Athletics Looking At Veteran Outfielders
The Athletics are looking outside the organization for outfield options to fill in while Coco Crisp is down, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Crisp is not expected to be out longer than two months to start the year, making a significant acquisition seem somewhat unlikely. Recent roster casualties may offer some value in the interim at no cost other than a league-minimum roster spot.
Among the possibilities, per Slusser, are Cody Ross, who was just released by the Diamondbacks, and recently-designated Padres-turned-Braves veteran Carlos Quentin. Both of those players would appear to be bat-first options — Ross struggled defensively last year after returning from hip surgery while Quentin has always been regarded as a poor defender — but the club has several good gloves in the mix already.
Of course, Ross and Quentin also face significant questions beyond their limitations in the field (and would not otherwise be freely available). The pair owned matching offensive production last year (75 OPS+) that hardly inspires confidence, though of course their longer-term track records show much greater ability at the plate if their bodies are still willing.
Mets Retract Outright Of Cesar Puello
APRIL 6: The Mets have retracted Puello’s outright and placed him on the Major League disabled list, reports Rubin (Twitter links). Puello contested the outright assignment, stating that he was injured, and he does indeed have a stress fracture in his back. Puello will gain Major League service time and is on the team’s 40-man roster. Josh Edgin has been transferred to the 60-day DL to clear room, tweets The Record’s Matt Ehalt.
APRIL 3: Puello has cleared waivers, Rubin tweets.
APRIL 1: The Mets have placed young outfielder Cesar Puello on outright waivers, ESPN.com’s Adam Rubin reports. Out of options and a roster spot, Puello has long seemed destined to be headed either to another organization or off of the Mets’ 40-man.
Puello hits the wire on his 24th birthday. He reached Triple-A last year, slashing .252/.355/.393 in 371 plate appearances with seven home runs and 13 stolen bases. Though primarily a corner outfielder, Puello has seen at least some time in center in the minors.
Presumably, the Mets would have worked out a deal if Puello was in high demand, but his low power output in the hitter-friendly environs of Las Vegas — combined with a .265 spring slugging percentage — may have eliminated any serious interest. Of course, Puello has shown some promise in the past and could at least be a credible fourth outfielder, so he figures to draw interest. The question is whether any team will be interested in adding him to their 40-man roster, which would require an Opening Day roster spot at this juncture.
Extension Notes: Cueto, Zimmermann, Duda, Melvin
We just heard that the Angels and Huston Street could continue their efforts to find a new deal before he hits the open market, but the same may not be true of several other prominent free agents-to-be. Here’s the latest:
- Johnny Cueto and the Reds are not expected to reach agreement, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports tweets, confirming the expectations from recent reports. As Cincinnati takes the field, it appears the start of Cueto’s last year with the club.
- The same holds true of Jordan Zimmermann and the Nationals, who as Morosi tweets never made progress on a new deal that could have kept him in D.C.
- Mets GM Sandy Alderson says that he does not foresee restarting talks with first baseman Lucas Duda, as Matt Ehalt of the Record tweets. Of course, it seems likely that Alderson is merely referring to the notion that the team will not look to re-open talks during the coming season, not that it sees no future possibility of discussing a longer-term arrangement.
- Meanwhile, it appears that an extension is all but a formality for the Brewers and GM Doug Melvin, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports (Twitter links). Owner Mark Attanasio says that he is still talking about a new deal with Melvin, with the major question being how long the veteran executive wants to stay at the helm.
Mike Carp Elects Free Agency
First baseman/outfielder Mike Carp declined his minor league assignment with the Nationals and elected free agency, James Wagner of the Washington Post reports on Twitter.
The 28-year-old lost a spring battle for a left-handed-hitting bench role to Clint Robinson, who enjoyed a big spring. Carp had underwhelming numbers in Grapefruit League action, meanwhile, following a 2014 season in which he slashed just .175/.289/.230 in 149 plate appearances.
Of course, it was not long ago that Carp looked like a rather useful player. In 2013, with the Red Sox, he took 243 turns at bat and his .296/.362/.523 with nine home runs. Combined with a productive 2011 campaign in Seattle, sandwiched around a less useful campaign, Carp was expected to play an important role in Boston’s championship defense.
Diamondbacks Acquire Victor Reyes From Braves
1:06pm: While separately announced, this trade was part of the deal that sent Trevor Cahill to Atlanta, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets. The Braves would not have pulled the trigger on adding Cahill (and taking on a good portion of his salary) without getting the chance to add the pick in the Reyes swap, according to Piecoro’s sources.
12:34pm: The Diamondbacks have acquired outfielder Victor Reyes from the Braves in exchange for the 75th overall pick in this year’s amateur draft, Arizona announced. As a competitive balance draft choice, the selection was tradeable.
Reyes, 20, played at the low-A level last year in the Atlanta organization, slashing .259/.309/.298 in 361 plate appearances. He swiped 12 bases, but was also caught seven times. It seems fair to say that Reyes lacks power, as he has yet to hit a home run in 776 turns at bat as a professional.
Then again, Reyes has a substantial frame and may still have some pop to grow into, as Baseball America explained in ranking him as Atlanta’s 22nd-best prospect coming into the season. BA calls Reyes “lean and lanky,” crediting him with a solid hit tool and promising defensive profile in the corner outfield.
That draft slot was assigned a bonus allocation of just under $760K last year and will increase somewhat for 2015. Losing that amount will drop the D’Backs to just under $13MM in total draft spending capacity, while boosting Atlanta to a shade over $9MM.
Burch Smith To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
Rays righty Burch Smith is set to undergo Tommy John surgery, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune reports on Twitter. Soon to turn 25, Smith was set to start the year in the minors but had figured to be a component of Tampa’s pitching mix.
The Rays acquired Smith as part of the deal that shipped Wil Myers to the Padres. His health issues were known at the time, as Smith had been shut down for a significant period after dealing with a forearm strain.
Smith had a rough 36 1/3 inning introduction to the big leagues back in 2013, logging a 6.44 ERA. He did show that he could get swings and misses from MLB hitters (11.4 K/9), though he also struggled with command (5.2 BB/9) in a way he never had in the minors. In 92 1/3 innings at Triple-A in 2013, Smith posted a 2.63 ERA with 9.9 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9.
The loss of Smith is more unwelcome injury news for a club that is already dealing with more than its fair share of DL stints. While most of the wounded Tampa arms are expected to return in relatively short order, the club has been working to bolster its depth.
Orioles Designate Ryan Webb, Select Ryan Lavarnway
The Orioles have designated righty Ryan Webb for assignment, the club announced. His roster spot will go to catcher Ryan Lavarnway, whose contract was selected by Baltimore.
Webb, 29, had already been passed through outright waivers, so the move was more a formality than anything. He is owed $2.75MM this year under the two-year deal he signed last offseason. Baltimore will remain on the hook for that, less whatever league minimum salary Webb is able to collect if and when he hits an active roster. In 49 1/3 innings last year, the reliever threw to a 3.83 ERA with 6.8 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and a 48.7 percent ground-ball rate.
As for Lavarnway, the move had likewise been expected. He lost his 40-man status earlier in the offseason but nevertheless proved worthy of an Opening Day roster spot. The former Red Sox prospect may or may not figure in the club’s plans for the course of the year depending upon his performance, that of Caleb Joseph, and the timeline for Matt Wieters to return.
Blue Jays Re-Sign Ramon Santiago
The Blue Jays have re-signed infielder Ramon Santiago, MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm reports on Twitter. Santiago, 35, was released late in March after suffering a broken collarbone.
The veteran had seemed a plausible candidate for a roster spot — if not a starting role — with the Jays out of camp. He had a nice start to the spring and offered a good bit of big league experience for a Toronto club that still has some uncertainty at second base. Santiago, 35, owns a .243/.314/.330 slash in 2,974 career plate appearances compiled over 13 big league seasons.
As things stand, the Blue Jays are set to roll with rookie Devon Travis at the keystone, with Steve Tolleson in reserve. When he recovers from his surgery, Santiago will join Munenori Kawasaki and Jonathan Diaz as depth options.
ESPNDeportes.com’s Enrique Rojas and Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweeted last week that Santiago was expected to re-join Toronto.
Marlins To Re-Sign Nick Masset
The Marlins have re-signed righty Nick Masset, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports on Twitter. Miami will add Masset back on a new minor league deal after releasing him a week ago.
Masset, 32, returned to action last year after dealing with career-threatening shoulder issues. The results were not great — a 5.80 ERA in 45 innings — but he was working at Coors Field and was still not far removed from surgery. More promisingly, Masset posted solid groundball numbers and a 4.33 FIP.
This spring, Masset allowed nine earned runs with just three strikeouts against four walks in 11 total innings. It was not terribly surprising, then, that he failed to crack the Marlins pen and that the club released him before being forced to pay a $100K retention bonus. Masset will now have a chance round back into form at Triple-A while providing a useful depth option for the Fish.
Opening Day Poll: Best Offseason?
Punctuated by yet another major trade involving the Padres and the Braves, this offseason has been a memorable one. But our future recollections of the moves made will be colored by the months and years to come, as the bottom-line results of the winter’s transactions come to pass.
So, before we’ve all had a chance to benefit from information that was not available to the front offices that were actually making the decisions, let’s see how MLBTR’s readers view things. We are not looking for the team that put itself in the best position to win in 2015, or that made the biggest or most impactful moves. Instead, the question is which club most improved its overall short and long-term outlook by the things it did and didn’t do.
(For what it’s worth, MLBTR’s Steve Adams and I picked our favorites in the most recent MLBTR podcast, though I won’t name names here for fear of skewing the vote.)
The poll question (response order randomized): what team, in your view, had the best offseason?
Which Team Had The Best Offseason?
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Padres 45% (8,701)
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Red Sox 7% (1,384)
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Braves 7% (1,290)
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White Sox 7% (1,271)
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Blue Jays 5% (940)
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Cubs 4% (871)
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Dodgers 4% (716)
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Mariners 2% (470)
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Cardinals 2% (468)
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Nationals 2% (329)
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Mets 2% (295)
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Yankees 1% (279)
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Marlins 1% (257)
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Athletics 1% (251)
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Astros 1% (217)
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Pirates 1% (216)
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Phillies 1% (189)
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Orioles 1% (182)
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Tigers 1% (164)
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Royals 1% (146)
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Indians 1% (133)
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Angels 1% (116)
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Reds 1% (111)
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Giants 1% (106)
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Twins 0% (94)
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Brewers 0% (90)
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Rangers 0% (80)
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Diamondbacks 0% (80)
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Rays 0% (70)
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Rockies 0% (36)
Total votes: 19,552