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White Sox Place Angel Sanchez On Waivers

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The White Sox have placed infielder Angel Sanchez on waivers, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.  As a Rule 5 pick, he will be offered back to the Angels if he goes unclaimed.  Sanchez is currently on a rehab assignment after suffering a lower back strain in April.

Sanchez, 29, posted a .240/.305/.285 line in 328 plate appearances for the Astros last year, playing shortstop, second base, and third base.  The Puerto Rican was drafted in the 11th round by the Royals in 2001, one pick after the Pirates chose Stephen Drew, who of course did not sign and became a first-rounder in '04.  Interestingly, the 11th round of the 2001 draft also produced big league All-Stars Geovany Soto and Dan Uggla.

Jocketty Discusses Choo

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Shin-Soo Choo has been even better than the Reds expected in the early going, and as the projected second-best free agent on the market, the natural question is whether the Reds will try to sign him.  Reds GM Walt Jocketty reluctantly addressed the topic, telling MLB.com's Mark Sheldon:

"I hate to even address it.  We got him with the idea we would get him for the year and then try to develop [Billy] Hamilton to play next year. If we're in a position where we think we can sign Choo, it's a big bonus for us. Would we love to? Absolutely. But we have to really look and see where our financial revenues and financial projections of future revenues are. It's still a little early to do that."  Jocketty admitted, "There's not a lot to spare, I can tell you that."

If the Reds allow Bronson Arroyo to leave, they might just be able to squeeze Choo in while keeping a payroll in the $110MM range, if he'd accept a somewhat backloaded contract.  That includes some back of the napkin arbitration calculations on my part.  There are always ways to find a few million bucks, though.

Choo has mostly deflected questions to date about his upcoming free agency.  Talking to Sheldon, Choo didn't add much, but he did note, "I want to stay in the same area for a long time — wherever it is.  Kids need their dad. It's hard in the baseball season — you spend six months away by yourself, and six months you get together in the offseason. I want to stay in one area. But I'm not thinking about it. I'm not thinking about teams or cities."  

If Choo keeps playing like an All-Star, there's little doubt his free agent contract will be one of the longer ones of the 2013-14 offseason.  Still, guarantees of four-plus years are hard to come by in free agency.  Only eight were given to free agents last offseason.  Of those, only three were for a player entering his age 31 or later season: Josh Hamilton for five years, Nick Swisher for four, and Angel Pagan for four.  If long-term security is a key for Choo, perhaps he can sacrifice a bit on his salary to ensure that fifth guaranteed year.  Swisher and Michael Bourn were not able to get it, instead settling for vesting options from the Indians.

Indians Designate David Huff For Assignment

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The Indians designated lefty David Huff for assignment to open a spot for another southpaw, Scott Barnes, tweeted the team.

Huff, 28, was designated for assignment when the team could not find a spot for him as the season began, but he remained in the organization after clearing waivers.  The team had re-added him to the 40-man roster ten days ago.  After being scored upon in two of his three relief appearances, he's off the 40-man again.  Should he clear waivers, Huff can elect free agency this time, but he would give up his contract in that case.

Huff, drafted 39th overall in 2006 by the Indians, has thrown 288 1/3 innings (52 starts, six relief appearances) in parts of five seasons, with a 5.40 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, and 1.28 HR/9.  After Huff was drafted, Baseball America wrote positively about Huff's command and control but also his fringe-average fastball velocity and lack of a weapon against left-handed hitters.

Mariners To Demote Jesus Montero

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Mariners catcher Jesus Montero will be sent to Triple-A Tacoma today, reports Ryan Divish of The News Tribune.  Catcher Jesus Sucre will be selected to join the big league club, and it appears Montero won't do much catching at Triple-A.

It was a blockbuster challenge trade of two extremely promising and valuable young players. Montero had 18 excellent big league games for the Yankees under his belt when he was sent to the Mariners in January 2012.  The principal player coming to New York in the deal was soon-to-be 23-year-old righty Michael Pineda, who had averaged nearly 95 miles per hour on his fastball as a rookie, made the All-Star team, and finished fifth in the Rookie of the Year voting.  Young players of this caliber are rarely traded.  Things went south quickly for Pineda, as decreased velocity in his second Spring Training start was a harbinger of a shoulder injury that would lead to surgery in May 2012.  What's more, Pineda was arrested for a DUI in August of that year.  Pineda continues to work his way back from the surgery, with the expectation of making his Yankee debut this year.  Whether Pineda's rookie campaign was the high point in his career is anybody's guess.

Montero's first full season in 2012 was disappointing.  Known almost entirely for his offensive prowess, he posted a .260/.298/.386 line in 553 plate appearances.  Montero caught in 56 games, serving as DH in 78.  In a full-time catching role this year, he did even less with the bat.  As "a man without a position," as Divish puts it, the bar for Montero to become a regular designated hitter in the Majors is quite high.  Oh, and the reported connection to Biogenesis doesn't help.

There were a couple of additional players in the Montero-Pineda swap.  The Mariners acquired righty Hector Noesi, who hasn't impressed in 120 1/3 big league innings so far.  The Yankees added prospect Jose Campos, rated their fifth-best by Baseball America prior to the season.  Campos made only five starts last year in low A ball, missing most of the season due to a bone bruise or a small fracture in his elbow.  The injury has Campos on an innings limit in the 85-90 range this year.

One year and four months after the exciting Montero-Pineda swap, the players involved in the trade are a mess across the board, which leads to today's poll: which pair of players do you prefer moving forward? 

AL West Notes: Angels, Jesus Montero, Cotts

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The Angels are the only AL West team playing today, with Joe Blanton facing Ervin Santana and the Royals in Kansas City.  Having won their last four games, the Halos have climbed to a 19-27 record.  They'll need to play .612 ball moving forward to have a shot at 90 wins and the playoffs.  The latest out of their division:

  • Angels righty Jered Weaver had a successful extended spring training start yesterday, reports Kevin Baxter of the L.A. Times.  Weaver is recovering from a fractured elbow suffered in April, and he may be ready to return to the Angels next week.  It's quite possible Blanton, owner of a 6.62 ERA in nine starts, is auditioning for his rotation job tonight despite signing a two-year, $15MM deal in December.  I was surprised to see today that Blanton still has a positive FanGraphs WAR, because that calculation does not consider his 86 hits allowed in 50 1/3 innings.
  • Reliever Ryan Madson seemed like a solid signing for the Angels in November, with only a $3.5MM guarantee.  The 32-year-old had Tommy John surgery in April 2012, but suffered a setback in a rehab appearance last week.  Madson and the Cubs' Scott Baker, both signed to one-year free agent deals, serve as reminders that pitchers are not a lock to return to a Major League mound 12 months after Tommy John surgery.
  • The Mariners have dropped six in a row, and at 20-27, and Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner explains that "the season is lost."  Cameron's plan calls for Brandon Maurer, Dustin Ackley, and Jesus Montero to be optioned to Triple-A and Nick Franklin to get a look at second base in the bigs, among other things.  UPDATE: Montero will indeed be sent to Triple-A today, reports Ryan Divish of The News Tribune.
  • Rangers reliever Neal Cotts has an amazing story, with a four-year gap between Major League appearances.  Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has the details on Cotts' comeback from Tommy John and four hip surgeries.

Derek Lowe Clears Waivers

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WEDNESDAY: Lowe has cleared waivers and now must decide whether to accept an assignment to Triple-A or become a free agent, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter).

MONDAY: The Rangers designated righty Derek Lowe to open a spot on the active roster for Josh Lindblom, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  The Rangers now have 38 players on their 40-man roster.

Lowe, 39, posted a 9.00 ERA, 5.5 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 2.08 HR/9, and 55.8% groundball rate in 13 relief innings this year.  He had signed a minor league deal in March and made the team out of Spring Training, receiving a $1.25MM salary.  That salary should prevent a waiver claim, and result in Lowe becoming a free agent via release.  At that point, a team could sign him for the league minimum $490K with the Rangers picking up the rest of the tab.

Lowe has pitched over 2,600 innings in his big league career with the Mariners, Red Sox, Dodgers, Braves, Indians, Yankees, and Rangers, and has had success as both a reliever and a starter.  His 176 wins rank him 11th all-time among those born in Michigan, and his 86 saves rank tenth.

Minor Moves: Cotts, Boyer, Barton

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The latest minor moves…

  • The Rangers plan to purchase the contract of lefty reliever Neal Cotts if tonight's game is played, tweets Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest.  The 33-year-old hasn't seen big league action since 2009, but he's been dominant in 23 Triple-A innings this year.  The Rangers already have an open spot on their 40-man roster for him.
  • The Hanshin Tigers have a basic agreement with righty reliever Blaine Boyer, according to Sanspo (via Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker). Boyer, 31, pitched 15 relief innings for the Royals' Triple-A affiliate before exercising his out clause to pursue the opportunity in Japan.
  • The Mariners signed 17-year-old Brazilian righty Daniel Missaki, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America.  Badler notes that he was the youngest player in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.
  • The Athletics announced that first baseman Daric Barton cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A, after he was designated for assignment Saturday to open a spot for Chris Young.  He's earning $1.1MM this year, which may have limited interest.  Barton led the American League in walks as a 24-year-old in 2010, but has battled injuries since.  He's still a walk machine at Triple-A, though, with a .422 OBP through 128 plate appearances.
  • The Angels outrighted outfielder Scott Cousins to Triple-A yesterday, according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page.  Cousins had been designated for assignment on Saturday to make room for Chris Nelson.
  • The Yankees outrighted infielder Alberto Gonzalez to Triple-A yesterday, according to the International League transactions page.  Gonzalez had been designated for assignment on Saturday to make room for Reid Brignac.
  • Three players currently reside in DFA limbo: Jon Rauch of the Marlins, Derek Lowe of the Rangers, and Michael Bowden of the Cubs.  Rauch and Lowe figure to be released by their clubs in the coming days, while Bowden will have to decide whether to accept an outright assignment if he clears waivers.

Cubs Claim Eduardo Sanchez

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The Cubs claimed reliever Eduardo Sanchez off waivers from the Cardinals, tweets Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  The Cards moved Sanchez off the 40-man roster to create a spot for Tyler Lyons, who will start tomorrow in place of Jaime Garcia.  The addition will put the Cubs' 40-man roster count at 39, as Michael Bowden was designated for assignment today to open an active roster spot for Matt Garza.  Sanchez will report to Triple-A Iowa for the Cubs.

Sanchez, 24, has a 3.40 ERA, 9.6 K/9, 5.8 BB/9, and 0.60 HR/9 in 45 big league innings spanning 2011-12.  Signed out of Venezuela in '05, the hard-throwing righty spent some time closing for the Cardinals as a rookie in '11, but later landed on the DL for a shoulder strain.  He bounced up and down last year and has missed time this year with a forearm strain, making nine appearances at Triple-A.  Even before his big league debut, Baseball America noted, "durability remains his biggest concern, as his small frame leaves some scouts wondering how his stuff will hold up at the major league level."

Jose Altuve Rejoins Octagon; Leaves Boras

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Jose Altuve's fling with the Boras Corporation has ended.  The Astros' second baseman recently left Boras and signed with Scott Pucino and Wil Polidor of Octagon, where he had been before, reported MLB.com's Brian McTaggart last night.  Though Altuve was with Boras for about a year, the switch went under the radar.

"It's not our business," commented Astros GM Jeff Luhnow regarding his players' choice of agency.  Asked last week about extending Altuve, Luhnow said, "We'll consider any opportunity to keep him here over the long haul."  Boras clients rarely sign team-friendly extensions early in their careers.  As far as I can tell, a Boras client has never signed a deal that bought out free agent years with less than two years of big league service, and the only such deal with a Boras client with less than three years was Carlos Gonzalez's precedent-setting contract in January 2011.  Bottom line: the switch back to Octagon increases the chances of the Astros getting a deal done, if they're so inclined.

Altuve, 23, is hitting .327/.361/.430 in 180 plate appearances this season and is bidding to represent the Astros at the All-Star game for the second consecutive year.  He'll have two years of Major League service time after the season.  Alcides Escobar (four years, $10.5MM) and Cameron Maybin (five years, $25MM) may provide a few imperfect points of reference, having signed as low-power players with two-plus years of service.  Altuve's resume should look better than those comps, given his strong batting averages and the potential pair of All-Star nods.  Perhaps he can get around $30MM on a five-year deal.  The Astros have some leverage, however, as home run and RBI power pays in arbitration, and that's not Altuve's game (though he could knock in 70 this year).  Plus, he won't be arbitration eligible until after the 2014 season and is under team control through 2017, so there's no reason for Luhnow to make a player-friendly offer.

Choo Not Thinking About Long-Term Deal

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"That's too far away," Shin-Soo Choo told Tyler Kepner of the New York Times in reference to questions about the Reds outfielder's future.  Choo, 30, is eligible for free agency after the season, the rare quality player who has resisted multiyear offers and simply compiled his six years of service.  He is currently tied for the MLB lead with 36 runs scored, and he's third with a .455 on-base percentage.  The early success has elevated Choo to the #2 spot on our 2014 Free Agent Power Rankings, behind only Robinson Cano.

Agent Scott Boras was quick to sing his client's praises, commenting to Kepner, "The amazing thing about his career is that he’s been hidden.  Even in an off-year, his on-base percentage is .350. He’s got a career .386 on-base percentage and an O.P.S. that’s .856. Go around the league and find an outfielder who has, essentially, 15-homer power and an .850 O.P.S. Couple that with a .290 average — that’s rare air."  Choo's career OPS ranks 26th among active players and fifth among active outfielders.  Ryan Braun, Matt Holliday, and Josh Hamilton are locked up, while Carlos Beltran will turn 37 early in his next contract.

The one knock on Choo has been his struggles against left-handed pitching.  He batted .239/.329/.318 against them from 2010-12, with the worst of it coming last year.  Through 212 plate appearances this year, Choo's splits have been even more extreme.  He's hitting .368/.510/.684 with nine home runs in 151 plate appearances against righties, and .146/.317/.188 in 61 plate appearances against lefties.  Choo has been below-average defensively this year in center field.  He's naturally a corner outfielder, but it remains to be seen if he can play average defense once he returns to right field.

The Mets should make a strong attempt to sign Choo after the season, suggests Kepner, and when asked about the possibility by John DeMarzo of the New York Post, Choo at least wouldn't rule it out.  Of course, as with most free agents, Choo's next contract will cover post-prime years, perhaps age 31-35.  With Boras doing the negotiating, we can't rule out a sixth year or a salary in the $18-20MM range, plus the loss of a draft pick.  The last thing the Mets need is another large, regrettable contract just as those of Johan Santana and Jason Bay expire; the big question is whether Choo will age gracefully.

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