White Sox, Angels Complete Gordon Beckham Trade
The Angels have sent righty Yency Almonte to the White Sox to complete last August’s Gordon Beckham swap, Chicago announced. Beckham has since reached free agency and re-signed with the South Siders, of course.
The Angels selected Almonte in the 17th round of the 2012 draft and went significantly over the $100K slot that applies to all picks beyond the 10th round, signing him for $250K. Baseball America ranked him 16th among Halos farmhands that offseason, noting in their scouting report that Almonte had generated some buzz heading into the draft before a dead arm cost him several weeks of the season and submarined his stock, to an extent. Per BA, his fastball sits in the low 90s and reaches 94, and he at one point showed feel for a breaking ball as well.
Durability concerns were a significant factor with Almonte, per the BA report, and two years later, they still appear to be a factor. Almonte began the season in the Class-A Midwest League but missed a month and had to rehab in Rookie Ball before rejoining the team. Overall, he pitched just 45 2/3 innings this season despite working exclusively as a starting pitcher. In 11 starts, he posted a 5.91 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9.
Pirates Acquire Arquimedes Caminero From Marlins
The Pirates have acquired right-handed reliever Arquimedes Caminero from the Marlins in exchange for cash, Pittsburgh announced. Caminero had been designated for assignment by Miami.
Caminero has an enticing arm that has delivered an average of 11.0 K/9 (against 4.5 BB/9) in his nine years of minor league action. He has seen only limited action at the big league level, posting 19 2/3 frames of 5.49 ERA pitching (albeit with many of the credited runs coming in one rough outing last year).
As he was added to the 40-man roster in advance of the 2011 season, it would appear that Caminero has exhausted his optional assignment seasons. Pittsburgh will take a flier on his mid-90s heater, but it seems he will need to break camp with the big league club or face the waiver wire.
Rockies Designate Yohan Flande
The Rockies have designated lefty Yohan Flande for assignment, the team announced. His roster spot will go to righty Kyle Kendrick, whose signing was also announced.
Flande, 29, threw 59 innings of 5.19 ERA ball last year in his first big league stint, generating a healthy 58.2% groundball rate. He struck out 5.2 and walked 2.4 per nine over ten starts and six relief appearances.
The southpaw has never posted a sub-4.00 ERA over a full season in the upper minors, but ERA estimators all valued his work in the bigs at or below that mark last year. Nevertheless, Flande is probably best characterized as an organizational depth piece at this stage of his career.
Cuban Players Vladimir Gutierrez, Dainer Moreira Defect
Cuban ballplayers Vladimir Gutierrez and Dainer Moreira have defected, according to Jorge L. Ortiz of USA Today. The pair was playing for the Cuban entrant in the Caribbean Series, currently being held in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.
Both players will need to establish residency in another country to establish their eligibility to sign with major league teams. Gutierrez will be subject to international bonus pool limits, while the more senior Moreira will be exempt.
As Ben Badler of Baseball America writes, the right-handed Gutierrez is one of the island’s best-regarded pitching prospects. Just 19 years old, his frame allows for a projection of velocity growth and he already features what might be the best curveball in Cuba, in Badler’s estimation. Gutierrez has trended upwards since placing twelfth on BA’s list of Cuba’s best prospects, Badler writes. Working from the pen in the island’s top-level Serie Nacional, Gutierrez tossed 51 1/3 strong innings in the just-concluded season (2.45 ERA, 49 strikeouts versus 19 walks).
Badler says that Moreira, a middle infielder, is “more on par with a minor league free agent than a real prospect.” That assessment derives both from his age — at least 28 and as old as 30, depending upon what roster is referenced — and his limitations on the field. Though he posted an interesting .332/.397/.368 line last year, striking out just eleven times in 277 trips to the plate, Moreira is said to have “awkward hitting mechanics,” no pop, and a fringe arm at shortstop.
Yoan Moncada Market Notes
With the evening’s news that prized young Cuban infielder Yoan Moncada is free to sign, additional information has begun to roll in. It isn’t hard to see why he has generated so much attention. As Ben Badler of Baseball America explains, Moncada may not have quite the certainty of an otherwise generally comparable prospect such as Corey Seager, but could reasonably be valued in the same range as — and, indeed, ahead of — a young player as heralded as Miguel Sano. That would make Moncada one of the best dozen or so pre-MLB properties in the game.
Here’s the latest:
- Moncada is expected to sign soon, reports MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez, although he does have workouts scheduled with individual teams through the middle of this month. The list of teams he has already worked out for does not appear to have been expanded upon from prior reports, with Sanchez noting (via Twitter) that the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Padres, Giants, Rangers, Rays, Tigers, and Brewers have all had private looks.
- With Moncada now eligible to sign, and a long stretch remaining before the July 2 market flips over, Badler tweets that the Cubs and Rangers are probably out of the mix. Moncada could still theoretically wait to sign with one of those teams — each of which is currently prohibited from paying all but relatively small international signing bonuses for blowing their allotment in past seasons — but that seems rather unlikely.
- Some clubs believe the Dodgers are a “strong favorite” to add Moncada, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets. Los Angeles has made no secret of its intention to pursue the talented 19-year-old.
- Another expected front-runner, the Red Sox, have remained fairly tight-lipped about Moncada, as Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe reports.
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski confirmed that his club had expressed interest and held a workout for Moncada, but otherwise would only acknowledge that Moncada is a talented player, as James Schmehl of MLive.com reports.
James Shields Expected To Sign By End Of Week
Reports this evening suggest that the wheels are now turning for free agent righty James Shields. With multiple offers in hand, says Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter), the veteran is expected to sign by the end of the week.
As I wrote yesterday, while Shields and agent Page Odle face a difficult task of maximizing value in the month of February, time remains for his market to re-develop. It appears that could now be taking place, with the list of suitors potentially growing this evening.
The Cardinals have now “shown interest” in Shields, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports on Twitter. While the St. Louis brass has insisted that the club feels good about its rotation depth, there are enough areas of concern that another arm could make good sense — particularly one of Shields’s quality.
Meanwhile, a rival general manager says that he believes the Yankees are “actively pursuing” Shields, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. New York certainly could justify buttressing its starting five: it probably has an even greater need to upgrade at the back end and protect against uncertainty in the projected rotation than do the Cards. On the other hand, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that he hears the team is not changing its decision not to pursue top-of-the-market starters.
It certainly appears that both clubs have the financial wherewithal to make such a move. St. Louis has been judicious with committing future assets and maintains good forward-looking payroll flexibility. And New York can never be counted out from dipping into its coffers when opportunity arises.
As for other possibilities, the Padres are also believed to have engaged in recent discussions with the Shields camp, Morosi tweets. Another busy club, the White Sox, are almost certainly set to enter the spring with their current array of talent, GM Rick Hahn tells Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com (via Twitter).
While both of these clubs have been mentioned as possible landing spots for Shields at various points in the past, it was never entirely clear whether that was based on analysis or real internal consideration. These latest reports appear to push the needle toward the latter. Obviously, the entry of either or both would be excellent news for Shields’s leverage.
Free Agent Pitching Notes: Mulder, Zito, Coke
Here are a few pitching notes from around the game:
- Long-time big leaguer Mark Mulder will not go after another comeback attempt this year, he tells ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link). The 37-year-old lefty has not seen MLB action since 2008 and had a brief spring stint with the Angels cut short last year with a rupture of his Achilles tendon.
- Like Mulder, fellow southpaw Barry Zito made his name with the early-21st century Athletics. Though he remains on track with his own comeback bid, Zito will not be making a late-career return to Oakland, which was not among the teams to watch him work out today, per Joe Stiglich of CSNBayArea.com (via Twitter).
- Free agent LOOGY Phil Coke threw recently for the Rangers and Blue Jays, his agent tells Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link.) Coke worked to a 3.88 ERA over 58 frames last year with the Tigers.
Pirates Acquire Steve Lombardozzi From Orioles
The Pirates have acquired switch-hitting infielder Steve Lombardozzi from the Orioles in exchange for cash considerations, Baltimore announced. The 26-year-old has now been traded for the third time, all dating back to last winter.
Lombardozzi cracked the big leagues with the Nationals, serving as a regular utility piece for the club in 2012 and 2013. He was shipped to the Tigers and then on to the Orioles before the 2014 campaign, which he spent primarily at Triple-A. All said, Lombo owns a .266/.297/.341 line over 829 trips to the plate at the big league level.
The swap is unrelated to the clubs’ earlier Travis Snider deal, which includes a still-unnamed player heading to Baltimore, according to a tweet from Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Orioles To Sign Nolan Reimold
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- The Orioles have reached a deal to bring back right-handed-hitting outfielder Nolan Reimold, according to a tweet from Seamus Doyle. Reimold gets a minor league deal with a spring invite and an opt-out clause, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (Twitter links). The 31-year-old picked a return to his long-time stomping grounds over a chance to join the Indians, according to Kubatko. Reimold has a .251/.324/.439 career slash over six seasons and 1,134 plate appearances, all but 78 of which have come in an Orioles uniform.
Cardinals Acquire Michael Ohlman From Orioles
The Cardinals have acquired catcher Michael Ohlman from the Orioles in exchange for cash considerations, the clubs announced. Ohlman had been designated for assignment by Baltimore.
Added to the 40-man roster in the fall of 2013, the 24-year-old Ohlman played last year at Double-A, the highest level of the minors that he has reached. He slashed a disappointing .236/.310/.318 in 454 plate appearances, failing to follow up on his .934-OPS 2013 at the High-A level. A big-bonus 11th-round pick back in 2008, Ohlman had his share of ups and downs even before his rough 2014, as Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper detailed last March.