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Minor MLB Transactions: 2/10/17

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Here are the latest minor moves from around the league:

  • The Rangers have added backstop Brett Hayes on a minor-league deal, as Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News recently tweeted. Soon to turn 33, Hayes has appeared in seven MLB campaigns, though he has accumulated just 464 big league plate appearances in that span. He compiled a .205/.250/.359 lifetime batting line in the bigs. Last year, Hayes failed to crack the game’s highest level but spent time at Triple-A in the Diamondbacks and White Sox organizations.
  • Also joining the Rangers on a non-roster arrangement is righty Anthony Bass, according to SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter link). Bass, 29, spent last year pitching in Japan, where he put up 3.65 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 over 103 2/3 innings split between the rotation and bullpen. He had appeared in each of the five prior MLB seasons — most recently with Texas — pitching to a 4.40 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 across 278 1/3 frames.
  • Lefty Luis Perez is heading to the Indians on a minors pact, the club announced. Like Bass, the 32-year-old Perez will return from a NPB stint. He struggled with his control in a brief run with the Yakult Swallows and hasn’t seen the big leagues since 2013. In his three seasons with the Blue Jays, Perez compiled a 4.50 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 over 112 frames.
  • Outfielder Joey Butler is joining the Nationals on a minor-league deal, Matt Eddy of Baseball America tweets. Butler, who’ll turn 31 in March, scuffled last year at the Triple-A level with the Indians organization and never earned a call-up. But he had provided the Rays with 276 plate appearances of .276/.326/.416 hitting in the season prior.
  • The Twins inked a minors pact with outfielder Quintin Berry, Cotillo also tweets. The speedy Berry broke into the league in 2012 with the Tigers as a fourth outfielder, but hasn’t seen much big league time since. He appeared in every postseason round in both 2012 and 2013, receiving little in the way of playing time but nevertheless swiping five bases. Last year, the 32-year-old hit .261/.341/.313 and swiped 35 bags at the Triple-A level with the Angels and Blue Jays organizations.

Dodgers To Sign Franklin Gutierrez

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The Dodgers have agreed to sign outfielder Franklin Gutierrez, according to Manolo Hernandez of beisbolporgatas.com (via Twitter). He’ll earn $2.6MM and can tack on another $400K in incentives, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (Twitter link).

Jun 16, 2016; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Seattle Mariners right fielder Franklin Gutierrez (21) at bat against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Soon to turn 34, Gutierrez has revived his career over the past two seasons with the Mariners after a variety of health issues had derailed him. In addition to suffering a series of injuries, Gutierrez had struggled to play through gastritis, a stomach condition.

Making his return to the M’s in 2015, Gutierrez posted a stunning .292/.354/.620 batting line with 15 home runs over his 189 plate appearances. That earned him a MLB deal with Seattle for the 2016 campaign. While he wasn’t quite as good, Gutierrez posted a strong .246/.329/.452 slash and popped another 14 long balls.

There are some limitations, of course. Once an everyday player, Gutierrez was used almost exclusively against left-handed pitching last year. Historically, he has been much better against southpaws, too. And despite his former status as a top-quality defender in center, Gutierrez rated most recently as a subpar fielder in a corner spot (though metrics took a more optimistic view of his glovework in 2015).

[RELATED: Updated Dodgers Depth Chart]

For the platoon-happy Dodgers, Gutierrez figures to occupy a similar role as a weapon against lefties. His addition certainly complicates matters for the remaining options on hand. Scott Van Slyke and Darin Ruf figure to compete for space on the Opening Day roster (barring injury) as a part-time first baseman, corner outfielder, and/or bench bat, while players such as Trayce Thompson and Brett Eibner may be on the outside looking in.

Though he has long been associated with the Mariners, this is something of a homecoming for Gutierrez. He started his career with the Los Angeles organization, though he never suited up for the club at the major league level. According to Hernandez (via Twitter), the Giants were the other finalist for Gutierrez, perhaps suggesting that the Dodgers’ NL West rivals are still looking to add to their own corner outfield mix.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Diamondbacks Sign Tom Wilhelmsen

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The Diamondbacks have announced a minor-league deal with righty Tom Wilhelmsen. He’ll receive an invitation to participate in MLB camp; salary provisions and other terms remain unreported.

[RELATED: Updated D-Backs Depth Chart]

Wilhelmsen, 33, represents an interesting bounceback candidate for an Arizona team that has some potential openings. He’ll surely need to earn a spot in camp, but figures to have a solid chance of cracking the Opening Day roster.

The 2016 season was a tough one for Wilhelmsen, who had been a solid late-inning option for the Mariners before being dealt last winter to the Rangers. He scuffled badly in Texas, coughing up 25 earned runs on 38 hits in his 21 1/3 innings before being cut loose.

Things did improve when Wilhelmsen landed back with the M’s. He provided 25 frames of 3.60 ERA ball with 6.1 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9. Still, even those peripherals lagged his peak efforts. While Wilhelmsen still brought his fastball at a typical ~95 mph average velocity in 2016, he allowed far more contact on pitches in the zone (91.5%) than ever before (85.2% career average) and proved highly susceptible to the long ball (20.4% HR/FB rate and 2.14 HR/9).

Tigers Owner Mike Ilitch Passes Away

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Tigers owner Mike Ilitch has passed away at 87 years of age, Bill Shea of Crain’s Detroit Business reports on Twitter. MLBTR extends its condolences to his family and friends, as well as the entire Tigers organization.

In a press release, his son Christopher — who is the president and CEO of Ilitch Holdings, Inc. — called his father “a once-in-a-generation entrepreneur, visionary and leader.” A son of Macedonian immigrants, the elder Ilitch was born and raised in Detroit. He went on to own two of the city’s iconic sports franchises, the Tigers and the Red Wings of the NHL.

Ilitch spent five years in the U.S. Marine Corps after graduating from high school, and then joined the Tigers as an infielder. He ended up playing four seasons of minor-league ball before hanging up his spikes at 25 years of age. From there, according to the release, Ilitch worked as a door-to-door salesman to fund the opening of a pizza joint — the first Little Caesars.

After growing that small business into a massive, multi-national corporation, Ilitch expanded his business holdings. He bought the Red Wings in 1982, overseeing a golden era for that franchise, and took control of the Tigers in 1992.

While the hockey glories never quite carried over into the baseball arena, it wasn’t for lack of trying. Ilitch’s initial period of ownership was notable mostly for the Tigers’ poor play, but things began to turn around after he developed Comerica Park in a public-private partnership in advance of the 2000 season.

The tide broke in 2006, when the Tigers finally reached the postseason for the first time since 1987, advancing to the World Series (where they lost to the Cardinals). Detroit posted winning campaigns in eight of the next eleven seasons, returning to the playoffs four more times. The club made it to the Fall Classic once more in 2012, but again came up short.

Over his later years, Ilitch spared no expense to put a quality product on the field. The Tigers routinely placed among the game’s biggest spenders in player salaries, committing hundreds of millions of dollars annually to acquire and retain star-level talent.

Looking ahead for the Tigers organization, it seems that Christopher Ilitch will largely step into his father’s shoes. While there are indications that the club will look to streamline its finances, the younger Ilitch has expressed a similar passion for fielding a winning team.

Padres Considering Travis Wood, Jered Weaver

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The Padres are still working to add another arm to their rotation mix, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Lefty Travis Wood has joined righty Jered Weaver among the arms under consideration, per the report.

San Diego has steadily rebuilt its rotation on the cheap this winter, signing Jhoulys Chacin, Clayton Richard, and Trevor Cahill to budget-friendly, one-year deals. Evidently, the club remains interested in bolstering its depth with a fourth signing.

In all likelihood, says Rosenthal, the club would add just one of those two pitchers. Another previously rumored potential match, former Friars star Jake Peavy, could still be a fit but appears to be less likely at this juncture.

While we’ve heard plenty about the interest in Weaver over recent months, Wood is a new addition to the Padres’ picture. Recent reports suggest that multiple organizations are pursuing him as a starter, and he ought to hold appeal to others as a reliever, so it stands to reason that he’ll command a fair bit more money than the other arms San Diego has gathered thus far.

Wood, who just turned 30, has succeeded most recently as a reliever, posting 61 innings of 2.95 ERA ball last year for the Cubs. That said, metrics felt he was somewhat fortunate to generate those results. He failed to follow up on a jump in his strikeout rate that came with his move to the bullpen in 2015, falling from 10.5 K/9 that year to 6.9 K/9 in 2016, and posted unremarkable walk (3.5 BB/9) and groundball (37.4%) rates while benefiting from a .215 batting average on balls put in play against him.

Still, the Padres are among the teams that obviously feel Wood can not only contribute as a reliever, but return to being a useful starter. He has ample experience working from the rotation, having carried a 4.19 ERA over 776 frames between 2010 and 2015. As MLBTR’s Connor Byrne recently noted in discussing the Yankees’ interest in the veteran lefty, Wood has long made his flyball-heavy approach work by generating a healthy number of harmless infield flies. In 2016, he racked up those easy outs on 17.8% of batted balls, one of the highest rates in the majors.

 

White Sox Outright Kevan Smith

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The White Sox have outrighted catcher Kevan Smith to Triple-A, per a club announcement. He has already cleared waivers, it seems, as the organization says he’ll be a non-roster invitee. The move leaves the club with a free spot on its 40-man roster.

Smith, 28, earned his first brief call-up to the majors in 2016 after an injury to Alex Avila opened an opportunity. But he never really got much of a chance, as he was sidelined with back issues and ultimately saw action in just seven MLB contests.

Though he never rated as a top prospect, Smith has shown his share of promise. He put up .800+ OPS offensive years in 2013 (at High-A) and 2014 (at Double-A). But he owns a less exciting .245/.315/.380 batting line in his 565 Triple-A plate appearances over the past two seasons.

Blue Jays To Sign Jose Tabata

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The Blue Jays have struck a minor-league deal with outfielder Jose Tabata, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). Other terms of the arrangement remain unreported at this time.

Still just 28 years old, Tabata will be looking to spark a career revival in Toronto. Once a highly promising young talent, he was shipped to the Dodgers in the middle of the 2015 season in a bad-contract swap that sent Michael Morse back to the Pirates.

After two solid seasons to start his MLB career with the Bucs, Tabata signed an extension that the club hoped would deliver surplus value over its lengthy term (six guaranteed years with three options). But he struggled in the first season after signing and never developed into more than a part-time player in Pittsburgh. Hopes were raised by a solid 2013 campaign, in which he slashed .282/.342/.429 over 341 plate appearances, but Tabata fell off sharply thereafter.

Los Angeles paid down the remainder of the deal when it cut Tabata loose last summer, wrapping things up with a $250K buyout of a 2017 club option. He had failed to earn a return to the majors after a tepid start to the 2016 season at Triple-A, though he did exhibit his typically high-quality approach during a stint in the Mexican League. In 123 plate appearances for Quintana Roo, Tabata slashed .320/.439/.410 while drawing 18 walks against just 13 strikeouts.

NL Central Notes: Arb Cases, Kang, Bailey, Hammel, Cubs

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Though the Brewers and righty Chase Anderson participated in an arbitration hearing on Monday, they’ll have to wait a while longer to learn the results. As the Associated Press reports (via USA Today), MLB and the player’s union agreed to request that all first-year arb-eligible starters have their cases heard (or otherwise reach agreement) before any decisions are issued. Other effected players and teams include Michael Wacha of the Cardinals, Collin McHugh of the Astros, Jake Odorizzi of the Rays, Marcus Stroman of the Blue Jays, and Taijuan Walker of the Diamondbacks. The filing gaps in these cases are relatively narrow — McHugh’s case has the most at stake ($3.85MM versus $3.35MM) — but the decision will ensure that one case isn’t able to influence the others. In Anderson’s case, the panel is deciding between his $2.85MM submission and Milwaukee’s $2.45MM counter. You can find all of the filing figures and settlement amounts for this year’s arb class right here.

Here’s the latest out of the NL Central…

  • Pirates infielder Jung Ho Kang will stand trial on DUI charges on February 22nd, Jee-ho Yoo of Yonhap reports. That’s after the start of Pittsburgh’s spring camp, though it seems the trial itself won’t pose any major limitations on his availability. There are much broader concerns here, of course. Kang is obviously in need of a reevaluation of his decisionmaking — it’s his third such arrest — and it remains to be seen what kind of disciplinary and/or remedial action he might face from the court (if not also the commissioner’s office).
  • The latest surgery for Reds righty Homer Bailey represents yet another setback, but won’t necessarily force the club to make a 40-man roster move, as Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Referencing the team’s group of young rotation candidates, president of baseball operations Dick Williams said that “there will be an opportunity for the guys who are coming to assert themselves.” At the same time, the Reds will likely “at least look around to see if there are some options” available to bolster their depth.
  • The Cubs thought they were doing Jason Hammel a favor when they declined his $12MM option in November, thereby enabling him to reach free agency, but it ended up hurting the right-hander’s value, writes ESPN’s Buster Olney (subscription required). Hammel agreed to a two-year, $16MM deal with the Royals on Sunday, though it took nearly three months for him to find a job despite being one of the most accomplished starters available in a weak class of free agents. Rival teams inferred from the Cubs’ decision that the Theo Epstein-led franchise didn’t think Hammel was good enough to crack their rotation going forward, Olney suggests, and late-season elbow tightness didn’t help matters. The 34-year-old Hammel didn’t pitch past Sept. 24 — when he allowed six earned runs in a 2 1/3-inning start — meaning he missed the Cubs’ run to the World Series.
  • Meanwhile, Cubs senior VP of player development and amateur scouting Jason McLeod spoke recently about the state of the arms on the Chicago farm, as Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago reports. While the club lacks “impact starters at the upper levels,” he notes, there’s optimism more broadly. “We now feel really good, not just with the depth of the organization but having some major league starting impact guys who are at the the A-ball level and progressing toward Double-A now,” said McLeod, who also discussed the team’s hopes for just-acquired righty Eddie Butler.

Reds Sign Desmond Jennings

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FEBRUARY 9: Cincinnati has announced the signing of Jennings. He would earn $1.5MM in the majors, per Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter), with another $1MM available through incentives based upon how many games he appears in, according to MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon (Twitter link).

FEBRUARY 2: The Reds are nearing a deal with veteran outfielder Desmond Jennings, according to Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (via Twitter). It’ll be a minor league pact, tweets Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Jennings, 30, has been limited by leg injuries for the past two seasons. If he can stay healthy through camp, though, he ought to battle with players such as Arismendy Alcantara and Patrick Kivlehan for a bench role.

The right-handed-hitting veteran could make for a useful reserve or platoon piece to pair with center fielder Billy Hamilton (a switch-hitter) and odds-on right field favorite Scott Schebler (who hits from the left side). Though he was overtaken in center in Tampa Bay, Jennings has plenty of experience there. And metrics have graded him as an excellent defender in the corners.

Perhaps the biggest question with Jennings is whether he can restore his lost luster at the plate. Once a steadily average-or-better offensive producer with a nice blend of pop and speed, Jennings has failed to post an OPS over .700 in any of the past three campaigns.

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