Orioles Sign J.P. Arencibia To Minor League Deal
The Orioles have reportedly been looking to add another catcher (despite having five on the 40-man roster), and they did so today, announcing the signing of J.P. Arencibia to a minor league deal. The CAA Sports client will receive an invite to Major League Spring Training.
Arencibia, who just turned 29, handled most of the catching duties for the Blue Jays over the 2011-13 campaigns. His low-OBP, high-strikeout approach yielded a steady diet of ~20-home run campaigns, but reached an extreme in his final year in Toronto, when he managed only a .227 on-base percentage while striking out 148 times and walking only 18 times in 497 turns at the plate.
It was much the same last year in Texas, where Arencibia scuffled to a .177/.239/.369 slash with ten long balls in 222 plate appearances. On a Rangers team beset with injury issues, he split his time evenly between catching, playing first, and slotting in as the designated hitter.
Arencibia will presumably challenge for a similar role in Baltimore or serve as depth while starting the year in the upper minors. As Connolly notes on Twitter, Arencibia put up big numbers at Triple-A during his time in Texas, when his swing was being overseen by new O’s hitting coach (and then-Rangers minor league hitting coordinator) Scott Coolbaugh.
From a defensive standpoint, Arencibia has prevented base stealing at a roughly league-average clip throughout his career (26 percent). He’s also typically graded out as a plus pitch-framer, according to both Baseball Prospectus and Matthew Carruth’s Framing Report at StatCorner.com.
Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun first reported that the deal was close (on Twitter), and Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweeted that an agreement had been reached.
Free Agent Notes: Beachy, Ichiro, Red Sox Pen
So far this offseason, an unusual amount of free agent spending has been made by teams that were less successful in 2014, Sam Miller writes for FOX Sports. While Miller acknowledges the possibility of a short-sample blip, he notes that last year showed a similar trend. And, as he explains, factors such as the addition of a second Wild Card suggest a reasonable explanation for a real shift in strategies. Those interested in broader market movement will certainly want to give this thoughtful piece a complete read.
Here’s the latest on the current market:
- Second-time Tommy John patient Brandon Beachy remains available, unlike similarly-situated former teammate Kris Medlen and most other high-upside rebound candidates. Recent reports suggest his market is reaching maturation, and the Braves remain interested and involved, according to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). After checking in on the 28-year-old, however, the Rangers are out of the pursuit, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.
- The Blue Jays have joined the Marlins and Orioles in expressing interest in outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports on Twitter. For what it’s worth, the left-handed-hitting Ichiro’s historically neutral splits have skewed toward a significant reverse platoon advantage in recent seasons, though he has seen fairly limited action against southpaws.
- Toronto’s strongest AL East competition could come from the Red Sox, who like their Canadian rivals are still in the hunt for bullpen upgrades, per Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe. GM Ben Cherington says that he is “still working” to build out the Boston relief corps.
Japan’s Rakuten Golden Eagles Sign Gaby Sanchez
The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball have announced a one-year deal with first baseman Gaby Sanchez, according to the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). Sanchez will earn approximately $2.5MM and can achieve more through incentives, per the report.
Sanchez, 31, swings from the right side of the plate. He has been with the Pirates since a mid-season deal back in 2012. Serving in a platoon capacity in Pittsburgh, Sanchez had a solid 2013 but took a step back last year with a .229/.293/.385 slash over 290 plate appearances while enjoying the platoon advantage in over half of his trips to bat.
That recent performance did not meet the expectations set earlier in Sanchez’s career with the Marlins, when he became a steady regular at the first base position. Sanchez hit .269/.346/.437 with 38 total home runs while playing every day in 2010-11 with the Fish. After an All-Star appearance in 2011, however, Sanchez struggled in the second half and never regained his footing in Miami.
The University of Miami product was designated and non-tendered by the Pirates back in December. With just over $5MM in career earnings at the big league level, and a likely lack of an opportunity to land a significant guarantee in the big leagues, it is easy to see the appeal in the contract that Sanchez accepted. And, of course, the path back from Japan to MLB has been taken by many players who have performed in the NPB.
Minor Moves: Marcos Mateo
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- The Padres have inked righty Marcos Mateo to a minor league pact, MLB.com’s Corey Brock reports on Twitter. The 30-year-old has thrown in the upper minors over the last two years with the Cubs, putting up fairly solid results but failing to earn his way back to the big leagues. Across 44 2/3 MLB frames in 2010-11, Mateo logged a 5.04 ERA with 10.3 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9. ERA estimators were more favorably disposed to his work at the game’s highest level than his results showed, however. Mateo’s impressive stuff drew attention last winter, when he was taken in the Rule 5 draft by the D’backs before ultimately being returned to Chicago.
Cardinals Exploring Top-End Starter Acquisition
The Cardinals are exploring several avenues to add a top-end arm to the top of the rotation, Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi of FOX Sports report. The targets include not only free agent Max Scherzer but also trade candidates Cole Hamels of the Phillies and David Price of the Tigers.
Rosenthal and Morosi hasten to add that no deals appear to be close, and note that St. Louis could decide to hold pat with its current slate of starters if the price proves too steep. But the club’s interest reflects some level of concern that the staff will hold up as constituted, per the report.
Scherzer has local roots and could be had for nothing but money, but is expected to command quite a lot of it. The other two hurlers — both southpaws, which the FOX Sports tandem says the Cards would prefer — will obviously require more than cash commitments to acquire.
In the case of Hamels, his no-trade protection would pose no barrier as the Cardinals are not on his no-trade list. But Philadelphia would be looking for a package fronted by a young starter such as Carlos Martinez or Marco Gonzales, while also including a promising young outfielder like Randal Grichuk or Stephen Piscotty. Center fielder Peter Bourjos is also a player that the Phillies have had interest in some time, per Rosenthal and Morosi.
Price, of course, represents an entirely different sort of piece. He is entering his final year of arbitration eligibility and is currently under control of a win-now Detroit club. Per the report, St. Louis might pursue Price with the idea of locking him up for the long-term, based in part on the fact that he makes his offseason home in reasonable proximity (Nashville).
The Price-Scherzer dynamic also impacts things from the Tigers’ perspective, of course, and Rosenthal and Morosi say that the team has not approached Price about an extension. GM Dave Dombrowski has not been shy about dealing pitching talent in recent years, and it could be that moving Price off the books for 2015 would pave the way for a return for Scherzer. Of course, that scenario seems fairly speculative at this stage.
Indians Notes: Trades, Floyd, Bere, Cloyd
The Indians have a logjam of players who can handle right field, first base and DH, but Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes that the surplus doesn’t mean a trade is likely. David Murphy‘s name has come up in rumors, but team has to first determine the health status of Nick Swisher, Brandon Moss and Ryan Raburn. Swisher had surgery on both knees in August, Moss had hip surgery in October and Raburn had left knee surgery in September in addition to dealing with a sore wrist for much of the season. Hoynes provides a health update on each player, and he also spoke with Francona, who sounded happy to have a number of options on his hands: “You walk that fine line. You have guys who expect playing time … but at the same time we can’t let our season be derailed by the unknown. I think [GM] Chris [Antonetti] did a really god job protecting us … I think it’s going to make us a better team and protect us from the unknown.”
A couple more Indians notes…
- The Indians’ signing of Gavin Floyd was all about adding depth and innings to a promising but young rotation, writes MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. While the team does have other arms that had figured to compete for time in the rotation, they can continue to develop in the upper minors and remain ready to step in if a need arises.
- Also from Bastian, the club announced today that Jason Bere, a special assistant to the baseball operations department, has been named the club’s new bullpen coach in the wake of Kevin Cash’s departure to manage the Rays. “He’s been with the organization a long time, so everybody knows him,” Francona told Bastian. “By design, we had him around a lot, not just in Spring Training, but in September and at a few key points during the year, because of what he can add to a staff.”
- After receiving his release today from Cleveland, righty Tyler Cloyd is expected to reach agreement with the KBO’s Samsung Lions, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. The club had announced that it was releasing Cloyd so that he could pursue an opportunity in Korea.
Tigers Sign Tom Gorzelanny, Designate Luke Putkonen
2:14pm: Gorzelanny’s deal is for approximately $1MM in guaranteed money, Beck tweets.
10:10am: The Tigers have signed lefty swingman Tom Gorzelanny to a one-year deal, the team announced. To create roster space, right-hander Luke Putkonen was designated for assignment, MLB.com’s Jason Beck tweets.
Gorzelanny threw well last year for the Brewers in limited action. After returning from shoulder surgery, the 32-year-old put up a stellar 0.86 ERA in 21 innings of work. Interestingly, of the 23 games in which he appeared, Milwaukee went on to win only two. That, along with his limited workload, demonstrates that his former club was handling him quite delicately.
Detroit will hope that Gorzelanny can return to being a workhorse long man and spot starter, as he had been previously. Over parts of ten MLB seasons, Gorzelanny owns a 4.27 ERA with 7.2 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9. As one would expect, he has been much stingier against lefties, holding them to a .661 OPS (versus a .780 lifetime mark for opposing right-handed hitters). Likewise, the southpaw has been much better when working out of the pen, where he owns a 2.88 ERA in 171 2/3 career frames.
Meanwhile, the 28-year-old Putkonen missed most of last season after suffering a bone spur in his right elbow, which ultimately require surgery. He had thrown 29 2/3 promising innings at the major league level the year prior, working to a 3.03 ERA with 8.5 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9. Putkonen had been on an upward trajectory after transitioning from a starting role, and his mid-90s heater (when healthy) should draw plenty of interest around the league.
Indians Sign Michael Roth, Release Tyler Cloyd
The Indians announced a series of minor pitching transactions on Twitter. Left-hander Michael Roth has been inked to a minor league deal with a spring invite, while righty Tyler Cloyd has been released to afford him an opportunity to pitch in Korea.
Roth is a 24-year-old who has thrown mostly in relief at the major league level while working as a starter in the minors. The University of South Carolina grad has been hit around in the bigs, but worked to a solid 2.62 ERA with 5.1 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 140 2/3 innings as a starter at Double-A. Roth refused an outright assignment with the Angels after being designated for assignment back in November.
The 27-year-old Cloyd, meanwhile, worked at Triple-A last year with the Indians organization, pitching to a 3.89 ERA over 166 2/3 frames with 6.4 K/9 against 1.7 BB/9. He had served as a spot starter for Cleveland at the MLB level over the prior two years, compiling a 5.98 ERA over 93 1/3 total innings.
East Notes: Drew, Blue Jays, Toritani
As the baseball world anxiously awaits news on the Hall of Fame voting, let’s take a look in at the latest out of the game’s eastern divisions:
- Free agent shortstop Stephen Drew is seeking “upwards of $7MM” in his next deal, tweets Mike Puma of the New York Post. The Mets are not interested at that rate, Puma adds, though a “significant” price drop could get New York back into the conversation.
- Though the Yankees are content going with some combination of Jose Pirela and Rob Refsnyder at second heading into the spring, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets that the club is still keeping an eye out for alternatives. That includes Drew, per Heyman.
- The Blue Jays are still looking to the trade market to bolster their bullpen and will not spend up to their full capacity just to add whatever new arms they can, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. While there is still a possibility of a low-cost free agent addition, Davidi explains that the Jays look increasingly likely to go with internal options while keeping an eye out this spring or even into the season for improvements.
- Toronto is still interested in Japanese infielder Takashi Toritani, adds Davidi, but at this point are only inclined to do a cheaper, one-year contract. Indeed, the club has not yet made an offer to him, per Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
Latest On Market For James Shields
Though the market for James Shields‘ services is reportedly strong — at least one $110MM offer is said to be in hand — the likeliest destinations for the veteran righty remain something of a mystery. Here’s the latest:
- The Blue Jays are not negotiating with Shields, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports on Twitter. On the other hand, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (via Twitter) that the club would consider entering the fray if the price tag were to drop. That does not seem to be terribly likely, of course, if Shields does indeed already have significant interest at nine figures.
- Though the Rangers met with Shields at the Winter Meetings, the club is not in position to sign him, as MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan reports. A deal to bring Shields to Texas is “not in the cards,” says GM Jon Daniels, who notes that the team has “not really” been in touch with the Shields camp since December.