Details On Jay Bruce’s No-Trade Clause
We heard recently that the Reds will at least listen to offers on outfielder Jay Bruce. While that still seems to be a long shot, it is worth noting that Bruce has an eight-team no-trade clause that would come into play were he shopped.
According to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca, Bruce can block deals to the Athletics, Blue Jays, D’backs, Marlins, Rays, Red Sox, Twins, and Yankees. That mix of small and large-market teams presumably shields Bruce from destinations he may prefer not to play in while affording him leverage if a big-spending AL East club were to come calling.
Bruce had an off year in 2014, but has been one of the game’s most consistent power threats and is just entering his age-28 season. He is guaranteed $25.5MM over the next two seasons, which includes a buyout for a $13MM club option in 2017.
Lucas Harrell Signs With Korea’s LG Twins
Former big league starter Lucas Harrell has agreed to a $900K deal with the LG Twins of Korea’s KBO, according to Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News. The 29-year-old righty spent last year with the Astros and Diamondbacks organizations.
Harrell emerged in Houston with a big 2012 campaign. He racked up 193 2/3 frames of 3.76 ERA ball that year, striking out 6.5 and walking 3.6 batters per nine while emerging as a popular trade target. But Houston thought it had a durable, solid starter with plenty of control, and did not deal him until it was too late to bring much value.
Harrell took a steep downturn in 2013, throwing to a 5.86 ERA in his 153 2/3 innings while both striking out and walking 5.2 per nine. After a rough start to the year last season, Harrell was shipped to the D’backs for a PTBNL and ultimately ended up with another rather ugly line at Triple-A for Arizona.
Latest On Mariners’ Pursuit Of Righty Outfield Bat
2:57pm: Seattle is interested in Upton but intends to take a look at free agent Nelson Cruz first, according to a tweet from Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
11:51am: The Mariners, as expected, are pursuing several trade possibilities in their efforts to find a right-handed-hitting corner outfield bat, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. Seattle has long been expected to try to fill its outfield void with a righty power bat, and it appears that is where the team is focused.
Seattle’s front office has had talks on players such as Matt Kemp of the Dodgers, Yoenis Cespedes of the Red Sox, and Justin Upton of the Braves. Obviously, each of those options would represent a major addition of a premier source of pop, though their contractual situations are notably different. The latter two are playing out their final year of control at fairly reasonable prices, while Kemp is owed $21MM next year and another $86MM over the four seasons that follow.
The Mariners remain one of the more intriguing teams to watch on the trade market, both because of their aggressive stance and stockpile of interesting talent. Seattle has Brad Miller and Chris Taylor potentially available up the middle, though the team may be more inclined to hold if it does not have an attractive upgrade in mind. The club also possesses interesting, MLB-ready arms like Taijuan Walker and James Paxton, each of whom would hold broad appeal.
Twins Outright Anthony Swarzak
The Twins have outrighted righty Anthony Swarzak, according to a tweet from Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. With the move, Minnesota has one open 40-man roster spot.
Swarzak, 29, has been a mainstay on the Twins staff for the last four years, primarily working out of the pen and also making spot starts. He threw to a 4.60 ERA last year after posting a strong 2.91 mark the year before, and did so while racking up significant innings totals (96 and 86, respectively). Already not much of a strikeout pitcher, Swarzak saw his K rate drop to 4.9 per nine last year.
Minnesota was set to pay Swarzak somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.4MM through arbitration, as projected by MLBTR/Matt Swartz. That led MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes to label Swarzak a non-tender candidate.
Daisuke Matsuzaka Considering Return To NPB
Veteran right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka, who came to the United States with such fanfare back in 2007, appears to be considering an offer to return to playing in his native Japan, according to a report from the Japan Times. The report indicates that Matsuzaka has “apparently decided” to make his way back to the Nippon Professional Baseball league.
The Fukuoka Softbank Haws are interested in signing Matsuzaka, who is a free agent. Comments from the club’s president, Yoshimitsu Goto, implied that negotiations had taken place and were fairly advanced. “Pitchers who can start are a valuable commodity, so we will do our best to get him,” he said. “We hope to get this done in the coming days.”
Matsuzaka, 34, pitched for the Mets each of the last two years after a promising start to his career with the Red Sox fizzled out. He threw 83 1/3 innings in 2014, his largest tally since 2010, and posted a serviceable 3.89 ERA with 8.4 K/9 against 5.4 BB/9. Interestingly, Matsuzaka logged his best SIERA mark (4.39) since his rookie year.
Of course, “Dice-K” has never quite lived up to his promise after making the move to the majors in the middle of his prime. He had dominated NPB early in his career with the Seibu Lions, but owns a lifetime 4.45 MLB ERA.
White Sox Designate Scott Carroll
The White Sox have designated righty Scott Carroll for assignment to create roster space for the official signing of first baseman Adam LaRoche, the club announced (per a tweet from Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com).
Carroll, 30, filled a swingman role last year for Chicago in his first attempt at the big leagues, making 19 starts and seven relief appearances. Over 129 1/3 total frames, Carroll threw to a 4.80 ERA with 4.5 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 to go with a 53.4% groundball rate. ERA estimators thought that Carroll was slightly unlucky, as he registered a 4.77 FIP, 4.58 xFIP, and 4.54 SIERA.
Red Sox Designate Ryan Lavarnway
The Red Sox have designated Ryan Lavarnway for assignment to clear roster space for the signing of Pablo Sandoval, the club announced (per a tweet from Alex Speier of WEEI.com).
Lavarnway, a 27-year-old catcher, was once considered one of the game’s top 100 prospects. But he has failed to earn a consistent chance at a big league role despite making appearances on the MLB roster over each of the last four seasons. Since first earning a call-up in 2011, Lavarnway has not demonstrated the kind of power and on-base ability that created such hope for his future.
Of course, that does not mean that other clubs will not be willing to take a shot on a still-young player with Lavarnway’s talent base. He slashed .283/.389/.370 with three long balls last year across 257 plate appearances at Triple-A. While those figures are a far cry from the 30-home-run onslaught he delivered back in 2011, Lavarnway’s ability to reach base and his demonstrated power ceiling remain interesting.
West Notes: Kantrovitz, Tomas, Saunders, Correia, Sandoval
Filling the opening left by the departing Farhan Zaidi, now-former Cardinals scouting director Dan Kantrovitz will return to the Athletics as an assistant general manager, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports on Twitter. Kantrovitz recently gave an interesting interview with David Laurila of Fangraphs, explaining his approach in St. Louis of viewing the draft as “a mechanism to save money.” He will now reportedly slot in alongside David Forst as one of GM Billy Beane’s top lieutenants.
More from out west:
- The Diamondbacks have “legit” interest in Yasmany Tomas, a league executive tells ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link). They are one of about a handful of clubs currently chasing the Cuban slugger. The Mariners, meanwhile, are nibbling around the edges at the moment, per Crasnick, but do not appear to be one of the core teams in pursuit. You can check out yesterday’s updates on Tomas here.
- The Rangers have mild interest in Seattle’s Michael Saunders, Crasnick tweets. Texas has at least checked in on his availability while ticking through the team’s options in the outfield.
- While his market still seems to be shaping up, starter Kevin Correia has drawn the attention of several teams, including the Rockies, according to Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press (via Twitter). Berardino notes that Correia has pitched well over his career at Coors Field. Despite his largely underwhelming numbers, the 34-year-old righty will appeal to many clubs as a durable innings-eater.
- Pablo Sandoval (and new teammate-to-be Hanley Ramirez) will leave the NL West for Boston, but his former division made every effort to keep him. The Giants‘ offer to Pablo Sandoval included a sixth-year option, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports on Twitter. Combined with prior reports indicating that San Francisco stood at five years and $95MM, with a willingness to bring that figure up, it appears that Sandoval preferred Boston on very similar financial terms (though it is worth noting that full details have not emerged).
- The Padres, meanwhile, were willing to go past five years for Sandoval, according to a report from Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The report appears to indicate that the additional length included at least one more guaranteed year, though it may have delivered a lower overall AAV. GM A.J. Preller said that the team felt it had made a “respectful offer” and was comfortable with the outcome. “[Y]ou have to be prepared that, at the end of the day, he has other options he may take,” said Preller. “We took a good run, and now we have to move on to other options.”
Phillies To Sign Chris Nelson
The Phillies have reached agreement on a minor league deal with infielder Chris Nelson, according to a tweet from Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. Nelson, 29, now joins his sixth organization since the start of 2013.
Nelson has seen his opportunities at the MLB level diminish since a highly productive 2012 season with the Rockies in which he slashed .301/.352/.458. But that line was BABIP-driven and inflated by playing in Coors Field, and Nelson has fallen well shy of that pace since. Over the last two seasons, Nelson has carried a .229/.279/.313 line acrosss 308 plate appearances.
Nelson would seem likely to provide Philadelphia with a utility bench option. Though he has seen only scant time at short, he does have a good number of innings at second and, especially, third base.
Rangers To Sign Ross Wolf
Right-hander Ross Wolf has inked a minor league deal with the Rangers that includes a Spring Training invite, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes reports on Twitter. The 32-year-old had been a reliever for virtually all of his professional career, but has functioned in a swingman role over the last several seasons.
Wolf spent 2013 with the Rangers, accumulating the most extensive MLB action in his career. Over 47 2/3 frames, including three starts and 19 relief appearances, Wolf carried a 4.15 ERA with 4.0 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 to go with a strong 47.3% groundball rate. He has also had partial-season runs with the Athletics (2010) and Marlins (2007).
Last year, Wolf exercised an out clause in his deal with Texas to move to Korea. Over 85 1/3 frames with the KBO’s SK Wyverns, including 13 appearances as a starter, Wolf pitched to a 4.85 ERA. (That mark is actually above-average for the notoriously hitter-friendly league environment.)