Marlins Acquire Bryan Morris From Pirates
The Marlins announced that they have acquired right-hander Bryan Morris from the Pirates in exchange for the No. 39 overall pick in the 2014 draft. The No. 39 pick is Miami’s Competitive Balance Round A selection and is worth roughly $1.58MM.
“We feel this trade will have a positive impact on our organization in the short, moderate and long term,” said Bucs GM Neal Huntington in Pittsburgh’s press release. “In the short term, this trade will add a quality prospect to our system that will enhance our ability to make additional prospect for major league player type deals while helping us to better sustain crucial prospect depth. Additionally, we feel we have made this move from a position of strength as we have kept our core bullpen intact. In the moderate and long term, we add an additional first-round talent that we project to play a significant role on future Pirates’ teams.”
Morris, 27, has pitched to a 3.46 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 over the last three seasons with the Pirates. In late March, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reported that the PIrates were open to dealing Morris and Jeanmar Gomez, though they were a little more reluctant to part with the latter since he can also start. Morris is out of options this year and the Bucs have had a logjam in the bullpen this season. In short, the Pirates are dealing from a surplus to add a promising talent to their farm system.
Of course, the Marlins still have choice picks at the top of the draft. They own the No. 2 overall pick, the No. 36 pick in the Competitive Balance Round A portion after they were unable to sign Oregon pitcher Matt Krook last year, and the No. 43 pick, the second pick of the second round. For the Pirates, the deal gives them a pick to think about in between their No. 24 and No. 64 selections.
Phillies Designate Jeremy Horst For Assignment
The Phillies announced that they have designated Jeremy Horst for assignment. The move will create room on the 40-man roster for the arrival of Cesar Jimenez, who has been called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
The left-hander reliever made 28 appearances for the Phillies last season and didn’t have a ton of success. Horst posted a 6.23 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in those outings. In the two seasons prior, the 28-year-old pitched to a combined 1.74 ERA 9.5 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 44 outings. So far in 2014, Horst owns a 4.35 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 7.0 BB/9 in 19 Triple-A games.
Cafardo On Samardzija, Arroyo, Mayberry Jr.
In today’s column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe ran down the 20 best stories in baseball, starting with the worst-to-first (so far) Blue Jays. Toronto has gotten great hitting out of Jose Bautista, Melky Cabrera, Edwin Encarnacion, and Adam Lind and great pitching from Mark Buehrle, R.A. Dickey, and Drew Hutchison. Now, it remains to be seen whether the Blue Jays will be willing to part with Hutchison in a deal for Cubs‘ ace Jeff Samardzija. More from today’s column..
- The Red Sox and Rangers have the most to offer the Cubs for Samardzija, followed by the Giants. Of course, Cubs president Theo Epstein is quite familiar with the Red Sox’s farm system. The Cubs need pitching, but Boston will definitely not part with lefthander Henry Owens. If that’s not a deal breaker, the Sox have other pitchers like Brandon Workman, Matt Barnes, Anthony Ranaudo, Allen Webster, and Rubby De La Rosa that they can offer. Cafardo guesses that it would take two of them, plus perhaps a catcher, to pry Samardzija loose.
- With the Diamondbacks likely out of the race by the deadline, Cafardo says that we should look for veteran Bronson Arroyo to change uniforms again. Arroyo isn’t a shutdown guy, but he’s an experienced starter who could solidify the back of a rotation, particularly for an NL team.
- The Phillies have made John Mayberry Jr. available and Cafardo writes that the Red Sox could be interested. The Phillies have been scouting the Sox for a third straight series and are looking at Boston as a possible trade partner.
Quick Hits: Indians, Hundley, Utley, Drew
Scott Atchison says he isn’t bothered by being in a closer-by-committee with the Cody Allen, Bryan Shaw, and Marc Rzepczynski, writes Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer. “I think everyone has handled it well, while still being ready to pitch whenever we’re needed in the game,” the Indians reliever said. “We all understood that if we think the right guy for the big outs is in the seventh, then we’re going to put that guy in and worry about the ninth when we get to the ninth. I think we’ve done well with it and it hasn’t disrupted our bullpen a whole lot.” More from around baseball..
- Catcher Nick Hundley told reporters this morning that if he had to be traded, he’s glad he ended up with the Orioles, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. He spoke highly of the O’s, mentioning their winning atmosphere and “storied manager” in Buck Showalter.
- Hundley will be missed in the Padres clubhouse, writes Dennis Lin of the Union-Tribune. “Nick has such a great heart and was a great Padre,” said manager Bud Black. “He was truly on board from a team aspect. That was a tough one.“
- If the Phillies are selling, they would consider dealing Cliff Lee (if healthy), Jimmy Rollins, Marlon Byrd, Carlos Ruiz, Jonathan Papelbon, and others, but there’s no evidence that they’re willing to move Chase Utley, writes Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. The Phillies, he points out, signed Utley to a multi-year contract extension last summer with the intention of keeping him to lead a transitioning roster.
- While Stephen Drew may not be a middle-of-the-order threat or Gold Glove defender, he brings some very necessary attributes to the Red Sox, writes John Tomase of the Boston Herald. The Red Sox won just ten of their first 28 games against right-handed starters and Drew should help balance things out in that regard.
Cubs Sign Manny Ramirez As Triple-A Player-Coach
The Cubs announced that they have signed Manny Ramirez to a minor league deal to be a player-coach at Triple-A Iowa. Ramirez is represented by Praver/Shapiro, as shown in the MLBTR Agency Database.
“While Manny is not and will not be a fit on the Cubs major league roster, we do think at this stage of his life he’s a nice fit as a mentor for some of the young talented hitters we have in the organization,” Epstein said in the press release. “Manny will coach full-time and play part-time in a limited role that does not take at-bats away from our prospects. If he shows there is still some magic in his bat, perhaps he will find his way to the major leagues and help another team, but that is not why he is here. We are thrilled that he wants to work with our young hitters and make a difference.”
Ramirez, who turns 42 this week, last appeared in the Majors in 2011, when he made 17 plate appearances for the Rays and was then served with a 100-game suspension for PED use. The suspension caused Ramirez to briefly retire, but he returned and served a reduced 50-game ban after signing a minor league deal with the A’s before the 2012 season. Ramirez spent 2013 playing in Taiwan and for the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Polanco, Pollock, Giants
On this date in 1999, the Diamondbacks tied a 68-year old major league record when their catcher, Damian Miller, started three double plays. Here’s this week’s look around the baseball blogosphere..
- Whygavs brings us the final vortex of all Gregory Polanco discourse.
- Inside The Zona discusses A.J. Pollock.
- The Giants Cove says the injury bug has come to San Francisco.
- Royals Blue looks on the positive side of things.
- Grab Some Bench looks at Alexei Ramirez‘s trade value.
- Sports Injury Alert says Jose Abreu‘s ankle injury will test the depth of the White Sox.
- Baseball Hot Corner wonders if Jeff Samardzija makes sense for the Blue Jays.
- MLB Reports looks at how the Rangers can fill the Prince Fielder void.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached at ZachBBWI@gmail.com.
Frank Francisco Elects Free Agency
Reliever Frank Francisco has elected free agency rather than accept his outright assignment from the White Sox, MLBTR has learned.
Francisco, 34, struggled in his limited time with Chicago this year. Through 3 2/3 innings, he allowed 5 earned runs on 7 hits (2 home runs) while striking out 5 and walking 3 batters. Francisco signed a minor league deal with the White Sox over the offseason.
Before the 2012 season, he inked a two-year, $12MM pact to serve as the Mets closer. Even though he notched 23 saves in New York, Francisco managed only a 5.36 ERA in 48 2/3 innings in New York over the life of the deal.
Cafardo On Samardzija, Blue Jays, Price, Rodriguez
In today’s column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe looks at the 20 biggest disappointments of the 2014 season so far. Near the top of the list: the Rangers unfortunate rash of injuries. Texas will be without Prince Fielder for the rest of the season and Jurickson Profar‘s status is up in the air as well. In total, the Rangers have had 14 players land on the disabled list, twice as many as any other team. More from Cafardo..
- Cubs ace Jeff Samardzija is being watched more than any pitcher by major league scouts. Among those watching are the Blue Jays, who are more convinced than ever they can win the AL East if they obtain a top starter like Samardzija. Meanwhile, one major league scout tells Cafardo that Toronto is still insistent on not giving up Drew Hutchison.
- There’s some concern about David Price‘s performance this season when it comes to Price, including a 3-mile-per-hour dropoff in velocity in recent outings, but one AL GM doesn’t believe the Rays will have trouble getting what they want in a deal. “Unless there’s a reason to believe he has something wrong with his shoulder, pitchers have ebbs and flows with velocity throughout a season,” said the GM. “Price will be fine.”
- The Pirates designated Wandy Rodriguez for assignment last week and they won’t find a deal for him if the medicals are too bad, but the feeling is that some team will take a chance.
- If new Diamondbacks chief baseball officer Tony La Russa starts hiring people in Arizona, Cardinals farm director Gary LaRocque could be brought aboard for a front office role.
Outrighted To Triple-A: Frank Francisco
Today’s outright assignments..
- The White Sox have outrighted Frank Francisco to Triple-A Charlotte, according to the MLB.com transactions page. In 3 2/3 innings for the White Sox this season, the 34-year-old allowed 5 earned runs on 7 hits (2 home runs) while striking out 5 and walking 3 batters.
Rangers GM Jon Daniels On Injuries To Fielder, Profar
Earlier today we learned that Rangers first baseman Prince Fielder was “seriously considering” season-ending surgery to fix a herniated disc in his neck. Later, an afternoon conference call with Rangers GM Jon Daniels confirmed that the five-time All-Star will go ahead with that plan. Naturally, the injury to Fielder raised speculation from many that the Rangers could consider free agent Kendrys Morales. While Daniels didn’t refer to the former Mariners slugger directly, I asked him if he might consider making a notable out-of-house pickup to fill the void in the batting order.
“Not today, not right now,” Daniels said. “I think that our focus right now is on the group of guys [including the injured Jurickson Profar and Dan Robertson] that are going to come back…There’s a group of guys that are up here in the big leagues that have put together a few good games this week, and we want to see if we can build on that and then evaluate where we are and adjust if that time comes.”
The Rangers received $30MM from the Tigers to help cover part of Fielder’s deal, but with an Opening Day payroll north of $136MM, one might wonder if the owners are feeling tapped out. When I asked Daniels if he might be afforded some financial flexibility to make a significant out-of-house addition, he simply said that he’s not willing to divulge one way or another.
In addition to losing Fielder, the Rangers also got some bad news concerning Profar, who will be sidelined another 8 to 12 weeks thanks to the Grade 2 strain in his right arm. That’s similar to the timeline we initially heard on Profar in late March, but the clock has been reset and this time around his rehab process will be “even more conservative.” With the rash of injuries that the Rangers have had to deal with, Daniels had a hard time concealing his frustration.
“My reaction to the news unfortunately wasn’t surprise just because from talking to [Prince] and seeing him, we knew that this was serious. We were hoping the injection could keep him comfortable and get him through the season. Sometimes you have that response. His response was initially positive,” Daniels said. “The upside is that I’ve been told that this particular surgery has a high success rate. It doesn’t have the same level of risk that a lumbar [problem] of the lower back has in terms of how you use those two parts of the body and the weight you have to support. I’m looking forward to seeing this guy healthy and what he can do, but that’s more of a 2015 and beyond thing.”
The other silver lining, if there is one, is that Profar is not ticketed for surgery at this time. For Fielder, he’ll have to have a cervical fusion on his c5 and c6 vertebrae on Tuesday. One might wonder if the problem could have been caught if the Rangers had Fielder undergo a full physical after acquiring him, but Daniels says that a cervical MRI wouldn’t have been conducted anyway since there was no prior issue there.
It remains to be seen whether the Rangers will make a splashy move to help bolster their weakened lineup, but there’s no doubt that they’ll miss Fielder in 2014.