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Tommy Joseph, Justin Haley Sign With KBO Teams

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Former Phillies first baseman Tommy Joseph has agreed to a one-year contract with the LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter). The Jet Sports client will be guaranteed $1MM on the contract — the maximum amount for which a foreign player can sign for his first year in the KBO.

Meanwhile, former Twins and Red Sox right-hander Justin Haley has signed with the KBO’s Samsung Lions, the team announced via press release (hat tip: Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net, on Twitter). Haley’s deal will pay him a guaranteed $650K ($550K salary, $100K signing bonus) and provide him with the opportunity to earn an additional $250K via performance incentives. He’s represented by PSI Sports Management.

Joseph, 27, turned away interest from teams in Japan and Korea last offseason, telling NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury at the time that he didn’t want to forgo the opportunity to return to the big leagues in 2018. Circumstances have changed since that time, of course. Joseph was still on Philadelphia’s 40-man roster at that point, and while he was undoubtedly cognizant of the fact that he wasn’t likely to have a prominent role on a roster with both Carlos Santana and Rhys Hoskins, there was perhaps hope that he’d land with another organization.

That proved to be the case to an extent; the Phillies designated Joseph for assignment, and he was claimed by the Rangers in Spring Training. Texas, though, designated Joseph for assignment at the end of camp and outrighted him to the minors. The slugger spent most of the 2018 season with Texas’ Triple-A affiliate, where he raked at a .284/.353/.549 clip and mashed 21 homers in 357 plate appearances. He’ll head to South Korea with a career .247/.297/.460 batting line and 43 homers through 880 Major League plate appearances — all with the Phillies.

Haley, meanwhile, pitched in the Majors in both 2017 and 2018 — albeit in limited fashion. Minnesota selected Haley out of Boston’s system in the 2016 Rule 5 Draft, and he made hit MLB debut in 2017. However, Minnesota didn’t hang onto him for the full season, ultimately returning him to Boston that May. Haley had his contract selected by the Red Sox in 2018 and made four relief appearances, though he lost his roster spot back on Nov. 1. In 25 2/3 career innings at the Major League level, Haley has a 5.61 ERA and a 14-to-9 K/BB ratio. However, he’s been substantially better in Triple-A, where he’s compiled a career 3.53 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 260 1/3 innings.

Both Joseph and Haley stand to earn considerably more money than they’d have made by signing a minor league contract and opening the season in Triple-A with a new organization. And, should either player cement himself as a quality contributor in the KBO, there’s certainly the opportunity to earn a raise in the KBO for the 2020 season as well. It’s not especially common to see players elevate their stock overseas and then return to find big league success, though Eric Thames and Miles Mikolas both stand out as recent examples of that route to multi-year free agent contracts.

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/27/18

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We’ll track today’s minor moves from around the league here…

  • The Cardinals announced yesterday that right-hander Derian Gonzalez has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Memphis. The 23-year-old pitched to a 3.51 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 4.1 BB.9 across three levels (Rookie, Double-A, Triple-A) in 33 1/3 innings during an injury-shortened 2018 season. That marked the first action in either Double-A or Triple-A for Gonzalez.
  • Left-hander Hoby Milner cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A by the Rays, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). He’ll head to Spring Training as a non-roster invitee in hopes of once again cracking the roster. The 27-year-old Milner (28 in January) owns a 3.03 ERA in 38 2/3 big league innings, but there’s a fair bit of smoke and mirrors at play in that regard. Milner has just 7.0 K/9 against 4.9 BB/9 in the Majors and has stranded an unsustainable 86.2 percent of the runners he’s put on base. Fielding-independent metrics cast a much less favorable picture than his ERA (5.30 FIP, 5.65 xFIP, 5.07 SIERA). To his credit, Milner has held lefties to a laughable .177/.292/.277 slash through 98 plate appearances.
  • The Marlins announced that right-hander Ben Meyer and outfielder Braxton Lee have both cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A New Orleans and Double-A Jacksonville, repsectively. The 25-year-old Meyer made his MLB debut in 2018 but was hammered for 22 runs in 19 innings. The 2017 season was much better for the righty, as he worked to a 2.02 ERA with 10.8 K/9 against 1.9 BB/9 in 111 1/3 innings — albeit against much younger competition between Class-A and Class-A Advanced. Lee, meanwhile won a Double-A batting title in 2017 but hit just .233/.316/.294 across three minor league levels in 2018 in addition to a weak showing in a brief MLB debut of his own (18 plate appearances). Lee received plus grades for his speed and above-average marks for his outfield defense in the past but has never shown any power.
  • The Marlins have signed outfielder Harold Ramirez to a minor league contract, per John Dreker of PiratesProspects.com (Twitter link). The 24-year-old Ramirez spent a third consecutive season at the Double-A level in 2018 and put together a strong campaign, hitting .320/.365/.471 with 11 homers, 37 doubles and 16 steals in 505 trips to the plate. Ramirez was once considered to be on the fringes of the game’s top 100 prospects, but his stock has dipped in recent seasons — particularly in 2017 (.678 OPS in his second full season of Double-A ball).
  • Australian righty Todd Van Steensel tweeted last night that he’s signed a minor league pact with the Padres. The 27-year-old has spent the past six seasons in the Twins organization, where he’s topped out at the Double-A level. Van Steensel has a career 2.11 ERA with 9.4 K/9 against 4.1 BB/9 in 110 2/3 innings at that level, with all but two of his 66 Double-A appearances coming out of the bullpen.

Braves Sign Josh Donaldson

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7:27pm: The signing is now official, with the Braves announcing it.

1:35pm: The Braves have reportedly made the largest free-agent strike of the offseason so far, agreeing to terms on a one-year contract with former American League MVP Josh Donaldson. The contract is said to guarantee Donaldson the same $23MM salary he earned in 2018 and will give the MVP Sports client an opportunity to re-enter free agency next winter — hopefully on the heels of a healthier, more productive season than the injury-ruined 2018 campaign through which he just struggled.

Josh Donaldson | Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Donaldson, 33 in December, was limited to just 219 plate appearances this year as he battled a shoulder issue early in the season and a calf injury that cost him roughly three months of action. He posted a solid but unspectacular .246/.352/.449 batting line and eight homers when healthy — above-average production relative to the rest of the league but a tremendously far cry from the composite .282/.377/.524 batting line he logged from 2013-17.

[Related: Updated Braves depth chart and Braves payroll outlook]

If healthy, Donaldson will give an already imposing Braves lineup a massive boost — to say nothing of top-shelf defense at the hot corner. Atlanta already had premium glovework at third base thanks to Johan Camargo, but the Braves will now have the luxury to deploy Camargo at a number of positions. Camargo, soon to turn 25, can give the Braves some cover at third base, shortstop and second base at the very least. Speculatively speaking, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Atlanta try him in the outfield corners during Spring Training as well; if Camargo proved capable, the Braves could deploy him in a Marwin Gonzalez or Ben Zobrist-esque fashion, granting him fairly regular at-bats while spelling Donaldson, Dansby Swanson and Ozzie Albies, among others. The signing of Donaldson could push back the debut of prospect Austin Riley by nearly a full year, but Riley is still just 21 years old and has only played 150 games above Class-A Advanced. Some additional development time certainly won’t hurt — especially when considering his 29.5 percent strikeout rate in Triple-A last season.

The agreement with Donaldson marks a reunion between the slugger and general manager Alex Anthopoulos. The pair are well acquainted from Anthopoulos’ time as the Blue Jays’ general manager, with the trade that brought Donaldson to Toronto standing out as one of the most successful moves of Anthopoulos’ front-office career. (Kendall Graveman, Franklin Barreto, Sean Nolin and Brett Lawrie went to the A’s in return.)

The $23MM salary, combined with the reported $2MM salary the Braves will pay fellow free-agent addition Brian McCann, will push Atlanta’s Opening Day payroll projection to just north of $117MM. That’s already just about $1MM shy of their 2018 mark and $5MM shy of the all-time franchise record, so it seems apparent that the Braves’ NL East title and emerging core have spurred ownership to become more aggressive in terms of payroll. By adding Donaldson to the heart of a lineup that also features Rookie of the Year Ronald Acuna and perennial MVP candidate Freddie Freeman, the Braves have made an early splash that’ll have significant ramifications on the 2019 division race and put additional pressure on rivals like the Phillies, Nationals and Mets to further act to bolster their rosters as they seek to remain competitive in a rapidly improving division.

Steve Phillips of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM first tweeted that the two sides were nearing a deal. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the agreement and the terms.

Angels Release Alex Meyer, Jose Miguel Fernandez

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NOVEMBER 26: Meyer has been placed on unconditional release waivers, the club announced, while Fernandez has become a free agent after clearing waivers himself.

NOVEMBER 21: The Angels announced that they’ve designated right-hander Alex Meyer for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for newly acquired left-hander Dillon Peters. The Halos have also requested unconditional release waivers on infielder Jose Miguel Fernandez, who was designated for assignment yesterday.

Meyer, 29 in January, was once a first-round pick of the Nationals (2011) and, for years, was regarded as one of the game’s elite pitching prospects. However, a series of shoulder injuries throughout his time with the Nationals, Twins and Angels has derailed that promising career. The former Kentucky standout underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in that problematic right shoulder last September and was said by the team to have suffered a setback in his recovery earlier this month.

Meyer, acquired by the Angels along with Ricky Nolasco in a trade that sent Hector Santiago and Alan Busenitz to Minnesota, has thrown just 95 1/3 big league innings. He’s posted a 4.63 ERA with 10.1 K/9 against 5.9 BB/9. He’s also notched a 3.52 ERA in parts of nine minor league seasons while averaging better than 10 strikeouts per nine innings pitched.

White Sox Claim Ian Clarkin Off Waivers From Cubs

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The White Sox announced that they’ve claimed left-hander Ian Clarkin off waivers from the Cubs. It’s a quick turnaround move by the ChiSox, who only last week lost Clarkin on waivers to the Cubs.

Clarkin, 24 in February, was the No. 33 pick by the Yankees in the 2013 draft but went from the Yanks to the Sox in the 2017 David Robertson/Tommy Kahnle swap. The 2018 season was an ugly one for Clarkin, however, as he was hit hard in 68 Double-A innings. In 18 appearances (10 starts) at that level he posted a 4.98 ERA and averaged just 4.6 K/9 against 4.1 BB/9.

It remains to be seen if he’ll stick on the 40-man roster throughout the winter this time around, but the White Sox have now acquired Clarkin from outside their organization on two separate occasions, so they clearly see plenty to like in the former first-rounder.

Braves Designate Ricardo Sanchez For Assignment

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The Braves announced Monday that they’ve designated left-hander Ricardo Sanchez for assignment in order to open a spot on the roster for Brian McCann, whose return to Atlanta is now official.

Atlanta originally acquired Sanchez, now 21, back in the 2015 deal that sent third baseman Kyle Kubitza to the Angels. While the lefty ascended to the Double-A level for the first time this past season, he managed just a 4.06 ERA a 44-to-24 K/BB ratio in 57 1/3 innings at that level in 2018. In parts of five minor league seasons, Sanchez has a 4.48 ERA with 8.1 K/9 against 4.1 BB/9 in the minors.

Yankees Claim Parker Bridwell, Designate Ronald Torreyes For Assignment

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The Yankees announced Monday that they’ve claimed right-hander Parker Bridwell off waivers from the Angels and designated utility infielder Ronald Torreyes for assignment.

Bridwell, 27, could potentially give the Yanks some rotation depth. He’s only a season removed from 121 innings of 3.64 ERA ball with the 2017 Halos, though his secondary metrics never made that output appear sustainable. Bridwell averaged just 5.4 strikeouts per nine innings pitched that season and stranded nearly 80 percent of the runners allowed — neither of which are conducive to long-term success. Bridwell is also out of minor league options, so he’ll have to be carried on the 40-man roster all winter and break camp with the team in 2019 or else once again be exposed to waivers.

New York may well plan to try to sneak Bridwell through waivers themselves, as he’s already been passed up on by most of the teams in MLB. League-specific waiver priority applies in August but not the offseason, meaning that every team but the Astros and Red Sox passed on claiming Bridwell.

Obviously, the addition of Bridwell does nothing to limit the Yankees’ continued approach to add to the rotation this winter. New York has already added a pair of starters in trading for James Paxton and re-signing CC Sabathia, but there’s still an additional need in the rotation — especially once Sonny Gray is inevitably traded — and the Yanks will continue to be tied to several of the top names on both the trade and free-agent markets.

The versatile Torreyes has been a usable utility piece for the Yankees over the past three seasons, though his OBP dropped to an unpalatable .294 last season. He’s a .281/.308/.374 hitter in his three seasons in Yankee Pinstripes and has seen action at second base, third base, shortstop and in right field.

Royals Claim Conner Greene, Designate Burch Smith For Assignment

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The Royals announced that they’ve claimed right-hander Conner Greene off waivers from the Cardinals. He’d been designated for assignment last week. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, Kansas City designated righty Burch Smith for assignment.

Greene, 23, was acquired alongside Dominic Leone in last offseason’s Randal Grichuk trade. The former seventh-round pick’s longstanding control issues didn’t improve in his lone season with the Cards, as Greene walked 63 batters in 88 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. He hasn’t had much success in the minors since the 2016 season, but the Royals will hope that another change of scenery brings about more favorable results in 2019.

The 28-year-old Smith was one of two Rule 5 picks carried on the roster by the Royals for the entire 2018 season, but his results paled in comparison to those of fellow Rule 5-er Brad Keller. In 78 innings, Smith limped to a 6.92 ERA, and while he averaged nearly a strikeout per inning, he also averaged 4.6 walks per nine innings pitched. Smith’s ability to miss bats has long been intriguing, but his career has been slowed by control issues and injury troubles — most notably Tommy John surgery.

Braves Sign Brian McCann

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2:07pm: The Braves announced that they’ve signed McCann to a one-year deal worth $2MM. As agent B.B. Abbott explained to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter links), McCann’s priority this winter was to return to Atlanta.

1:08pm: It’s a one-year deal for McCann, tweets MLB.com’s Jon Morosi.

12:56pm: The Braves have agreed to terms on a contract with free-agent catcher Brian McCann, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com (via Twitter). It’ll be a homecoming for the Jet Sports client, who is from the Atlanta area and spent the first nine seasons of his Major League career as the Braves’ primary catcher.

McCann, 35 in February, signed a five-year, $80MM contract with the Yankees prior to the 2014 season and spent three years in the Bronx before being traded to the Astros in the 2016-17 offseason. After a solid first season in Houston that saw McCann hit .241/.323/.436 with 18 home runs and win a World Series ring, the 2018 season proved difficult for the veteran receiver. McCann slashed just .212/.301/.339 through 216 plate appearances. Injury troubles plagued McCann throughout the year — most notably a knee issue that required surgical repair over the summer.

In his return tour with Atlanta, McCann figures to share time behind the dish with 33-year-old Tyler Flowers. The pair could form a fairly straightforward platoon, as McCann has remained rather productive against right-handed pitching even into his mid-30s (with the exception of this past season’s injury-marred results). Flowers, meanwhile, has been a nuisance for left-handed pitchers, hitting them at a .278/.387/.444 clip over the past five seasons. The exact division of labor behind the plate may not even be fully determined until Spring Training, however.

Despite his knee troubles, McCann still managed to halt 32 percent of stolen-base attempts against him in 2018. He’s long been considered a plus pitch framer, though he graded out below average in that regard last season, per Baseball Prospectus. His blocking numbers, too, have declined in recent seasons. For the Braves, though, the hope will be that better health and perhaps a lighter workload can help McCann restore some of his offensive and defensive prowess. At the very least, he’ll bring nearly a decade and a half of experience working with pitchers to a young Atlanta rotation — an asset in which Braves decision-makers assuredly see plenty of value.

Mets Claim Jordan Patterson From Rockies

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The Mets announced Monday that they’ve claimed outfielder/first baseman Jordan Patterson off waivers from the Rockies. The Mets’ 40-man roster is now at 39 players.

Patterson, 27, hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2016 but has enjoyed plenty of success in Triple-A to this point in his career. In parts of three seasons, the left-handed-hitting Patterson is a .282/.363/.516 hitter with Triple-A Albuquerque, though Mets fans should be plenty familiar with the caveat that the Pacific Coast League is an immensely hitter-friendly environment. Defensively, Patterson has nearly 3200 innings in right field, more than 2000 innings at first base and more than 300 innings in left field.

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