Minor MLB Transactions: 2/18/16
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- The Brewers have released southpaw Pat Misch to enable him to pursue an opportunity with Japan’s Orix Buffaloes, the club announced on Twitter. Misch, 34, had been set to spend big league camp fighting for a job with Milwaukee after hooking on with a minor league deal back in January. It’s been quite some time since he appeared in the majors, but that doesn’t mean that the veteran hasn’t enjoyed an interesting career of late, as detailed by Baseball America’s John Manuel. Since several rough seasons stateside and a Tommy John procedure, Misch has consistently put up good numbers since the start of 2014. Along the way, he’s appeared in winter ball, indy ball, Triple-A (with the Marlins), and Taiwan’s top league. And at that last stop, Misch spun a no-hitter in Game 7 of the Taiwan Series.
Dodgers Sign Louis Coleman
The Dodgers have signed veteran righty Louis Coleman to a one-year deal, his representatives at Frontline Athlete Management announced. He’ll receive $750K in the MLB contract, per Devan Fink (via Twitter).
Set to turn 30 on Opening Day, Coleman has spent his entire career to this point with the Royals, but was designated and eventually released earlier this winter to clear the way for Ian Kennedy. He had agreed to a $725K arbitration contract, meaning that Kansas City will remain on the hook for thirty days of salary (or a shade less than $119K). Los Angeles will also have the chance to control him for two more years via arbitration.
Coleman appeared in only four big league games last year and struggled in 2014 as well. But he posted strong results at Triple-A, with a 1.69 ERA and 8.9 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 over 64 frames, and has put up some interesting results in the past.
Over a three-year run from 2011-13, Coleman was rather quietly excellent. He tallied 140 1/3 innings of 2.69 ERA pitching, racking up 10.3 K/9 vs. 3.7 BB/9 while surrendering less than seven hits per regulation game. Though his fastball sits in the 89 to 90 mph range and he otherwise relies heavily on just one offspeed pitch (a slider), Coleman has been able to generate huge swing and miss numbers at times.
AL Central Notes: Harrell, Uribe, Freese, Stammen, Hunter
Here’s the latest out of the AL Central:
- The Tigers were said to be looking around at depth arms to bring into camp, per MLB.com’s Jason Beck (Twitter links), with former big leaguer Lucas Harrell among those under consideration. But the team’s addition of righty Bobby Parnell likely rounds out the organization’s pitching moves heading into camp, per Beck. It seems that the 30-year-old Harrell will look to catch on with another club. He spent last year pitching in Korea, racking up 171 2/3 innings of 4.93 ERA pitching with 7.9 K/9 and 5.7 BB/9.
- Third base remains an area of focus for the Indians with camp opening, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian reports. Cleveland is still monitoring the free agent market, with both Juan Uribe and David Freese potentially under consideration. As Bastian notes, Giovanny Urshela showed the ability to man the hot corner last year, but failed to demonstrate a similar readiness at the plate.
- Meanwhile, the Indians don’t appear to be expecting either Craig Stammen or Tommy Hunter to be ready for Opening Day, manager Terry Francona told reporters including Bastian (Twitter links). It seems that Stammen may actually be slightly ahead in his timeline than Hunter. Of course, he’ll still need to earn a roster spot since he signed a minor league deal.
AL East Notes: Hunter, Chapman, Rays, Ramirez
The Yankees have, rather notably, failed to sign a single free agent to a major league contract this winter. But that doesn’t mean the team hasn’t tried. In fact, the team had a two-year deal for between $11.5MM and $12MM in place with righty Tommy Hunter, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports. But an unidentified issue cropped up in his physical, leading the club to blow up the deal (the timing of which is unclear). Hunter ultimately received just $2MM in guaranteed money from the Indians, of course, though that perhaps also reflected the fact that he needed core muscle surgery in early January and will miss the start of the season.
Here’s more from New York and the rest of the AL East:
- The Yankees‘ opportunistic acquisition of Aroldis Chapman, in the midst of a still-ongoing investigation into domestic violence allegations, raises some hard and uncomfortable questions for the organization, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports writes. Meanwhile, New York is still waiting to learn what kind of punishment may be doled out, Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News reports. Indeed, the club is not even sure when it will be informed of a decision. Chapman himself says that he has been interviewed by the league and would appeal any suspension, Passan tweets.
- Rays president of baseball operations Mathew Silverman indicated that he’s not ruling out trade activity this spring, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Silverman explains that the “transaction window is open longer” now than in the past, with other organizations seeming to show an increased willingness to strike deals during camp.
- While the Red Sox are optimistic that Hanley Ramirez can be a productive contributor at first base, writes ESPN.com’s Buster Olney, the club has ways to fill in if the experiment fails. Of course, as Olney notes, there’s plenty of time for assessment before any tough choices are made.
Nationals To Sign Burke Badenhop
The Nationals have struck a minor league deal with veteran reliever Burke Badenhop, Jonah Keri reports on Twitter. He’ll receive an invite to MLB camp this spring.
Badenhop, who just turned 33, hit the open market when the Reds declined a club option at the start of the offseason. He didn’t turn in his finest campaign in his single season in Cincinnati, working to a 3.93 ERA with 4.9 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, and a 46.7% groundball rate. But he was much better after a rough opening run to the season.
That overall output fell shy of the good work Badenhop provided in the 2012-14 period. Over 195 1/3 innings logged in that span, he posted a cumulative 2.90 ERA while inducing grounders on over half of the balls put in play against him (topping out at 61% in 2014).
While he’ll have to earn his position on the Nats roster, the 6’5 sinkerballer should have his fair share of opportunity. Washington has reworked its entire pen, and still seems to have some slots up for grabs. Badenhop will likely compete with fellow veterans Yusmeiro Petit and Matt Belisle, along with younger incumbents such as Blake Treinen and Felipe Rivero, to round out the relief corps.
(By the way, if you’re interested in learning more about Badenhop, check out the interview he gave on the MLBTR Podcast last winter.)
Rays Nearing Deal With Ryan Webb
7:25pm: The Rays could announce a deal for Webb as soon as tomorrow, writes Topkin in a full column. Moreover, it appears that Webb is in line for a Major League deal with the Rays, as Topkin writes that the the holdup in the deal “could be” related to the determination of a corresponding 40-man roster move (notably, players can officially be added to the 60-day disabled list beginning tomorrow).
12:07pm: The Rays are closing in on a deal with right-handed reliever Ryan Webb, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). Tampa Bay has been said to be pursuing relief additions in recent weeks, and it seems they’ll likely add at least one new piece as camps open around the game.
Webb, 30, contributed 50 2/3 innings of 3.20 ERA pitching to the Indians last year after joining the team on a minor league deal. Though he averaged only 5.5 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9, he generated an excellent 59.2% groundball rate on balls put in play against him.
That solid effort came in spite of the fact that Webb was caught up in some early-season transactional machinations that somewhat surprisingly left him without a roster spot. Webb has averaged 58 frames of 3.31 ERA pitching annually since his first full season of MLB action back in 2010.
Minor MLB Transactions: 2/17/16
Here are the day’s minor moves …
- Infielder Nick Noonan has agreed to a minor league deal and an invite to big league camp with the Padres, according to a club announcement. Noonan, who will turn 27 in May, long rated as one of the best prospects in the division-rival Giants’ farm system. Selected 32nd overall in the 2007 draft, Noonan is a San Diego area native that has batted .197/.244/.244 in 135 big league plate appearances. His work at Triple-A has been considerably better, as the versatile infielder has compiled a .268/.319/.358 line at the top minor league level. He’s logged at least 500 innings at shortstop, second base and third base throughout his minor league career.
Earlier Updates
- The Athletics have struck a deal to bring back catcher Bryan Anderson, MLBTR’s Zach Links reports on Twitter. His contract includes an invitation to major league camp. The 29-year-old receiver has appeared at the MLB level in five seasons — including each of the last two with Oakland — but has only taken 77 trips to the plate in the majors. Once a top-100 prospect, Anderson scuffled at Triple-A last year and was outrighted after the season. But he certainly has a lengthy track record at the highest level of the minors: over parts of eight seasons at the Triple-A level, Anderson has racked up 2,289 plate appearances of .253/.327/.384 hitting.
NL West Notes: Rockies, Bumgarner, Turner
Here’s the latest from the National League West:
- Rockies GM Jeff Bridich discussed his club’s approach this winter with Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. The club’s top baseball decisionmaker didn’t shy away from acknowledging that the team focused on adding big arms to the relief corps, as even the signing of Gerardo Parra functioning as a prequel to an eventual trade of Corey Dickerson for power lefty Jake McGee. “We have added powerful, impactful arms to our bullpen,” Bridich explains. “There is no secret that pitching talent has to get bigger, stronger and better. Not everybody works out, of course, but we have set out to focus on this, and I think it’s been a fairly consistent philosophy.”
- Meanwhile, Saunders writes in response to a fan question that he’s not sure he agrees with the decision to part with Dickerson to add McGee. It’s encouraging to see some action, says Saunders, but odd for Colorado to give up a fairly high-upside, controllable hitter in exchange two years of a reliever given the team’s current roster situation. Ultimately, he writes, the organization ought to choose a direction, but “‘rebuilding’ seems to be a dirty word at 20th and Blake.”
- Giants ace Madison Bumgarner isn’t quite paid up to his ability under the pre-arb extension he signed back in 2012, but he said today that he’s not worried about his earnings. As Alex Pavlovic of CSNBayArea.com reports, the celebrated southpaw is taking the long view: “If everything goes the way I want and what I work for, then that’ll come along in due time,” he said. “I’m not at all worried about that. When I signed my deal I knew what I wanted to do, but you never know what’s going to happen. I was prepared for that.”
- Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner will be looking to bounce back from microfracture surgery this spring, as Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register writes. Turner says he is progressing well and believes the prognosis to be good, as his procedure was performed in a portion of the knee that doesn’t carry weight. Of course, it remains to be seen how heavily the 31-year-old will be pushed both in camp and early in the season, and Los Angeles has lined up multiple depth options behind him. It’s an important season for the pending free agent, who has been a revelation in L.A. and could profile as a major free agent with another strong campaign.
Rangers Monitoring Market For Outfielders
Josh Hamilton reported to camp with inflammation in his recently-repaired left knee, as MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan reports. With ongoing uncertainty surrounding his availability, the Rangers are keeping an eye on several options for bolstering the club’s outfield depth, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reports.
No deals are close to being struck at present, per FOX Sports, but the club is monitoring multiple possibilities. If it adds a bat, Texas would rather a left-handed hitter, though that isn’t seen as essential. The club wouldn’t be looking for a full-time regular so much as a veteran part-timer, it would appear.
One possibility raised in the report is a swap for Mets outfielder Alejandro De Aza. He was only just signed this winter — for one year and $5.75MM — and would therefore have the right to reject any deal. But De Aza has been discussed as a possible trade piece due to New York’s subsequent signing of Yoenis Cespedes.
Alternatives include free agents David Murphy and Will Venable, Morosi adds. Those two former Rangers remain unsigned, among several other notable players lined up as Dexter Fowler and Austin Jackson look for new homes. (For what it’s worth, Fowler and Jackson have long seemed speculative matches with Texas, though there’s no indication they are a present consideration.)
It’s interesting to wonder to what extent the Rangers would prioritize the addition of a center field-capable player. After all, as Sullivan notes, some combination of Justin Ruggiano and Ryan Rua (from the right side) and Joey Gallo, James Jones, or even Ike Davis (from the left) could potentially form a platoon in left if Hamilton misses time. Meanwhile, a potential partner for Delino DeShields Jr. wouldn’t be the worst idea, with only the unproven Jones representing an in-house candidate for that role. Both De Aza and Venable could present such an option.
East Notes: Gallardo, Mets, Harrison, Fernandez
Talks between the Orioles and Yovani Gallardo are still ongoing and still positive, Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore Sun reports. Though it’s been quite some time since we first heard a deal was nearing completion, there’s continued optimism that an agreement can be pushed across the finish line in the days to come.
Here’s more from the game’s eastern divisions:
- Despite losing Jenrry Mejia to a lifetime PED ban, the Mets don’t expect to add a reliever on a major league deal, GM Sandy Alderson told reporters, including ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin (via Twitter). If anything, Alderson suggested, a late-spring trade for a pen arm could be pursued if there was a need.
- The Phillies don’t expect lefty Matt Harrison to appear at camp this spring after a recent trip to a back specialist, GM Matt Klentak told reporters, including MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki (via Twitter). Indeed, it would seemingly come as a surprise if he returns to pitch all season as he continues to deal with serious back issues. Harrison went to Philadelphia as part of the financial balancing in last summer’s Cole Hamels trade, and his new club would stand to recoup some insurance proceeds for whatever period he is unable to work. Though he had rather remarkably returned to the hill for Texas, Harrison hasn’t suited up since.
- Jose Fernandez of the Marlins is the next NL East ace whose post-Tommy John innings will be watched, and Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reports that there’s yet to be any kind of determination on the number he’ll be allowed to throw. Meanwhile, new skipper Don Mattingly indicated that a 180-inning limit has at least been batted around, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports on Twitter. The issue could have bearing not only on Miami’s prospects for the coming season, but also Fernandez’s own career trajectory and relationship with the club.