Latest On Jesse Crain
1:14pm: The MLB.com site is incorrect: Crain is still with the team and has only been reassigned, Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com tweets.
1:01pm: The White Sox have released righty Jesse Crain, according to the MLB.com transactions page. Crain had been reassigned to minor league camp.
Crain, an Article XX(B) free agent, was in line for a $100K retention bonus, which the team had reportedly decided to pay. While it remains unclear precisely what transpired, it obviously would not make sense for the White Sox to have committed to the bonus before dropping him the very next day.
The 33-year-old has been trying to return to action from shoulder surgery. He was one of the game’s very best relievers in 2013, but has yet to return to full game action since his shoulder issues cropped up.
Braves Claim Rule 5 Pick Andrew McKirahan
12:56pm: The Braves have claimed McKirahan, Frisaro tweets.
12:43pm: Rule 5 lefty Andrew McKirahan has been claimed off waivers by an unknown team, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports on Twitter. The Marlins placed him on waivers two days ago.
While it remains to be seen which club will take a chance on McKirahan, the news likely spells the end of any chance he would end up with Miami. The new claiming team will step into the Marlins’ rights regarding the 25-year-old southpaw, meaning that they will need to keep him on the roster all year in order to gain future control over him.
In the event that the new team, too, decides to expose McKirahan to waivers, he would go through the same process again. If he is unclaimed at that point, then his prior club — the Cubs — would stand to reacquire his rights.
Minor Moves: Matt Tuiasosopo
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- The Orioles have released outfielder Matt Tuiasosopo, Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com reports on Twitter. Tuiasosopo, 26, had been shifted to minor league camp earlier in the month, and will now be permitted to pursue an opportunity with another club. Over 401 career turns at bat in the big leagues, Tuiasosopo has a .207/.290/.356 slash. He hit 13 home runs and slashed .240/.357/.379 in 487 Triple-A plate appearances last year.
Phillies Outright Phillippe Aumont, Miguel Gonzalez
The Phillies have outrighted out-of-options righty Phillippe Aumont, Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com tweets. Philadelphia also announced that righty Miguel Gonzalez has been outrighted off of the 40-man.
Aumont is, of course, the last remaining piece of the 2009 Cliff Lee trade left in Philadelphia. His exposure to waivers obviously indicates that the club was prepared to lose him, and the fact that he went unclaimed reveals that the rest of the league has little interest in devoting a 40-man spot at this point. Certainly, the same holds for Gonzalez, who has disappointed thus far in Philly.
The pair of righties entered camp with plenty to prove but apparently failed to do so. Aumont, 26, limited the free passes in game action this spring while generating plenty of whiffs, but seemingly gave up a lot of hard contact, including three home runs in 8 2/3 innings. Gonzalez, 28, also could not keep opposing batters off of his pitches. Though he struck out seven and walked only one in 14 1/3 innings, Gonzalez was touched for 25 hits and five long balls in that stretch.
Aaron Crow Likely Facing Tommy John Surgery
Marlins right-handed reliever Aaron Crow will likely need Tommy John surgery after an MRI revealed a ligament tear, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports on Twitter. Miami added Crow in late November in a trade that cost the team lefty Brian Flynn.
Losing Crow would be a significant blow to the club’s bullpen, which had hoped to enjoy a return to form from the 28-year-old. After a three-year run in which he carried a 3.19 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9, with heavy groundball tendencies, Crow fell back last year to a 4.12 earned run mark while striking out just 5.2 and walking 3.7 batters per nine. He had put up more typical numbers this spring, however.
While Miami does have several options to step in for Crow, it is possible to imagine the team looking for an outside replacement. Whether that would mean picking up a veteran roster castaway or striking a deal, of course, remains to be seen.
Nationals Release Kevin Frandsen
The Nationals have released infielder Kevin Frandsen, the club announced. Frandsen, 32, had been signed to a $1MM deal to avoid arbitration early in the offseason.
It was about this time last year that the Nats originally added Frandsen, signing him quickly when the division-rival Phillies let him go. Frandsen earned plaudits for his presence in the clubhouse and willingness to contribute in any way possible, but he hit only .259/.299/.309 last year with just one home run in 236 turns at bat. With slightly negative marks from defensive metrics added in, he was a below-replacement level producer.
With Anthony Rendon still an injury question mark, it appears that the Nationals will open the year with some combination of Yunel Escobar, Danny Espinosa, Ian Stewart, and Dan Uggla playing at second and third, the slots that Frandsen was most likely to fit.
Royals Release Rafael Furcal
The Royals have released infielder Rafael Furcal, Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star reports on Twitter. Furcal was only recently brought into camp on a minor league deal and had been working through a hamstring injury.
The 37-year-old saw only minimal action last year with Miami and has generally been unable to stay healthy since going down with a UCL tear late in 2012. He had been a consistent and reliable presence in the middle infield to that point.
It is unclear whether Furcal will seek another opportunity. Over his productive career, Furcal has slashed .281/.346/.402 in 7,237 plate appearances with 113 home runs and 314 steals. He has been worth more than thirty wins above replacement in total.
Brewers Re-Sign Chris Perez
The Brewers have re-signed righty Chris Perez to a minor league deal, the club announced. Milwaukee had released Perez on Sunday.
Perez, a former closer with the Indians, seemingly took some time to look around for a big league opportunity before deciding to return. At least one team, the Twins, was approached but declined the chance to add him, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets.
In spite of his solid results this spring, Perez was passed over for an Opening Day roster spot with Milwaukee. Of course, the 29-year-old has struggled to keep runs off the board in each of the last two seasons, with both results and advanced metrics painting a less-than-promising picture.
Dodgers Release Dustin McGowan, Will Pay Mike Adams Roster Bonus
The Dodgers have released righty Dustin McGowan, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Additionally, the Dodgers will pay Mike Adams a $100K roster bonus by starting him off in Triple-A, as MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick reports on Twitter.
McGowan had been in camp on a big league deal that guaranteed him a league minimum salary and came with a $1MM Opening Day roster bonus. The 33-year-old had strong results last year when working from the pen for the Blue Jays. Though he struggled as a starter, he held opposing hitters to a .215/.284/.405 line and posting a 3.35 ERA in 43 relief innings. But McGowan was not sharp this spring, allowing six earned runs in eight frames.
Adams, of course, has an excellent performance record but comes with shoulder questions. The veteran was knocked around somewhat this spring, but proved late last year that he can still miss bats and get outs at the big league level.
Released: Bello, Herndon, Accardo, Rodriguez, Rogers
Here are the latest minor moves, all via the MLB.com transactions page, the PCL transactions page, and/or the International League transactions page:
- The Braves have released catcher Yenier Bello. Bello, of course, signed out of Cuba for a $400K bonus last year, but the 30-year-old obviously did not show enough to stay in the system. He slashed .308/.315/.404 over just 55 plate appearances last season split between the Rookie and low-A levels.
- Brewers right-hander David Herndon will also be in search of a new organization after being released. The 29-year-old carries a 3.85 career ERA over 117 big league frames, but has not seen action at the game’s highest level since 2012.
- The Diamondbacks have released big league veterans Jeremy Accardo and Henry Rodriguez. Both righties, Accardo (eight years) and Rodriguez (six years) each have seen their share of time at the major league level, including action in a closing role. Accardo owns a 4.30 ERA with 6.5 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 across 284 2/3 big league innings, but last saw action at that level in 2012. Rodriguez, still just 28, has worked to a 4.31 ERA over his 150 1/3 lifetime frames, striking out 9.0 and walking 6.4 per nine.
- The Rangers also released a couple of right-handers in Mark Rogers and Mitch Atkins. Rogers, once one of the game’s brightes pitchign prospects, has struggled with a variety of injury issues and was not able to gain traction in camp. Atkins, 29, had worked to a 3.76 ERA with 7.0 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 in 141 1/3 innings last year in the upper minors. Both players have some big league experience to their credit, but none in recent campaigns.
- Reds right-hander Wilmer Font and oufielder Felix Perez have both been released. Font is just 24 and has reached the bigs briefly in each of the last two seasons with the Rangers. But he ended last season with an elbow injury and never played in major league camp this spring. The 30-year-old Perez, meanwhile, hit .280/.325.450 at the Triple-A level last year but struggled in camp this spring.