Angels Sign Tim Lincecum
Former National League Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum is staying in California, but he’s changing leagues and donning a new uniform. The Angels announced on Friday that they’ve signed Lincecum to a one-year, Major League contract for the remainder of the 2016 season. Lincecum, a client of the Beverly Hills Sports Council, will reportedly earn a $2.5MM pro-rated base salary for his time in the Majors.
The veteran can also earn up to $1.7MM in incentives under his new deal, though he’ll have to make the rotation and stay in it for much of the rest of the season to come close to maxing them out. Lincecum can earn four separate $125K roster bonuses upon his fourth, 30th, 60th, and 90th days on the active MLB roster, according to the Associated Press (via John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle; Twitter links). Days spent on the DL for a right hip injury won’t count toward the tally. The bigger chunk of Lincecum’s incentives are tied to games started. He’ll earn $25K upon his 11th start, $50K for his 13th, $100K if he makes a 15th, $200K for his 17th, and then $400K apiece if he can reach 19 and 21 starts. (For what it’s worth, that last mark looks to be out of the question unless Lincecum zips through the minors faster than expected.)
Los Angeles desperately needs solid innings with injuries running rampant throughout its staff. That dovetailed nicely with the availability of the soon-to-be 32-year-old righty, who put on a showcase about two weeks ago that drew wide attention around the league. Observers were interested to see how he looked after undergoing surgery last September to repair a hip that had seemed to further limit an already-diminished pitcher.
It remains to be seen just how much Lincecum has left in the tank, but obviously the hope is that he can at least provide a serviceable option for the Halos. Scouting reports suggested that Lincecum didn’t look like the two-time Cy Young winner of yore, but still profiled at least as a useful major league swingman. Per Eric Longenhagen, writing for ESPN.com, the one-time ace was working around the 90 mph level with his fastball, which is where he sat between 2012 and 2014.
That viewpoint on Lincecum’s stuff is certainly reflected in the price that the Angels will pay for his services, as is his recent track record. It’s tempting to see this as an upside play, but realistically it’s been quite a long time since Lincecum looked like the top-line arm he once was. Since the start of 2012, when he was coming off of what was then a typically dominant season entering his age-28 campaign, Lincecum has run up a 4.68 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 over 615 2/3 frames. Even as his walk rate has trended upward, he’s seen a year-over-year decline in strikeouts-per-nine over that four-year span.
Lincecum’s timeline remains unclear, but he’s said to have already reached 90 pitches several times in pen sessions and evidently waited to sign until he had built up his arm strength. On the one hand, that means that the Halos may not be able to hope for much gain in the velocity department, though he could still build up somewhat in live game action. On the other, it suggests that he may not require much more than a typical rehab trip through the minors.
Yahoo’s Jeff Passan reported that the two sides were closing in on a Major League deal and that Lincecum would take his physical on Thursday of this week (links to Passan on Twitter). Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported that Lincecum had passed his physical and reported his base salary (Twitter links) as well as his incentives (link).
Josh Reddick Suffers Fractured Left Thumb
Athletics outfielder Josh Reddick left tonight’s game with what has been diagnosed as a fractured left thumb, MLB.com’s Jane Lee reports (Twitter links). That represents a major blow for an A’s club that has already been hit hard by injuries.
Reddick will need to be checked by a specialist before a specific course of action or timetable can be established. But the veteran says he says he expects at least a four-to-six week absence, per Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter).
The 29-year-old has been a key contributor and important asset for the Oakland organization. He’s off to a blistering .322/.394/.466 start at the plate over 165 plate appearances. Even though fielding metrics aren’t crediting him with the same quality glovework he displayed for years out in right, Reddick is also a valuable contributor on the bases and is producing at career-best rates with the bat.
The loss of Reddick could tell in several ways, depending in large part on the length of his absence. Most immediately, he’ll obviously be missed in the lineup, which certainly doesn’t help the A’s chances of remaining in the hunt in the AL West. Beyond that, Reddick has frequently been mentioned as a possible trade target for teams needing help in the outfield. If he’s not able to return to health before the trade deadline, the A’s could lose an important chip if they do decide to sell. Of course, Oakland and Reddick have long been said to have mutual interest in an extension that would keep him off of the open market following this season. In some regards, the injury could actually make that more plausible, though last we checked talks did not seem to be taking place.
And, at an individual level, Reddick’s injury is poorly timed. The 29-year-old, to this point in the season, has done well to build up his stock heading into his first bite at free agency. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes recently rated him fourth on his Free Agent Power Rankings, noting that his consistently solid production and the weak class of free agents could ultimately net Reddick a five-year deal. While that could still very well be the case if Reddick comes back strong, lingering effects from a notable hand injury could potentially have a negative impact on his earning power.
With Mark Canha shelved for the season and Sam Fuld on the 60-day DL, the Athletics are already shorthanded in the outfield. Coco Crisp and Khris Davis will presumably see most of the action in the corner spots, with Billy Burns playing up the middle, but the organization’s ability to provide rest and play matchups will be hampered. That alignment is also of significant consequence for Oakland due to the option status of Crisp. As MLBTR’s Steve Adams noted on Thursday morning, Crisp isn’t too far off pace to see his $13MM vesting option trigger, and increased playing time during Reddick’s absence figures to accelerate that pace. As far as replacement options for Reddick, both Andrew Lambo and Jake Smolinski are at Triple-A and already on the 40-man roster, though neither is setting the world on fire at the plate in the early going.
East Notes: Harvey, Werth, MASN Dispute, Travis, Yanks, Fredi
Matt Harvey‘s dreadful outing tonight has left the Mets uncertain as to whether he’ll be on the hill for his next scheduled start, which also comes against the division-rival Nationals. Skipper Terry Collins said after the game that he hadn’t yet decided whether to give the ball to Harvey in D.C., as Mike Puma of the New York Post was among those to report (Twitter links). “We will take a hard look at what the next move is going to be,” said Collins. Harvey’s earned run average has ballooned to an ugly 5.77 over his first 48 1/3 frames on the year. It does seem fair to note that the peripherals suggest Harvey has suffered from some bad luck, with ERA estimators crediting him with a sub-4.00 effort entering the day, though his effort this evening will hurt those figures and he’s lost just over a tick on his average fastball. Meanwhile, Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post draws the inevitable comparisons between Harvey and Nats ace Stephen Strasburg, who had a strong showing to pick up the win.
Here’s more from the eastern divisions:
- Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth agreed last fall to a new payout structure for his contract, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. Under the agreement, Werth has deferred $10MM of his salary this year until 2018, at a 5% interest rate. That continues a pattern of postponed paydays in Washington’s player contracts, which is in some part a reflection of the team’s efforts to deal with an ongoing television-rights dispute with the Orioles and the Baltimore-controlled Mid-Atlantic Sports Network.
- Commissioner Rob Manfred addressed that TV battle today, as Svrluga reports. As things stand, the parties are appealing a lower court’s refusal to enforce a determination by the league’s Revenue Sharing Definitions Committee, putting a hold on the Nationals‘ efforts to recoup additional rights fees for past years and increase their future take. Manfred had harsh words for the Orioles‘ actions in the matter. “It is important to bear in mind the fundamentals,” he said. “The fundamentals are that the Orioles agreed that the RSDC would set the rights fees for MASN and the Orioles every five years. The Orioles have engaged in a pattern of conduct designed to avoid that agreement being effectuated.” MASN issued a counter-statement saying that Manfred was ignoring “the fundamentals of the case” — namely, the court’s findings of a conflict of interest (based on the law firm that represented the Nationals) — and stating that the RSDC had failed to use an appropriate method for setting the rights fees. If you’re interested in the gory details, you can find a recap of the trial court decision here.
- The departure of David Ortiz and reemergence of Hanley Ramirez leaves the Red Sox with both opportunity and uncertainty at first base. Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com suggests that youngster Sam Travis could keep the team from needing to add a major bat via free agency. The 2014 second-rounder has risen quickly, and is currently putting up a solid .281/.338/.438 batting line over his first 160 plate appearances at the Triple-A level at 22 years of age. Pawtucket hitting coach Rich Gedman credits Travis with being aggressive without seeking to hit the ball out of the park, suggesting that he’s a polished and well-rounded hitter.
- Entering the day in last place in the AL East, the Yankees need to seriously consider prioritizing future improvements over their 2016 prospects, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney argues (Insider link). Olney ticks through a variety of ways — including allocation of playing time and weighing trades — that New York can and should shift its focus to 2017, suggesting a sort of realistic re-tooling rather than any kind of full rebuilding project.
- Deposed Braves skipper Fredi Gonzalez tells MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM that he’s looking forward to other opportunities now that he’s lost his post in Atlanta. (Twitter link.) But he said that he isn’t necessarily looking for another job running a dugout. “I am looking forward to doing something in the game and it doesn’t have to be managing,” said Gonzalez.
MLBTR Live Chat: 5/19/16
Click here to read a transcript of today’s chat with MLBTR’s Jeff Todd.
Minor MLB Transactions: 5/18/16
Here are today’s minor moves:
- Right-hander Sean O’Sullivan cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A by the Red Sox, per Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal (Twitter link). O’Sullivan, who has been outrighted in the past and had the option of rejecting an outright assignment in favor of free agency, will instead accept the assignment, tweets Cotillo. The well-traveled 28-year-old made a pair of starts and a relief appearance for the Sox before being designated for assignment, yielding 10 runs on 19 hits and a couple of walks with seven strikeouts in 11 1/3 innings. In parts of seven big league seasons, O’Sullivan has a 6.03 ERA in 313 2/3 innings.
Earlier Moves
- The Bridgeport Bluefish have signed a pair of former big league hurlers, the club announced. Righty Blake Beavan and lefty Robert Carson will be joining the indy league club. Beavan, 27, owns a 4.61 ERA with 4.2 K/9 against 1.4 BB/9 over 293 MLB innings, all with the Mariners. The former first round pick pitched briefly at the Triple-A level last year for the Diamondbacks, but did not catch on with another organization after his mid-year release. Also 27, Carson appeared briefly in 2012 and 2013 with the Mets. He spent time with Bridgeport last year and had been pitching in Mexico early in 2016, with a 6.28 ERA over his 28 2/3 innings.
- Infielder Ed Lucas has been released by the Mariners, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports on Twitter. The 33-year-old had a nice season at Triple-A last year with the Rangers, but has only appeared in parts of two MLB campaigns — with the Marlins in 2013 and 2014. He was off to a .232/.265/.399 batting line in 147 plate appearances.
- Righty Javy Guerra has accepted his outright assignment with the Angels, per Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (Twitter link). Guerra cleared waivers yesterday. He’ll look to cut back on his walks upon his return to Triple-A Salt Lake and hope for another promotion to a big league team that’s cycling through plenty of arms.
Neal Cotts Exercises Opt-Out Clause In Contract With Angels
MAY 18: The Angels decided against adding Cotts to the 25-man roster and have released him, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo. He’s now a free agent and can sign with any club.
MAY 17: Veteran southpaw Neal Cotts has exercised an opt-out clause in his deal with the Angels, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). That provision came with a May 15 date, so the team’s clock on deciding whether or not to add him to the active roster has already begun to run.
It’s not clear whether today represents the deadline for the Halos to act on Cotts, but such provisions typically have a 48-hour window. With numerous other pitching moves in the works for the organization — including a minor league deal for David Huff earlier today — it remains unclear whether he fits at the major league level.
Cotts, 36, joined the Angels on a minor league deal after he was released by the Astros late in the spring. He’s since thrown 13 2/3 innings at Triple-A, posting a 3.29 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9.
Cotts has generally been a sturdy option since re-emerging from a long layoff back in 2013 with the Rangers. Since that time, he’s run up a 3.03 ERA over 187 MLB frames, with 186 strikeouts against 63 walks.
Padres Acquire Jabari Blash From Mariners
3:47pm: Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune tweets that the Mariners will receive cash instead of a PTBNL in the deal.
3:06pm: The Padres have struck a deal to acquire outfielder Jabari Blash from the Mariners, per an announcement from Seattle. A player to be named later or cash will return to the M’s in the deal.
Blash, of course, has spent much of the year playing at the major league level for the Friars after being selected in the winter’s Rule 5 draft. San Diego designated him for assignment recently, and Blash evidently cleared waivers and was offered back to his original organization — the Mariners, who had declined to protect him in the offseason by adding him to their 40-man.
Clearly, the Padres are more enamored of Blash’s future prospects than is his former team. The 26-year-old will head to Triple-A to attempt to refine his hitting, which wasn’t possible when San Diego controlled his Rule 5 rights.
Blash struggled to a .120/.241/.160 batting line with 13 strikeouts in his first 29 trips to the plate in the majors. But he showed some promise last year in the upper minors compiling a .271/.370/.576 slash in 476 plate appearances in the upper minors.
West Notes: Henderson Alvarez, Yadier Alvarez, Tolleson, Dyson
The MRI results on the shoulder of Athletics righty Henderson Alvarez were inconclusive, manager Bob Melvin told reports, including Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links). They’ll be sent for a closer look by Dr. James Andrews, who performed his surgery. As things stand, then, it’s largely unknown when Alvarez will be able to re-start his rehab process and begin working back toward the big league hill.
Here are a few more notes from out west:
- Dodgers righty Yadier Alvarez is looking good at extended Spring Training, per a recent scouting report from new Fangraphs prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen. The review was glowing, with Longenhagen calling Alvarez one of the game’s most exciting pitching prospects on the basis of his athleticism, smooth mechanics, and high-octane stuff. You’ll want to give the write-up a full read for all the details, but it sounds as if the Dodgers have reason to like their big investment.
- The Rangers have formally moved Shawn Tolleson out of the closer role after his rough outing last night, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram was among those to report (Twitter links) Tolleson currently owns a 9.20 ERA and has blown three of his last five save opportunities.
- It appears that Sam Dyson will be first in line to take a shot at locking down the 9th inning for the Rangers, though it’s unclear how long a leash he’ll have. He’s worked to a 1.43 ERA with 7.7 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9 in 50 1/3 innings for the Rangers since coming over rather quietly in a trade last summer. With the chance to pad his resume with some saves, he could be in line for a nice payday this winter, when he’ll likely qualify for Super Two status after entering the season with 1.142 years of service on his ledger.
AL East Notes: Ortiz, HanRam, Smith, Matusz, Morales
Red Sox slugger David Ortiz sat down for an interesting interview with Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. His retirement tour has turned into a show of force, as the 40-year-old entered the day with a .311/.395/.674 slash that places him among the game’s most productive bats. He maintains that he’s “happy with the decision” to call it quits, citing wear and tear and family considerations, though he did drop an intriguing note to Passan. “Like I said, I’m good with the decision that I made right now,” said Ortiz. “But would you leave $25 million on the table? I don’t want nobody to offer me that.” Before leaping to conclusions, it’s worth recalling that Boston has a club option that could reach a maximum of $16MM in value, but it’s certainly hard to ignore the fact that Ortiz still seems as capable as ever of doing damage at the plate.
Here’s more from the AL East:
- Thus far in 2016, everything has come together for Hanley Ramirez in his second season with the Red Sox, as Rob Bradford of WEEI.com writes. His offensive production has caught up with the good vibes that his sunny attitude and smooth transition to first had already produced. At this point, the remaining $44MM on his contract looks like a reasonable investment, with Ramirez looking like an option at first and/or as a replacement for the outgoing Ortiz in the DH slot.
- Red Sox reliever Carson Smith has been slowed by ongoing elbow soreness, as Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald was among those to report on Twitter. That’s limited his availability recently, and has made another DL stint a possibility. As Alex Speier of the Boston Globe explores, the Boston pen hasn’t had quite the late-inning pop that was expected, particularly given Smith’s limitations and evidence of decline in Koji Uehara. The unit as a whole has still been plenty solid, but it’s still an area to watch for an organization that obviously hopes to make a deep run in 2016.
- The Orioles face a tough call on lefty Brian Matusz, writes Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com. He’s been hit hard after missing time early due to injury, giving up a lethal combination of free passes and home runs, though he says he’s healthy now. Connolly ticks through the options, which include simply placing Matusz on outright waivers. His $3.9MM salary is sure to clear, but the 29-year-old could keep his guarantee and reject an assignment. But unless a DL opportunity presents itself, Baltimore will otherwise be resigned to giving him a chance to pitch through his difficulties.
- Though he’s spent almost the entirety of the season on the DL, Franklin Morales is now guaranteed $2MM from the Blue Jays, as Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca explains in a tweet. The southpaw’s advance consent date has passed without action, so Toronto can no longer avoid the rest of the contract by cutting him loose.
Korea’s Samsung Lions Acquire Arnold Leon
The Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization have acquired right-hander Arnold Leon. Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net noted on Twitter that a move was in the works, and it’s since been announced by the team (via Yonhap News).
Leon, 27, had been pitching for the Blue Jays’ organization, which acquired him from the A’s for cash over the winter. He provided Oakland with 26 2/3 frames of 4.39 ERA ball last year, and had surrendered two earned runs in 2 1/3 MLB innings in 2016. Since being outrighted off of the 40-man, Leon has thrived in limited action at Triple-A Buffalo, where he’s allowed just three earned in a dozen frames with 16 strikeouts against just two walks.
It’s not clear what kind of release fee was negotiated, but it seems likely that Toronto received some compensation. Leon, meanwhile, will earn $500K in Korea, which he’s only have been able to take down in the majors if he stayed up all year. He is said to be Samsung’s replacement for Collin Balester, who was released after early struggles.