Dodgers Designate Eric Surkamp
The Dodgers have designated lefty Eric Surkamp for assignment, the club announced (via J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group, on Twitter).
Los Angeles needed his 40-man spot as part of a series of moves, as the team continues to turn over its bullpen. Yimi Garcia and Ian Thomas will head to Triple-A on optional assignment, while relievers Chin-hui Tsao and Josh Ravin will ascend to the big league roster.
Surkamp, 27, appeared in just one game with the Dodgers this year, allowing four earned runs in 3 1/3 innings. He struck out four and walked one, but permitted two long balls.
Over parts of four big league seasons, Surkamp has only thrown 57 total frames at the MLB level. All said, he owns a 6.47 ERA with 5.8 K/9 against 4.9 BB/9. He has mostly worked from the pen in the majors, though he’s spent most of his minor league time as a starter.
It’s interesting to note the return of Tsao. The 34-year-old native of Taiwan last appeared in the bigs in 2007. In the interim, he found himself banned from his home country’s top league amid game-fixing allegations, as Joseph Yeh of the China Post details. Tsao has managed only a 4.40 ERA over 30 2/3 frames at Triple-A this year, but is carrying an impressive strikeout-to-walk ratio of 11.4 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9.
Cardinals Designate Aledmys Diaz For Assignment
The Cardinals have designated infielder Aledmys Diaz for assignment, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch reports on Twitter. A 40-man spot was needed for the promotion of veteran first baseman Dan Johnson.
Per Langosch, St. Louis hopes that Diaz will clear waivers given that he’s still owed a significant amount of salary. The Cardinals signed Diaz as an amateur free agent in March of last year, guaranteeing him four years and $8MM.
After entering the year as the organization’s 11th-rated prospect in the eyes of Baseball America, the 24-year-old Diaz has taken a step back in 2015. Playing at Double-A, he owns a .235/.292/.344 slash over 268 plate appearances on the year. Those numbers are down from a partial showing in the minors last season, when he put up a .765 OPS in 125 turns at bat at the High-A and Double-A levels.
Baseball America noted in its evaluation that Diaz had a more advanced bat than glove, though the Cards have remained hopeful that he could turn into a big league shortstop. The youngster has spent virtually all of his time at short thus far as a professional. Over sixty games there this year, Diaz has committed eleven errors.
Rangers To Sign Cuban Free Agent Andy Ibanez
The Rangers have agreed to a deal with Cuban infielder Andy Ibanez, Jeff Wilson of the Forth Worth Star-Telegram reports on Twitter. Last we checked in, the 22-year-old had changed his representation to Relativity Baseball.
Ibanez’s deal with Texas is worth $1.6MM, reports MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter). That figure means that the Rangers have spent $4.2MM of the roughly $4.5MM they have to spend after acquiring the aforementioned bonus slots. Texas recently added to its international pool via trade, and it could well be that the club was lining itself up to add Ibanez, who is subject to the international signing restrictions.
Ibanez has been available for some time, but was somewhat surprisingly slow to sign. Generally credited as a solid all-around player who lacks any outstanding tools, Ibanez has long been expected to command a significant bonus, as Ben Badler of Baseball America wrote some time back. Ibanez put up back-to-back .800+ OPS years in his two most recent campaigns in Serie Nacional.
$1.6MM is quite an attractive price for Ibanez. Badler is on record with the view that Ibanez is a better prospect than $8MM man Roberto Baldoquin, who cost the Angels double that to sign (with penalties included) along with the sacrifice of future signing opportunities.
Cuban Pitcher Vladimir Gutierrez Declared Free Agent
4:25pm: MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez reports that Gutierrez will begin working out for teams next month, adding that his market likely won’t begin to take shape until that happens.
4:09pm: Major league baseball has declared Cuban righty Vladimir Gutierrez a free agent, Baseball America’s Ben Badler reports. He has been seeking to become eligible to sign since defecting in February.
Badler notes on Twitter that a number of scouts prefer Gutierrez’s total package to that of Yadier Alvarez, who just agreed to a $16MM bonus with the Dodgers. (That signing will require the Dodgers to also pay a 100% tax on that amount.) Like his countryman, Gutierrez will be subject to the international signing limits.
Whereas Alvarez offers big-time present-day stuff that needs polishing, Gutierrez possesses much better present command of his offerings with upside through projection. Per Badler, the 19-year-old is “long” and “lanky,” and there’s reason to believe that he can build on a low-90s fastball. Gutierrez’s primary off-speed pitch is a plus curve, though he’s also shown a change that could be a useful offering, as Badler wrote last year.
Because he falls within the bonus rules, Gutierrez cannot be signed (at least, to a $300K or greater bonus) by clubs currently serving overage bans: namely, the Angels, Diamondbacks, Rays, Red Sox and Yankees. The Braves can likely be ruled out as a destination as well. Atlanta has acquired an extra ~$1.3MM of bonus money, but that has been in an effort to avoid incurring future signing restrictions upon finalizing three already-reported high-profile international signings. Were the team prepared to go well beyond its spending pool, the trades to acquire international slots wouldn’t have been necessary in the first place.
With several teams carefully moving international bonus slots around to avoid future penalties, it seems at least plausible to think that Gutierrez will end up signing with a team that has already blown past its spending limits this year — particularly, of course, if he can command a bonus anything like that given to Alvarez. The Dodgers, Cubs, Giants and Royals are among the teams that currently stand to take on two-year bans on $300K+ signings.
Rockies Claim Gonzalez Germen From Cubs
The Rockies have claimed righty Gonzalez Germen off waivers from the Cubs, Colorado announced. Germen, 27, has bounced around quite a bit in recent months.
It seemed that Germen had found a home with the Cubs, but he’ll instead head once more to a new organization. Germen will pitch at Triple-A Albuquerque, per the report.
Germen coughed up five earned runs in his six innings of work this year for Chicago, picking up eight strikeouts against five walks. Over 33 1/3 Triple-A frames, he’s put up a better-looking 3.78 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9.
Orioles Seek Pitching, Still Working To Trade Young
Orioles executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette said today that the club is once again looking to add arms at the deadline, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports (Twitter links). “Our pitching we’re looking to upgrade for sure,” said Duquette. He indicated that the club could be looking to improve both its rotation and its pen.
Baltimore paid a big price last year to acquire ace reliever Andrew Miller. The southpaw helped charge the team’s late-season success, but left promising young starter Eduardo Rodriguez playing elsewhere in the division. Baltimore has also dealt for pitchers like Scott Feldman and Bud Norris in recent years, evidencing the front office’s willingness to add arms over the summer.
The Orioles have received good results from starters such as Ubaldo Jimenez, Wei-Yin Chen, and Miguel Gonzalez, though the latter two especially have outperformed their peripherals by a wide margin. And while young hurler Kevin Gausman is now slotting in at the back end, the aforementioned Norris and Chris Tillman have both struggled to provide good innings. All said, there’s definitely room for improvement in the rotation.
It’s less apparent that the relief staff is an area of need, though the club obviously saw the value of installing another dominant arm last year. Baltimore’s pen has combined to rate sixth in both reliever ERA and fWAR to date. Late-inning arms Zach Britton and Darren O’Day continue to excel, while the O’s have received quality contributions (at least, in terms of results) from pitchers such as Brad Brach, Chaz Roe, and Brian Matusz.
Duquette added that he still hopes to work out a deal for recently-designated outfielder and bench bat Delmon Young. “We’re still working with a couple of teams and hopefully it will come together,” he explained. Young, who’s playing on a $2.25MM deal this year, was designated on July 1, meaning that Baltimore still has a few days to get something done.
Phillies Designate Kevin Correia For Assignment
The Phillies have designated righty Kevin Correia for assignment, the club announced. Fellow right-hander Severino Gonzalez has been recalled and will take a start on Thursday, per the release.
Correia, 34, spent time this spring with the Mariners and started the year in the Giants organization, ultimately opting out and signing with Philadelphia. He had solid results in his first several Triple-A starts, but has scuffled to a 6.56 ERA over 23 1/3 innings with the Phillies. Correia has struck out 5.4 and walked 3.1 batters per nine in that span. Never a hard thrower, Correia’s average fastball velocity is the lowest it has ever been, sitting between 88 and 89 mph.
Dating back to the start of his big league career in 2003, Correia has allowed 4.62 earned runs for every regulation game, putting up 5.7 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9 with a lifetime 44.1% groundball rate. His best season came in 2009 with the Padres, when he was worth 3.0 fWAR over 198 solid frames.
Cubs Front Office Has “Financial Resources” For Trades
Cubs president of business operations Crane Kenney indicates that the organization has the financial wherewithal to add to the big league roster at the trade deadline, David Kaplan of CSN Chicago reports on Twitter.
“There are financial resources if [president of baseball operations] Theo [Epstein] needs money to make a deal,” said Kenney. “No one I trust more to figure out what to do [than] Theo and [GM] Jed [Hoyer].”
While it is not exactly surprising to learn that the rising Cubs have the ability and willingness to spend, it is nevertheless notable for the organization’s top business executive to state that fact so clearly as the trade season heats up. It seems clear from his comments that the team’s purse is at least somewhat open for the front office to utilize in an effort to reach the postseason this year. And the comments also seem to indicate that ownership is handing plenty of leeway to its high-profile baseball decision-makers.
Chicago has, of course, already made at least one significant move in signing Rafael Soriano, who is working his way up to major league readiness and figures to factor in at the back of the pen. While the club reportedly prefers not to give up its very best talent in a deal, a prospective swap involving Javier Baez is said to have reached a reasonably advanced stage (before being scuttled in the wake of his injury).
The Cubs are focused primarily on starting pitching and left-handed outfield bats, per another recent report. Willingness to take on salary will obviously play a significant role in providing Epstein, Hoyer, and company with flexibility to structure an acquisition. With the club reportedly interested in adding an arm with come future control, the ability to absorb current and future salary commitments ought to reduce the amount of young talent required.
Rays Designate Preston Guilmet For Assignment
The Rays have designated righty Preston Guilmet for assignment, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune reports on Twitter. In corresponding moves, the team has activated John Jaso and added Steven Souza to the DL.
Guilmet, 27, threw 5 1/3 frames for Tampa Bay this year, allowing three earned runs and striking out five batters while issuing two walks. This marks the third straight season in which he’s thrown at least a handful of innings. All said, Guilmet owns a 6.43 ERA in 21 innings with 7.7 K/9 vs. 3.0 BB/9. But he’s been much better (2.47 ERA, 9.8 K/9, 2.1 BB/9) in his time at the Triple-A level.
Injury Notes: Garza, Pence, Profar, Luebke
The Brewers have placed righty Matt Garza on the 15-day DL with what the team is calling right shoulder tendinitis, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports. It appears as though the plan is to maximize Garza’s rest with the All-Star break, but one wonders whether the move also removes him from serious consideration as a trade piece this summer. Garza indicated that the issue was not terribly significant, but he has a long and growing list of medical ailments that have cropped up in his career. And then there’s the fact that Garza will not have much opportunity to improve his value after a rough first half. He is sporting a 5.55 ERA in 99 frames on the year, with ERA estimators not painting a much rosier picture, and his strikeout rate continues to fall. Garza is owed $12.5MM annually from 2014-17 under the deal he signed to join the Brewers, and also has a fairly achievable $13MM vesting clause tacked on at the end of his contract.
- Giants outfielder Hunter Pence appears to be nearing a return from the DL in the fairly near future, possibly before the All-Star break, MLB.com’s Oliver Macklin writes. San Francisco has dropped back to .500 and could certainly use a jolt from the dynamic Pence, not least of which because the club is also missing fellow corner outfielder Norichika Aoki. Assuming Pence can avoid another setback with his wrist and re-entrench himself in right field, the club would have a much less pressing need for an additional outfielder.
- Padres lefty Cory Luebke has suffered a setback in his bid to return from a second successive Tommy John procedure, Corey Brock of MLB.com reports. For now, it’s just elbow discomfort, but the team was concerned enough to bring the 30-year-old back to San Diego from his rehab assignment in Triple-A. Luebke has not pitched in the big leagues in over three years, though he has finally seen competitive action in the minors for the first time since originally blowing out his UCL.
- Another once-promising player who is on a long road back is Rangers infielder Jurickson Profar, who was once one of the game’s very best prospects. As Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News writes, Profar remains staggeringly young given how long he’s been on the scene and out with shoulder issues. He’ll still only be 23 come next spring. Profar remains a long way from returning to the big leagues, says Fraley, who notes that he is progressing through daily rehab sessions and monthly MRI tests.