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Yankees Designate Jose De Paula For Assignment

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The Yankees announced that they have designated Jose De Paula for assignment.  The move allows the Bombers to reinstate Ivan Nova from the 60-day disabled list following his rehab assignment.

The Yankees signed De Paula to a one-year major league contract back in November. The split contract called for the left-hander to earn $510K for pitching in the majors and $175K in the minors.   De Paula, 27, owns a 3.77 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 over 470 career innings in the minors.  In total, De Paula made just three appearances for the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate this season.

As the MLBTR DFA Tracker shows, there are now five players in DFA limbo: Scott Atchison, Phillippe Aumont, Hector Noesi, Jeff Bianchi, and De Paula.

Chase Utley To DL, May Impact Vesting Option

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Late Tuesday night, the Phillies announced that they placed second baseman Chase Utley on the disabled list after a season of struggling with a right ankle injury.  The news is frustrating for Utley for the obvious reasons, but the DL trip could also impact his future beyond this season.  As Todd Zolecki of MLB.com notes, Utley has a $15MM option for 2016 that automatically vests if he reaches 500 plate appearances.  It’s quite possible that Utley’s time away from the field could keep him from reaching that plateau.

As of today, the 36-year-old has 249 PAs through the first 73 games of the season.  The 15-day DL stint alone won’t rule out 500 plate appearances, of course, but any missed time beyond that will make it even more challenging.  As it stands, Utley isn’t sure exactly how long he’s going to need in order to heal up.

“Talking to the doctor today, the more time I can lay off it the better chance it has to heal properly,” Utley said. “I don’t have an exact time frame. It will be at least 15 days.”

On the plus side, Utley says that his knees – which have been an issue in the past – are healthy.  Through roughly three months of the season, Utley hasn’t been looking like the six-time All-Star that he is.  The veteran owns a slash line of .179/.257/.275, which would easily stand as his career worst if the season ended today.  Utley’s name popped up on MLBTR more than once this season as a trade possibility, but he won’t garner much interest this summer with the way he has been hitting and his ankle issue.

In other Phillies news, we learned earlier today that the Yankees are not ruling out a pursuit of ace Cole Hamels.

Dillon Gee Accepts Outright Assignment

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3:53pm: Unsurprisingly, Gee has indeed accepted the assignment to Triple-A, tweets MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo.

TUESDAY, 12:43pm: Gee has cleared waivers, the club announced. He remains shy of five years of service time, meaning that he had to accept the assignment or forfeit the remainder of his guaranteed salary.

SUNDAY: The Mets have placed Dillon Gee on outright waivers with the intent of sending him to Triple-A, according to Adam Rubin of ESPN.com.  Gee’s name has been in trade rumors for a very long time but the Mets designated him for assignment late last week when they couldn’t find a match.

From 2010-14, Gee notched a 3.91 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 639 2/3 innings, and he’s typically posted a ground-ball rate near or above the league average (career 46 percent).  This season, however, he has struggled to a 5.90 ERA in 39 2/3 innings for the Mets.  Meanwhile, Gee was owed about $3.24MM prorated on his $5.3MM salary at the time of his DFA, so teams were wary of taking him on.  Now, the Mets will be able to stash him in Triple-A Las Vegas, barring a claim between now and noon CT Tuesday.

Gee missed time this year with a groin strain and spent nearly two months on the DL in 2014 with a strained lat muscle. His 2015 struggles, along with the injuries and his salary have presumably diminished his trade value since Opening Day.  However, in his defense, his rough 2015 numbers were hurt badly by his outing against the Braves on Monday when he surrendered eight runs in just 3 and 2/3 innings.

Gee could theoretically refuse an assignment to Las Vegas if he clears waivers and declare free agency, but as Rubin notes, he’s unlikely to do that since it would cost him the $3.1MM he’s owed for the remainder of the season.

Draft Signings: Hale, Red Sox, Cleavinger

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Here are some of the latest notable signings from the amateur draft.  All slot value information is courtesy of Baseball America…

  • Mariners ninth-rounder Conner Hale has announced he has signed with the club via his Twitter page.  The M’s have their other nine picks from the first 10 rounds of the draft already signed at a total cost of just over $4.113MM according to MLB.com’s draft bonus tracker.  This leaves $73.8K remaining in their draft bonus pool (which was slightly less than $4.187MM) and Hale’s 275th overall draft placement carries a slot value of $158.3K.  Since he’s a senior, it’s perhaps unlikely he signed for full slot, giving Seattle a bit of breathing room should they spend extra on any of their post-10th round draftees.
  • The Red Sox announced the signings of Ben Taylor (7th round), Tucker Tubbs (9th) and Mitchell Gunsolus (10th) last week, and according to the MLB.com bonus tracker, all three college seniors signed for well below their assigned slot values.  Taylor signed for $10K despite a $212.5K slot value for the 201st overall pick, Tubbs for $5K ($163.5K as 261st overall) and Gunsolus for $10K ($152.7K as 291st overall).
  • This combined $503.7K in savings helped the Red Sox ink eighth-rounder Logan Allen, whose signing was officially announced today by the club.  Allen said last week that he had verbally agreed to a bonus worth over four times more than his $175.1K slot value as the 231st overall pick, and MLB.com’s Jim Callis reports that Allen received $725K.
  • The Red Sox also announced the signings of three other draft picks today, including outfielders Tate Matheny (4th round) and Jagger Rusconi (5th).  Callis reports that Rusconi signed for a full-slot value of $384K.  It isn’t yet known what Matheny (son of Cardinals manager Mike Matheny) signed for, though his draft placement carries a $512.7K slot value.
  • The Orioles announced that they have signed third-round pick Garrett Cleavinger.  MLB.com’s Jim Callis reports that Cleavinger will receive a $500K bonus, less than the $559.3K slot value assigned to the 102nd overall pick.  The Oregon left-hander was ranked as the No. 185 prospect in the country by Baseball America prior to the draft.  If Cleavinger continues to strike out batters as he has in college, BA says that he might need much minor league time.
  • The O’s also confirmed the signing of seventh-rounder Gray Fenter, and surely Cleavinger’s below-slot deal helped Baltimore to sign Fenter to an above-slot $1MM deal while remaining within the limits of its bonus pool.

Minor Moves: Nelson, Grube, Moreno, Rumbelow

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Here are today’s minor transactions from around baseball, with the newest moves at the top of the post…

  • The Nationals signed free agent third baseman Chris Nelson to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com’s transactions page.  Nelson, 29, was released by the Brewers just last week.  He has moved around quite a bit since his promising run with the Rockies in 2012 as he also saw time with the Yankees, Angels, Padres, and Phillies.  This year, Nelson posted a .202/.256/.290 slash line in 133 plate appearances at Triple-A Colorado Springs.
  • Also from MLB.com’s transactions page, the Indians signed right-hander Jarrett Grube to a minor league deal.  Grube has spent 2015 pitching in the Mexican League, where he has a 2.98 ERA, 7.5 K/9 and a whopping 8.33 K/BB rate over 60 1/3 innings (11 starts).  The 33-year-old Grube was a 10th-round pick of the Rockies in the 2004 draft and he’s also spent time in the Mariners and Angels farm systems.  He made his MLB debut last season, appearing in one game for the Angels.
  • The Yankees have selected the contracts of right-handers Diego Moreno and Nick Rumbelow, the club announced.  In corresponding moves, Jose De Paula and Danny Burawa were optioned to Triple-A while Sergio Santos was placed on the 60-day DL.  Moreno reaches the Show after eight pro seasons in the minors with the Pirates and Yankees, and the 27-year-old has a 2.27 ERA, 3.63 K/BB rate and 7.3 K/9 in 35 2/3 Triple-A innings this season.  LSU product Rumbelow was a seventh-round pick for New York in the 2013 draft and he’s posted a 2.79 ERA, 4.73 K/BB rate and 142 strikeouts in 116 1/3 innings in the minors, all as a reliever.

MLBTR Originals

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A look back at the original reporting and analysis found on MLBTR the last seven days:

  • On this week’s installment of the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, host Jeff Todd spoke with Steve Adams to discuss the growing departure from traditional “buyers” and “sellers” in baseball.  Jeff then theorized about the Reds moving Aroldis Chapman.  A new episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast will be released every Thursday and can be accessed on iTunes, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.
  • Earlier today, MLBTR was the first to learn that Royals catcher Erik Kratz was claimed off waivers.  Minutes later, the Red Sox announced that they were the claiming team.
  • If you haven’t already, sign up for the MLB Trade Rumors newsletter today!  Every week, site owner Tim Dierkes delivers an exclusive article to newsletter subscribers.  The most recent entry is entitled, “How The Red Sox Should Have Rebuilt Their Rotation.”  To check out the next in-depth piece, simply provide us with your email address.  We will never sell your email address or market anything to the mailing list, and you can unsubscribe easily.
  • In this week’s edition of the MLBTR chat, Steve Adams fielded a ton of questions, including inquires about the Padres’ managerial opening, Ryne Sandberg’s job security, Johnny Cueto’s trade candidacy, the possibility of a Bryce Harper extension, and more.  You can chat with Steve every Tuesday on MLBTR at 2pm CT.

AL East Notes: Blue Jays, Masterson, Santos

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Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (audio link) that he’s zeroing in on fixing the starting five before addressing the relief situation.  “That’s probably more our priority,” Anthopoulos said. “We could use both, but if I did have to prioritize it I’d say rotation first, bullpen would be next.” Pitcher Aaron Sanchez is expected to join the rotation upon returning from a lat strain, but the GM went on to say that he wouldn’t rule out using Sanchez in the bullpen if he were able to acquire two superior starters via trade.  Here’s more out of the AL East..

  • It doesn’t sound like we should expect the Blue Jays to pull off any deals anytime soon.  “Very few teams are willing to do anything early…Really we might be the only one willing to do anything now,” Anthopoulos said (via SiriusXM on Twitter).
  • Red Sox hurler Justin Masterson won’t specifically say that he’ll ask for a trade, but he did acknowledge the possibility, as Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald writes.  “I dont know if it’s in my nature to do that, to say, ‘Beat it guys, trade me or put me in [the rotation],’” he said. “No, I don’t think that’s the time right now. Especially the way I see this team going and the way I believe in this team too.”  Masterson, who is signed to a one-year, $9.5MM deal, could conceivably draw interest from a team in need of a starter.  For his part, Masterson would much rather start than pitch in relief.
  • The Yankees announced that reliever Sergio Santos will undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery, as Grace Raynor of MLB.com writes. Santos made two appearances with the Yankees after signing a minor league pact earlier this month.  Over parts of six MLB seasons, Santos owns a career 3.98 ERA with 11.2 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9.
  • Yankees manager Joe Girardi suspects that Ivan Nova’s next start will be in the big leagues, Ryan Hatch of The Star-Ledger writes. Nova last pitched in the majors in April 2014 and underwent surgery on his elbow shortly afterward.
  • Tim Britton of The Providence Journal looked at why the Red Sox have been underperforming their projections despite an active offseason.

Outrighted To Triple-A: McGowan, De La Rosa

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Today’s outright assignments…

  • The Phillies outrighted Dustin McGowan to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, according to the MLB.com transactions page.  The 33-year-old has struggled with his control this season, leading to a 6.94 ERA in 23 1/3 innings. McGowan’s 21 strikeouts in that time are a solid mark, but he’s also walked 20 hitters, and his ground-ball rate is down significantly from its peak — a trend that began last year in Toronto and has continued in 2015.
  • Padres left-hander Eury De La Rosa cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A El Paso, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter).  De La Rosa, 25, has pitched exclusively at Triple-A this year, working to a 4.03 ERA with 6.9 K/9 against 5.6 BB/9 over 22 1/3 frames. That represents a career-worst K:BB ratio in his professional career.
  • As we passed along earlier today, Mets pitcher Dillon Gee was also placed on outright waivers.  As the DFA Tracker shows, that leaves six players in DFA limbo: Jhonatan Solano, Phillippe Aumont, Andy Parrino, Hector Noesi, Jeff Bianchi, and Rickie Weeks.

Reactions To Braves’ Acquisition Of Touki Toussaint

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The acquisition of Touki Toussaint was a coup for the Braves, Jim Callis of MLB.com writes.  Braves president of baseball operations John Hart managed to add last year’s No. 16 overall pick by giving up Phil Gosselin and assuming the balance of Bronson Arroyo’s $9.5MM salary (plus buyout).  The move sacrificed a bit of the present for Atlanta, but it significantly brightened its future, Callis writes.  Here’s a look at some more reactions to yesterday’s surprising trade..

  • The Braves have discussed Toussaint with the D’Backs for more than a month, but he wasn’t trade eligible until recently (June 12th), Mark Bowman of MLB.com tweets.
  • The move will cost the Braves some cash, but it was a deal they felt they had to make.  “We felt the payoff down the line would be too good to just let it go,” Braves assistant GM John Coppolella said (via Bowman on Twitter).
  • The D’Backs sold Toussaint for $10MM, five months after paying $16MM (with tax) for Yoan Lopez, who is not as good, Ben Badler of Baseball America tweets.  On top of that, signing Lopez prevents them from any signings above $300K for the next two years (link).  Meanwhile, the Braves paid $10MM to add a Top 100 prospect and might blitz the international market in 2016 (link).
  • With spending restricted everywhere but free agency, eating cash for a great talent like Atlanta did for Toussaint is a no-brainer, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets.
  • The Diamondbacks are getting criticized quite a bit for the deal, but Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports isn’t ready to condemn them just yet.  Toussaint could have a bright future ahead of him, but he is still in his first full season of professional baseball and is likely years away from the majors.  Even then, he’s hardly a sure thing.
  • Steve Adams of MLBTR (on Twitter) can’t recall a deal being this universally panned for one side.
  • Arroyo said that he is disappointed that he didn’t deliver on the contract he was given by Arizona, as Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic tweets.  “The most difficult part, really, honestly, is the fact that I pitched for 10, 12 years for other ball clubs and gave them their money’s worth,” Arroyo said. “And nobody could ever say that Bronson Arroyo kind of shorted the team. But coming here, I gave these guys, I don’t know, 14 starts and seven wins. For a two-year deal, that was pretty expensive. That was definitely disappointing on my part. But that’s just the way it is.”
  • Arroyo says he’s hoping he’s to return in mid-August, but he also acknowledged there’s a chance he won’t be able to pitch at all this season, Piecoro tweets.
  • When you total up the D’Backs’ dealings with the Braves this year, they have traded Trevor Cahill, Arroyo, Toussaint, and this year’s No. 75 overall pick to save about $15MM, Piecoro tweets.
  • Toussaint took to Twitter to thank his former club.  “Thank you @Dbacks everything you guys have done for my family and I. The memories made this past year are unforgettable. I appreciate it!“

A’s Claim Jake Smolinski From Rangers

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The A’s have claimed outfielder Jake Smolinski off waivers from the Rangers, according to Texas PR man John Blake (on Twitter). Smolinski was designated for assignment by Texas on Friday.

Smolinski, 26, had hit just .133/.270/.200 in 74 plate appearances at the big league level this year. But he’s had plenty of success in other recent stints. Smolinski has obliterated Triple-A pitching in 2015, putting up a 1.280 OPS in 50 turns at bat, and slashed a strong .349/.391/.512 over 92 trips to the plate in his first run at the majors last year.

Both of those big state lines were fueled by huge BABIP numbers, however, and Smolinski’s history is more of sturdy reliability than significant pop. He has never finished a full campaign in the upper minors with an OPS over the .800 mark.

So far this afternoon, we have seen Smolinski claimed by Oakland, Royals catcher Erik Kratz claimed by the Red Sox, and Dillon Gee outrighted by the Mets.  As the MLBTR DFA Tracker shows, that leaves eight players in DFA limbo: Jhonatan Solano, Phillippe Aumont, Eury De La Rosa, Andy Parrino, Dustin McGowan, Hector Noesi, Jeff Bianchi, and Rickie Weeks.

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