landing with the Cubs on a make-good contract.
There are still some signs of hope, however. Anderson is still just 30 years of age. Last year, he still managed fairly typical fastball velocity, posted an 8.8% swinging-strike rate that was the second highest of his career, and generated a typically solid 49.2% groundball rate. Anderson also may have suffered from some poor fortune with a .364 BABIP and 60.9% strand rate, though Statcast felt the results largely matched expectations based upon the quality of contact he surrendered.
Justin Turner Diagnosed With Broken Wrist
TODAY: Turner will not require surgery to repair the fracture, he tells MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick (Twitter link). In fact, he’ll be able to begin working on regaining his range of motion after spending a few days in a brace. That seems like generally promising news, though clearly Turner will still be out to open the season.
YESTERDAY: Star Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner has been diagnosed with a broken left wrist after being hit by a pitch in tonight’s spring game, manager Dave Roberts said after the contest. (H/t Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, via Twitter). The unfortunate news strikes a blow to the defending National League champs less than two weeks before the start of the 2018 season.
Turner says it’s a “small, non-displaced fracture,” as Pedro Moura of The Athletic tweets, though we’ll need to await further information before it’s clear how long he’ll be out. Precise details of the injury, as well as its course of treatment and how the veteran proceeds through rehab, will obviously dictate the timeline. It seems clear, based upon generally similar past injuries, that Turner won’t be available for Opening Day and will be out for at least six weeks or so.
The 33-year-old Turner has been among the game’s more productive players in recent seasons. While he has dealt with some injuries, only once appearing in over 130 games since breaking out in Los Angeles, Turner has racked up 18.8 rWAR and 18.2 fWAR over the past four campaigns. He was never better at the plate than in 2017, when he posted an outstanding .322/.415/.530 slash with 21 home runs and more walks (59) than strikeouts (56) over 543 plate appearances.
Replacing that production isn’t reasonably possible, though the Dodgers are about as well-equipped as any team to do so. The club can bump Logan Forsythe to the hot corner while utilizing any number of players at second base. Veteran Chase Utley will no doubt see plenty off time against right-handers, as had already been expected, while versatile right-handed hitters Austin Barnes and Enrique Hernandez will surely also factor into the infield mix.
The injury to Turner will open an opportunity for another player to join the roster to open the season. It’s possible the club could carry an infielder such as Jake Peter or Donovan Solano, neither of whom is on the 40-man, though perhaps the likelier scenario is to keep another outfielder while utilizing Hernandez more on the dirt. Los Angeles is facing tough decisions on players such as Matt Kemp, Joc Pederson, Andrew Toles, and the out-of-options Trayce Thompson, so the injury to Turner could allow the club to keep one more of those names. Alternatively, the Dodgers could break camp with Kyle Farmer as a reserve catcher while giving Barnes more time at second base. Needless to say, there are plenty of possibilities.
Diamondbacks Release Antonio Bastardo, Reassign Neftali Feliz
The Diamondbacks have released veteran lefty Antonio Bastardo, per a club announcement. He had inked a minors deal with the organization back in January. That move was one among several that give some shape to the club’s pitching plans for the 2018 season.
Also departing MLB camp were righties Neftali Feliz and Jimmie Sherfy, the latter via optional assignment. Veteran position players Jeremy Hazelbaker and Christian Walker were also optioned, while backstop Anthony Recker was reassigned.
Bastardo and Feliz both landed with the Arizona organization in hopes of launching career turnarounds. The former would have earned a $1.5MM salary in the majors, with a hefty $4MM incentives package also available. Instead, neither player will have a MLB job out of camp — at least with the D-Backs.
The 32-year-old Bastardo certainly ought to have a chance to catch on elsewhere. After all, he turned in good results this spring, racking up nine strikeouts against just one walk in his 5 2/3 innings of action (though also surrendering two long balls). Though he struggled badly in 2017, Bastardo has long been a useful major-league reliever.
As for Feliz, 29, he’s also coming off of a rough campaign in which he managed only a 5.48 ERA over 46 innings. He seemed a reasonable bounceback target given his strong 2016 output, but has struggled in camp. In six innings, Feliz has been tagged for six earned runs on ten hits while recording just three strikeouts to go with three walks.
Angels, Rays Complete C.J. Cron Trade
The Angels have acquired infielder Luis Rengifo from the Rays, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). He becomes the player named later in the deal that sent first baseman C.J. Cron to Tampa Bay about a month ago.
Rengifo, 21, joined the Mariners organization in 2014 as an international signee from Venezuela. He went to the Rays in a multi-player swap last August. Rengifo spent last year at the Class A level, where he posted a .250/.316/.397 batting line with a dozen home runs and 34 steals over 554 plate appearances.
NL Notes: Grandal, Mets, Leiter, Straily
While it seemed at one point he profiled as a trade candidate, Yasmani Grandal will enter the season expected to receive the bulk of the playing time behind the dish for the Dodgers, skipper Dave Roberts tells reporters including Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter). Grandal, 29, had been bypassed late last year by Austin Barnes, who turned in a breakout campaign in his first season of significant MLB action. Grandal still put up a quality overall season with the bat and has raked this spring, while Barnes has struggled at the plate in Cactus League action. Regardless, the organization seems to have an excellent tandem to work with.
Here’s more from the National League:
- Tim Britton of The Athletic (subscription link) examines the Mets‘ pitching plans, focusing on the multi-inning capabilities of anticipated relievers Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman. Skipper Mickey Callaway explains that “to put a [starter] in the bullpen and all of a sudden start using him like a traditional reliever would be a mistake,” so there are elements of both need and opportunity in the approach that the organization seems to be lining up. The practicalities will also impact the precise way the staff is deployed, as Britton explores in detail, with Callaway emphasizing that it’ll ultimately be a process that unfolds as the season goes on with “constant communication” between coaches and pitchers.
- We’re still awaiting further word on the health of Phillies hurler Mark Leiter. As Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com was among those to tweet yesterday, the 27-year-old has experienced forearm tightness, which can be a symptom of a worrying elbow issue. Leiter, who turned in 90 2/3 innings of 4.96 ERA ball in his debut season of 2017, is all the more important to the Philadelphia staff with Jerad Eickhoff sidelined to open the year.
- The Marlins are taking a look at a notable arm of their own, as Craig Mish of Sirius XM tweets that righty Dan Straily has been diagnosed with a “slight elbow strain.” In a subsequent announcement, the team called it “mild right forearm inflammation” and said Straily won’t throw for five or six days. (H/t MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro, via Twitter.) That said, Straily — who the Marlins held onto despite moving other veteran assets over the winter — may not be ready to open the season, which would leave a big hole in an already-patchworked Miami rotation. The Fish also announced today that young righty Sandy Alcantara has been optioned, so he’s evidently not in the plans for the early-season rotation. Roster Resource now predicts that Jacob Turner will claim a roster spot out of camp.
Mariners To Sign Erik Goeddel
The Mariners have agreed to a contract with right-hander Erik Goeddel, MLBTR has learned. Terms of the agreement are not known at this time.
Goeddel was cut loose by the Rangers just yesterday after spending the bulk of camp with the Texas organization. He struck out six and walked two batters in his 5 2/3 Cactus League frames, but also allowed four earned runs on seven hits.
Clearly, that brief showing isn’t enough to draw any firm conclusions, but the Rangers obviously decided to go with other options after watching Goeddel’s work. For the M’s, it seems likely Goeddel will take up a spot on the depth chart — unless he can make a surprising late-spring run at an active roster spot.
The 29-year-old hurler has seen a fair bit of action with the Mets over the past several seasons and has shown some promise. In 104 2/3 total MLB frames, he owns a 3.96 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9. As that strikeout rate suggests, Goeddel gets his share of whiffs. Last year, indeed, Goeddel ran up a career-high 15.2% swinging-strike rate. But he also allowed home runs on over twenty percent of the balls put in the air against him at both the MLB and Triple-A levels.
Rangers Release Darwin Barney, Erik Goeddel
The Rangers have granted the releases of both infielder Darwin Barney and righty Erik Goeddel, the club announced today. Both will return to the open market in search of a better opportunity with another organization.
Barney, 32, was left without much of a path to the Rangers roster when the team decided to hold onto Jurickson Profar as a utility infielder. Though he has spent most of his career at second base, where he’s a decorated defender, Barney has also seen action on the left side of the infield in recent seasons. The eight-year MLB veteran is a career .246/.294/.341 hitter.
As for Goeddel, 29, he has shown an ability to get some swings and misses in the majors, reaching a 15.2% swinging-strike rate in 2017. But he has also run into increasing problems with the long ball in recent years. Last year, he allowed more than two homers per inning at both the Triple-A and MLB levels.
Franklin Perez Out Three Months With Strained Lat
Top Tigers prospect Franklin Perez has been diagnosed with a right lat strain, per a team announcement. Though he isn’t expected to require surgery, Perez is going to be sidelined for “a minimum of 12 weeks.”
Perez, 20, was the centerpiece of the major, last-second swap that sent Justin Verlander from Detroit to the eventual world-champion Astros. He’s widely considered the Tigers’ top prospect and one of the fifty or so most promising pre-MLB players in baseball.
Certainly, the near-term Detroit rotation won’t be any different as a result of this news. Despite his immense promise, Perez was not going to be on the major-league roster to open the season. And there’s no reason to expect that Perez’s anticipated timeline for MLB readiness will be drastically altered — let alone that this is an injury that could jeopardize his future.
Still, the timing of the injury means that Perez will at least lose something like half of the coming season. With the Tigers sure to take an ultra-cautious approach to his rehab, and the need for a full reset of his throwing program, Perez may be sidelined for quite some time.
It’s certainly possible, then, that Perez’s ultimate MLB debut will end up being pushed back somewhat owing to the lat problem, which the team says arose in a recent minor-league spring outing. Given that he reached the Double-A level in 2017, Perez might have profiled as a potential candidate for a promotion as soon as the middle of the coming season.
While it would be foolish to guess at when Perez might now first be considered for a first appearance at the game’s highest level, the situation is now different for the rebuilding Tigers. That may not entirely be a bad thing — perhaps the club won’t face a service-time quandary this time next year, for instance — though surely the preference would be for the club’s prized farmhand to have a full and healthy season of development.
Braves Reassign Ronald Acuna To Minor League Camp
The Braves have re-assigned much-hyped prospect Ronald Acuna to minor-league camp, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was among those to report on Twitter. He’ll presumably open the season at Triple-A.
It’s rarely notable when a 20-year-old is moved out of major-league camp. Then again, it’s fairly rare even to see a player of that age on the MLB side in the first place.
Acuna is a particularly special case. He began the 2017 season as a highly-regarded but largely untested youngster and finished the campaign as arguably the game’s best overall prospect after blitzing up the minor-league ladder. He opened at High-A and ended at Triple-A, improving his output all the while. Acuna finished with a cumulative .325/.374/.522 slash over 612 trips to the plate, adding 21 long balls and 44 steals to go with it.
Recent developments have only raised Acuna’s profile further. He mashed his way through the Arizona Fall League and has laid waste to the Grapefruit League this spring, posting a .432/.519/.727 batting line with four home runs and four swiped bags in 52 plate appearances.
There’s not much question that Acuna is ready for the majors. But the Braves are evidently not quite ready for him to join the active roster. That’s hardly a surprise, as the organization has consistently indicated Acuna would open in the minors, but it remains quite notable.
It’s impossible to ignore the service-time factors at play here. So long as Acuna is not allowed to accrue 172 days of service in the coming season, he won’t accrue a full season of MLB service. That would allow the Braves to play him in the majors for most of the upcoming campaign while still controlling him for six full seasons after that point. (Of course, the club might also try to hold him down long enough to prevent future Super Two status, though that would be yet a harder sell.)
Of course, even a delay of a few weeks’ time can have an impact on a team’s won-loss record. But that’s not a particularly pressing concern for this organization. While Atlanta had been looking to 2018 as a season to gear up for contention, a series of events — the poor finish to 2017, stunning front office upheaval, and big salary swapping trade that pushed financial obligations forward — seemingly conspired to change the plans.
In that regard, the considerations are a bit different than in the much-discussed case of then-top-prospect Kris Bryant back in 2015. Bryant, who was also a good deal older than Acuna, started in the minors despite a torrid spring and was held down just long enough for the Cubs to ensure that additional season of control. He played in 151 games after arriving and helped lead the team to a postseason berth.
We’ve never yet seen a situation as eyebrow-raising as Bryant’s and probably never will. But Acuna is certainly in the same general category: a super-premium prospect who has shown everything needed to prove he’s ready — at least from an on-field perspective — to play at the game’s highest level. Instead, the Braves will at least open the year with some kind of platoon in left field, likely featuring some combination of Lane Adams, Charlie Culberson, Danny Santana, Preston Tucker, and/or Ezequiel Carrera.
Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos explained his thought process to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, stating that Acuna’s own developmental needs were the primary concern. Atlanta’s new top baseball decisionmaker also suggested he would not have been as inclined as the prior front office group to move Acuna up so quickly last year.
It’ll be interesting to see whether or how the Major League Baseball Player’s Association addresses today’s decision by the Braves. The union has already felt squeezed on the free-agent side of the service-time spectrum, making it especially notable to see a top young talent handled in a manner seemingly designed (at least in part) to delay his entry onto the open market.
Royals Agree To Terms With Clay Buchholz
The Royals have agreed to a minor-league deal with righty Clay Buchholz, a report from Bob Nightengale of USA Today indicates (Twitter links). If the deal is finalized, Buchholz can earn at a $1.5MM rate in the majors.
Buchholz can also reach up to $250K in incentives. He’d earn $25K apiece for making his tenth through 19th starts, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets. The contract also includes an opt-out opportunity on May 1st.
Kansas City seems like a good spot for the veteran hurler to attempt a comeback. After all, the team’s rotation is not exactly overflowing with depth and the Royals have good cause to seek some low-risk upside after adding a few veterans on one-year deals.
[RELATED: Royals Depth Chart]
Buchholz, 33, missed virtually all of the 2017 season with a partially torn flexor pronator mass. The Phillies had acquired him from the Red Sox and assumed his $13.5MM salary. (Boston had picked up its club option over Buchholz in the final year of control under the extension the sides agreed to back in 2011.)
It’s tough to say what the Royals will get out of Buchholz, who had plenty of ups and downs even before his injury. He compiled 113 1/3 innings of 3.26 ERA ball in 2015, then struggled for much of the ensuing season while showing declines in strikeouts (6.0 K/9) and groundball induction (41.2% groundball rate). Yet Buchholz also finished the 2016 season on a tear, running up 44 frames of 2.86 ERA ball to close out the year.
First, though, the veteran starter will need to earn his way back to the majors. Presumably, he won’t be a candidate for the Opening Day roster, given that he has missed almost all of camp. But Buchholz could present an option if and when a rotation need arises.