Minor MLB Transactions: 8/6/2015
Here are today’s minor moves …
- The Giants have signed infielder Nick Noonan to a minor league deal, Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area tweets. Noonan played at the Triple-A level for the Yankees this year, but spent his first eight professional seasons in the San Francisco organization. Since cracking the big leagues with the Giants back in 2013, Noonan has produced mediocre results at the plate while playing at the highest level of the minors.
- Catcher George Kottaras has joined the Blue Jays on a minor league deal, according to an announcement from the club’s Triple-A affiliate. The 32-year-old had seen big league action for seven straight seasons heading into this one — suiting up for three organizations last year alone — but hasn’t seen an MLB opportunity yet with the White Sox organization. Kottaras has hit well in limited action this year, though, and is a .215/.326/.411 hitter in 858 big league plate appearances.
Astros Designate, Option Dan Straily
TODAY: Houston has optioned Straily, the club announced, indicating that he was only designated off of the active roster for purposes of passing him through optional assignment waivers.
YESTERDAY: The Astros have designated righty Dan Straily for assignment, Julia Morales of ROOT Sports tweets. He will be replaced on the roster by Asher Wojciechowski, who will receive his second shot at the major league level.
Straily, 26, came to Houston along with Luis Valbuena in the deal that sent Dexter Fowler to the Cubs. He made his way to Chicago as part of the 2014 deadline trade in which Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel headed to the Athletics.
It was in Oakland that Straily showed the most promise, contributing 191 2/3 innings of 3.94 ERA pitching in his first two big league seasons with 7.3 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9. But advanced metrics really never bought into Straily, and he’s struggled at the big league level ever since.
With Houston, Straily has made three starts, lasting 15 1/3 innings and allowing ten earned runs with 14 strikeouts and eight walks. He’s spent most of the year at Triple-A, tossing 98 2/3 frames of 3.65 ERA ball with an appealing strikeout to walk ratio (8.4 K/9 versus 1.6 BB/9).
Cubs Re-Sign Clayton Richard
The Cubs have re-signed lefty Clayton Richard, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune was among those to report (Twitter links). He’ll take the place of righty Rafael Soriano, who hits the DL with right shoulder inflammation.
After recently being designated for assignment, Richard declined an outright assignment and elected free agency. Obviously it did not take long for his most recent club to bring him back, however, on a new deal.
The 31-year-old has pitched to a 4.29 ERA in 21 frames with the Cubs over three starts and one relief appearance. He’s retired nine batters by strikeout and allowed five walks in that span.
Richard came to the Cubs after throwing well early in the year at Triple-A for the Pirates. A provision in his deal required Pittsburgh either to add him to its active roster or make him available to another team willing to do so, and Chicago came calling. After once being designated off of the Cubs’ 40-man roster and optioned, Richard went through the more traditional DFA process this time around before re-signing.
Dombrowski Seeks New Front Office Job After Tigers Let Him Go
Just removed from his role as Tigers general manager, veteran baseball executive Dave Dombrowski told the press today that he is looking for a new opportunity in baseball operations, with Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter links), Joel Sherman of the New York Post, and MLB.com’s Jason Beck all contributing notable quotes. Dombrowski made clear that the decision to terminate his contract, which was set to expire after the season anyway, was made unilaterally by ownership. And he added that there were no real efforts between the sides to reach a new agreement.
Upon the surprising news yesterday, many wondered whether Dombrowski had demanded a salary increase or asked to be let go to permit him to pursue another opportunity. Neither were the case, per his comments. “There were no [contract] talks, so there were no demands,” he explained.
Dombrowski added that he was not surprised by the move or its timing, though he neither asked for nor received an explanation from his former boss. “I knew this potential existed,” he said. “It was a very short conversation with Mr. Ilitch. I suspected in recent times that something has to happen.” He added: “It’s pretty simple. Mike Ilitch let me know yesterday they were going in a different leadership direction.” Dombrowski made clear that he was pleased that he’ll be succeeded by longtime assistant Al Avila, wishing him and the organization well.
As those quotes would suggest, and Dombrowski confirmed, there was no movement on his status before the trade deadline. With just hours to go before the deadline, of course, Dombrowski decided to sell key veterans David Price, Yoenis Cespedes, and Joakim Soria to add young pieces. “I didn’t make [the deals] with any expectations other than I felt it was the best thing for the organization,” he said. “My feeling in my heart was that we were not going to win a championship.” The biggest problem facing the Tigers roster, by the then-GM’s reckoning, was that the team was “a little short of starting pitching.”
Though his time with Detroit is over, that wasn’t Dombrowski’s first organization, and he indicated it probably won’t be his last. “I definitely want to stay in the game,” he said. “I want to be involved in day-to-day baseball operations. I am open to a lot of different possibilities.” He acknowledged that he’d already begun taking calls from new clubs, though he declined to name them. “I’ve had some nice conversations,” he said.
Yankees Designate Danny Burawa
The Yankees have designated righty Danny Burawa for assignment, the club announced. New York needed a 40-man spot after re-signing Garrett Jones.
Burawa, 26, reached the big leagues for the first time this year, though his only appearance did not go well. He has put up 60 1/3 solid innings at the Triple-A level, however, with a 2.69 ERA. Burawa notched only 7.8 K/9 against 4.5 BB/9, but has allowed a meager 6.3 hits per nine.
Yankees Re-Sign Garrett Jones
The Yankees have re-signed first baseman/outfielder Garrett Jones, Jack Curry of the YES Network tweets. New York is expected to move a pitcher off the active roster to create space.
Jones was recently designated for assignment to clear roster space as part of the team’s acquisition of Dustin Ackley. As Curry explains, Jones elected free agency after being outrighted by the club. But with Ackley going on the DL, New York decided to bring back the veteran.
Playing in his eighth big league season at 34 years of age, Jones owns a .215/.257/.361 batting line. But he’s done much more in the past, and carries a .757 collective OPS in a career with over 3,000 trips to the plate. Jones has always maintained a sizable platoon split, and will presumably continue to see most of his action against right-handed pitching.
Poll: Best Trade Deadline Moves By A Seller
We took the temperature of the MLBTR readership recently on the subject of deadline buyers, with the Blue Jays getting the most top ratings, and now we’ll turn to the seller’s side of the line. As I noted there, while we heard a lot of talk of teams reshaping their current rosters rather than strictly buying or selling, that really did not occur much this year.
The following organizations all pursued slightly different strategies in moving current production for future assets. Which do you think did it best?
Future Asset Traders
These clubs not only moved rental pieces, but also dealt significant players with future control in order to add other future assets.
Rockies acquire Jose Reyes, Jeff Hoffman, Miguel Castro, & Jesus Tinoco in deal for Troy Tulowitzki & LaTroy Hawkins — Still-fresh GM Jeff Bridich shocked the baseball world by finally putting an end to the Tulo rumors. Now, the team has another expensive veteran shortstop that could become a trade piece, along with three fresh young arms.
Brewers acquire Brett Phillips, Josh Hader, Domingo Santana & Adrian Houser, Zach Davies, and Yhonathan Barrios in deals for Carlos Gomez & Mike Fiers, Gerardo Parra, and Aramis Ramirez — Milwaukee gave up some cheap control in both Gomez and Fiers, while selling high on the expiring Parra and saving dollars with Ramirez. Phillips headlines a nice group of prospects who’ll replenish the Brewers system.
Phillies acquire Matt Harrison, Jorge Alfaro, Jake Thompson, Nick Williams, Alec Asher, & Jerad Eickhoff, Nick Pivetta, Jimmy Cordero & Alberto Tirado in deals for Cole Hamels & Jake Diekman, Jonathan Papelbon, and Ben Revere — The Hamels saga rivals that of Tulowitzki for duration and attention. So, was it worth the wait? Philly landed three top-100 prospects in the deal, spreading its bets when it couldn’t seem to pry loose a super-premium youngster.
Braves acquire Hector Olivera, Paco Rodriguez, & Zachary Bird, Rob Whalen & John Gant in deals for Alex Wood, Jim Johnson, Luis Avilan, Bronson Arroyo & Jose Peraza, Juan Uribe & Kelly Johnson — The Wood-Olivera deal (originally “the Latos deal”) might have been the deadline’s most interesting, and it’ll take quite some time to see how it plays out. Atlanta continues to be exceedingly creative in structuring trades.
Indians acquire Rob Kaminsky, Eric Stamets, and Abraham Almonte in deals for Brandon Moss, David Murphy, and Marc Rzepczynski — Cleveland was said to be unlikely to deal Moss, but was overwhelmed with the offer of Kaminsky, a highly-regarded young pitcher.
Rental Dealers
Many of these deadline sellers dabbled in deals for players under control for the future, but ultimately ended up moving only their pure rentals.
Reds acquire Brandon Finnegan, John Lamb, & Cody Reed, Keury Mella & Adam Duvall in deals for Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake — Moving its soon-to-be-free agent starters long seemed a given, and Cincinnati was able to bolster its future staff with some appealing arms. The club held off on deals for other veterans, including Marlon Byrd and Jay Bruce, but could consider future trades.
Athletics acquire Sean Manaea & Aaron Brooks, Casey Meisner, Jacob Nottingham & Daniel Mengden in deals for Ben Zobrist, Tyler Clippard, and Scott Kazmir — Likewise, the A’s showed little inclination to discuss controllable pieces, instead moving its best expiring veteran assets. The club opted for upside over near-term contributions in its returns, marking something of a departure from other recent trades.
Tigers acquire Daniel Norris, Jairo Labourt & Matt Boyd, Michael Fulmer & Luis Cessa, and JaCoby Jones in deals for David Price, Yoenis Cespedes, and Joakim Soria — Detroit waited until the last minute to hit the sell button, and then shipped out three high-end veterans to add young talent, especially in the rotation. The Tigers seemingly structured their moves to prepare for another run next year.
Limited Sellers
These clubs all likely considered more significant sell-offs, but ultimately chose to shave some salary and move a few pieces that probably did not figure prominently in future plans.
Marlins acquire Kevin Guzman, Jeff Brigham & Victor Araujo, Elliot Soto & Ivan Pineyro, Tomas Telis & Cody Ege, and Kyle Barraclough in deals for Mat Latos & Michael Morse, Dan Haren, Sam Dyson, and Steve Cishek — While we heard some chatter about Martin Prado and Marcell Ozuna, Miami held onto those controllable players. The club also did not pull off a move for a starter with extended control, as had been rumored.
Rays acquire Eduar Lopez, Chih-Wei Hu & Alexis Tapia in deals for Kevin Jepsen and David DeJesus — Tampa Bay remains in the Wild Card hunt, but shopped its controllable relief assets and moved the veteran DeJesus. All in all, the team elected to make smaller-scale moves, as was expected.
Mariners acquire Adrian Sampson, Ramon Flores & Jose Ramirez, Rob Rasmussen, Jake Brentz & Nick Wells in deals for J.A. Happ, Dustin Ackley, and Mark Lowe — Entering the deadline in a tough position, the Mariners decided to hold for the most part, but did move two solid arms and finally parted with Ackley, a former top prospect.
Red Sox acquire Josh Rutledge in deal for Shane Victorino — Boston was one of those teams rumored to be in the market to buy for the future, and also may have considered moves involving large contract swaps, but will now do the bulk of its work in the offseason (though August deals can’t be ruled out).
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Best Deadline Moves As A Seller
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Tigers 27% (3,072)
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Phillies 22% (2,495)
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Brewers 11% (1,284)
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Reds 10% (1,104)
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Braves 9% (1,020)
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Athletics 7% (754)
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Rockies 5% (569)
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Indians 4% (501)
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Mariners 2% (277)
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Red Sox 2% (188)
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Marlins 1% (97)
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Rays 1% (64)
Total votes: 11,425
Rays Claim Daniel Nava
The Rays have claimed outfielder Daniel Nava off waivers from the Red Sox, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports on Twitter. Boston had designated the 32-year-old for assignment on July 30th.
Nava has spent most of his time in the corner outfield, though he also has appeared some at first base. The switch-hitter has been much more productive against right-handed pitching in his career, and it seems he could step into the role of just-traded outfielder David DeJesus.
Tampa Bay is placing a good bit of trust in a turn-around from Nava, as the club will owe him the balance of a $1.85MM salary (around $617K) for the rest of the year. Nava can also be controlled for two more years via arbitration, and probably won’t be in line for a significant raise.
Of course, the reason that Nava was available in the first place is that he’s scuffled badly this year while also dealing with injuries. He’s registered just ten hits, and no home runs, in 78 MLB plate appearances. Nava was already coming off of a less-than-inspiring 2014 campaign, when he saw his power output dip following an excellent 2013 (.303/.385/.445), though defensive metrics thought he had improved significantly in his outfield defense.
Mets Notes: Cespedes, O’Flaherty, Wright
Recent Mets trade acquisition Yoenis Cespedes says that he likes the idea of staying in Queens for more than just the rest of this year, as Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports. Of course, the free agent-to-be also notes that matter “is something I can’t control.” Indeed, he is effectively precluded from re-signing with New York as a free agent because of the contractual requirement that the team release him at the end of the year. (An MLB rule provides that teams may not re-sign released players until after the start of the following regular season.)
More on the Mets:
- In that same piece, GM Sandy Alderson indicated that his team’s deadline acquisitions were not made with any particular hope that the new players would sign long-term. “We’ll deal with next season later,” Alderson said. “That’s not to be cavalier about our longer-term view, but … I don’t think there’s any grave concern about the fact that these players may not be here next year. That’s not to say that we wouldn’t want them to be here next year, but that’s something we’ll deal with over the course of the offseason.”
- While a late-year extension for Cespedes is theoretically possible, it doesn’t seem terribly likely, as Marc Carig of Newsday also explains. New York has been quite cautious in handing out massive, multi-year deals, and Cespedes has positioned himself nicely for the upcoming free agent market. Sources tell Carig that they expect his representatives to seek a deal in the $120MM to $150MM range. There is precedent for that kind of cash, of course, though Cespedes will have to contend with the presence of Justin Upton and Jason Heyward alongside him on the market. Shin-soo Choo landed a $130MM deal back in 2013, while Josh Hamilton got $125MM the year prior.
- Before acquiring Eric O’Flaherty from the A’s, the Mets staff chatted about him with recent teammate Tyler Clippard, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports. Clippard, of course, was also just traded from Oakland to New York, and told the media that he saw O’Flaherty (a recent Tommy John patient) rounding into form over the last few weeks. With the move, Clippard, a long-time Nationals reliever, and O’Flaherty, once a staple of the Braves pen, have now congregated with the division-rival Mets.
- Mets assistant GM John Ricco explained that the club added O’Flaherty because it wanted a weapon against opposing left-handed hitters, also via Rubin. “We feel like a lefty reliever was something that we could use — a guy that was more of a strict left-on-left guy,” Ricco explained. “And that’s what Eric really is. So we had our eye on a number of different options and this one came together pretty quickly today. It gave us an opportunity to get a veteran left-on-left guy.”
- Third baseman David Wright is ramping up baseball activities and may be nearing a rehab assignment, as Kevin Kernan of the New York Post writes. Wright earned rave reviews for his workout at Citi Field yesterday, and indicated that he’s currently able to focus more on getting ready to play than worrying about his back. “It’s been a long process and I like the fact we’re finally talking about baseball and not rehab and doctors,’’ Wright said. “You put in all this work to finally get to the point where you are now. For two months you are having trouble standing for a while or walking. To be able now to go through a normal pregame routine, that makes you feel good about the process. You can see the finish line. It feels good.’’
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/4/2015
We’ll track the day’s minor moves here:
- The Giants announced today that infielder Joaquin Arias has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A (Twitter link). The versatile 30-year-old hit just .207/.207/.276 in 59 plate appearances in 2015 — the second season of a two-year, $2.6MM contract he signed to avoid arbitration following the 2013 season.
- Left-hander Aaron Laffey has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A, tweets MLB.com’s Dargan Southard. Lackey will have the option to reject the assignment in favor of free agency. The veteran lefty pitched 7 1/3 innings for the Rockies this season, allowing three runs on eight hits and three walks with three strikeouts.
Earlier Updates
- Red Sox infielder Jemile Weeks, Angels righty Vinnie Pestano, and Cubs outfielder Mike Baxter have all accepted their outright assignments rather than electing to test the free agent waters, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation reports (Twitter links). The trio of players were all designated for assignment recently as their clubs looked to free roster space for deadline acquisitions. Weeks, 28, has seen only a smattering of big league action since playing as a full-timer in 2011-12. Pestano has been a solid reliever over several full seasons, but has struggled mightily with his control this year. The 30-year-old Baxter will also head to the upper minors to serve as depth after putting up a .246/.348/.263 slash over 66 plate appearances with Chicago.