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Orioles Acquire Richard Bleier, Designate Christian Walker

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The Orioles have acquired lefty Richard Bleier from the Yankees, per a club announcement, with cash or a player to be named later heading back in return. Baltimore designated first baseman/outfielder Christian Walker for assignment to create roster space.

Bleier, 29, had been designated for assignment recently by New York. The soft-tossing southpaw managed a strong 1.96 ERA in his 23 MLB frames with the Yankees last year, but managed only 5.1 K/9 to go with strong walk (1.6 BB/9) and groundball (54.1%) rates.

While that’s obviously rather promising for a debut campaign, Bleier hasn’t compiled the minor-league record to suggest its entirely sustainable. He worked to a 3.72 ERA in his 58 Triple-A innings in 2016, notching just 25 punchouts along the way. And though he has recorded an over 3.29 earned run average in 147 frames at the highest level of the minors, exhibiting excellent command along the way, he has an anemic 3.7 K/9 in that span.

As for Walker, the move rates as a disappointment after indications earlier in the offseason that he could contend for a roster spot. That hope largely came to an end when the O’s brought back Mark Trumbo, though it seemed there was at least some possibility with a big spring — until now. The 25-year-old, a fourth-round pick in the 2012 draft, has received only minimal time in the big leagues with Baltimore. Over three seasons of work at Triple-A, he slashed .260/.324/.429. Though he split his time last year between first base and the outfield, that represented his first look on the grass.

East Notes: Bourn, Hellickson, Prado, Locke

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Veteran outfielder Michael Bourn seems fairly likely to make the Orioles’ Opening Day roster, Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com writes. His chief attributes — speed and defense — are areas where the club is lacking, and Bourn could conceivably not only lead off against righties, but also spell Adam Jones in center from time to time. Of course, his presence makes it less likely both that last year’s Rule 5 pick, Joey Rickard, makes the MLB roster and that the team is able to keep this year’s Rule 5ers (outfielders Aneury Tavarez and Anthony Santander).

Here’s more from the game’s eastern divisions:

  • The Phillies seem inclined to hand the ball to righty Jeremy Hellickson when they start play this season, as Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “He’s probably got the best chance to be our Opening Day starter,” said manager Pete Mackanin. Hellickson, who took the organization’s $17.2MM qualifying offer rather than testing the open market, will be aiming to replicate a solid 2016 season and then test free agency without being saddled with draft compensation. (Under the new CBA, he won’t be eligible to receive a second qualifying offer.)
  • Another player who steered clear of the open market, Marlins third baseman Martin Prado, discussed his decision to take an extension last fall. As Tim Healey of the Sun-Sentinel reports, Prado wasn’t sure he wanted to consider a new deal with just a few weeks left in the season. But the terms (three years and $40MM) were favorable enough for him to consider it, and he says he ended up preferring to stay in place after bouncing around a fair bit in prior seasons. As Healey writes, Prado had reasons both personal and professional for remaining in Miami. “I know I could probably get more money somewhere else if I go to a different team,” said Prado, “but I truly believe in this group of guys. They have fun. They play hard. I feel comfortable.”
  • Meanwhile, Marlins lefty Jeff Locke is dealing with biceps tendinitis, as Healey further reports in the above-linked post. A few days’ rest is all that’s required at present, with Locke calling the brief shut-down a matter of taking a precaution early in camp. The southpaw struggled to a cumulative 4.90 ERA over the past two seasons, allowing the Marlins to grab him for $3.025MM on a one-year deal. While it seems reasonable to hope that the ailment won’t limit Locke, he already faces something of an uphill battle to win a rotation spot; Jason Martinez of MLBTR and RosterResource.com currently projects Locke to end up in the Miami pen to start the year.

Orioles Acquire Vidal Nuno

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5:03PM: The trade is official, as per a Dodgers press release.

4:23PM: The Orioles are close to acquiring left-hander Vidal Nuno from the Dodgers in exchange for minor league right-hander Ryan Moseley, reports Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun.

Vidal Nuno

If Baltimore does acquire Nuno, it would be the second trade involving the 29-year-old in the past three-plus months. The Dodgers previously sent catcher Carlos Ruiz to the Mariners in November for Nuno, who has three years of club control remaining and will make a paltry $1.125MM in 2017. The swingman would provide the Orioles someone with extensive experience as both a starter and reliever – something they lost when Vance Worley departed in free agency – and perhaps push out-of-options southpaw T.J. McFarland off their roster.

In stints with the Yankees, Diamondbacks and M’s, the soft-tossing Nuno has combined for 126 appearances (42 starts) of 4.02 ERA pitching with 7.38 K/9 against 2.32 BB/9. He has been particularly tough on left-handed hitters, having held them to a .217/.285/.356 line, while righties have slashed .270/.320/.479. Nuno’s currently coming off a two-year stretch in which he recorded a 3.66 ERA, 8.05 K/9 and 2.01 BB/9 over 147 2/3 innings, though he generated ground balls at just a 39.7 percent clip.

The Orioles will have to create 40-man roster space for Nuno, Encina notes, while Ken Gurnick of MLB.com tweets that dealing the pitcher will enable the Dodgers to open up a spot for newly signed outfielder Franklin Gutierrez. They’ll also pick up the 22-year-old Moseley, whom the Orioles selected in the eighth round of last June’s draft. Moseley disappointed in 2016 at Texas Tech, per Baseball America (subscription required/recommended), which lists a “power-reliever future” as the best-case scenario for the 6-foot-1, 190-pounder. Moseley debuted professionally in short-season ball last year and registered a 3.20 ERA, 8.24 K/9 and 4.12 BB/9 in 19 2/3 innings.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/18/17

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Here are today’s minor moves from throughout the game.

  • The White Sox are bringing back left-hander Scott Snodgress on a minors pact, tweets Zach Links of MLBTR and ProFootballRumors. The 27-year-old Snodgress went to the White Sox in the fifth round of the 2011 draft and broke into the majors with them in 2014, when he logged the only 2 1/3 innings of his big league career. He then spent 2015 with the Angels organization before playing independent ball last season.
  • The Red Sox have announced that they’ve purchased the contract of righty Hector Velazquez from the Piratas de Campeche in the Mexican League. The deal will be official once a physical is completed. The 28-year-old pitched well over the winter for the Mayos de Navojoa in the Mexican Pacific Winter League, with a 2.32 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 85 1/3 innings. He also fared well in the regular season for the Acereros de Monclova, with a 2.47 ERA, 8.2 K/9 and 1.1 BB/9 over 131 1/3 innings. He has spent his entire career in Mexico to this point.
  • The Orioles have announced that they’ve signed outfielder Craig Gentry to a minor-league deal with a big-league Spring Training invite. Once somewhat of a sabermetric darling for his outstanding outfield defense and on-base ability, the 33-year-old Gentry has fallen on hard times in recent seasons. Last year, he played only briefly for the Angels before landing on the DL with a right lumbar spine strain and ultimately being released. For his eight-year big-league career, he has a .261/.335/.333 line, including just .222/.290/.263 in 353 plate appearances over the last three seasons.

East Notes: Hardy, Swihart, Wilson, Johnson, Scherzer

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Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy underwent an MRI yesterday and a CT scan today due to back spasms that have been troubling him since late January, Hardy himself told reporters (via Peter Schmuck and Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun). Hardy has had back spasms in the past but doesn’t seem overly concerned by the injury, stating that they feel “similar to everything I’ve had in the past.” At this juncture, there doesn’t sound to be cause for significant concern, but the situation is certainly worth keeping an eye on.

A few more notes out of the game’s eastern divisions …

  • Spring Training is off to a rocky start for Red Sox catcher Blake Swihart, as Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald reports. Though it’s obviously still early, Swihart has struggled badly with getting the ball back to the pitcher. As Drellich explains, that’s perhaps of particular concern here: Swihart is reacclimating to life behind the dish after a stint in the outfield (and then on the DL) in 2016 and has always faced questions about his defensive abilities.
  • The Rays have some interest in newly knuckleballing righty Brian Wilson, according to Marc Topkin and Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times. Once a power late-inning reliever, Wilson has battled injuries and hasn’t pitched competitively since 2014. Tampa Bay has dedicated resources to finding and developing knucklers, and trying out the soon-to-be-35-year-old would at least represent a fun-to-follow experiment.
  • Speaking of former closers, Jim Johnson will enter camp with a firm hold on the 9th inning for the Braves, as David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. Atlanta extended the 33-year-old after his strong finish to the 2016 season, which included a run as the Braves’ closer. Johnson finished the year with 64 2/3 innings of 3.06 ERA ball on his ledger, supported by a surprising 9.5 K/9. A repeat of that strikeout rate seems unlikely, as Johnson’s 7.7% swinging-strike rate fell below the league average and right at his career mark, but he continues to induce plenty of groundballs.
  • After telling reporters yesterday that he was still experiencing symptoms from his broken right ring finger, Nationals righty Max Scherzer took part in a seemingly productive long toss session today, as Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post was among those to tweet. While it still seems likely that he’ll be delayed, and may not quite be ready to take the ball on Opening Day, it’s encouraging that Scherzer is not being held back entirely from throwing. The reigning National League Cy Young winner had been expected to participate in the World Baseball Classic, but those plans were already iced when the news emerged that he had been diagnosed with the fractured digit.

Brad Brach Wins Arbitration Hearing Against Orioles

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Right-hander Brad Brach won his arbitration hearing against the Orioles yesterday, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports (via Twitter). As a result, he’ll earn the $3.05MM that he and agent Brian Charles of Big League Management proposed instead of the $2.525MM proposed by the team. Brach’s salary comes in just over $100K north of the $2.9MM mark that was projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.

As Heyman notes, the O’s entered that hearing with a sterling 11-1 record in arbitration hearings, making Brach’s win all the more noteworthy. The 30-year-old had a strong case, however, given his excellence in a career year this past season. While Brach has been excellent ever since being traded over from the Padres in exchange for minor league right-hander Devin Jones, he was flat-out dominant in 2016.

Control has previously been a problem for Brach, but that wasn’t the case last year, as he tossed 79 innings with a 2.05 ERA, 10.5 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 41.5 percent ground-ball rate. Brach’s pristine earned run average, glut of strikeouts, heavy workload and 24 holds all worked in his favor in his arb hearing.

This marked Brach’s second time through the arbitration process. He’ll be eligible once more next offseason before reaching free agency upon completion of the 2018 campaign (in advance of his age-33 season). With Brach’s salary now set for the 2017 season, the Orioles have resolved all nine of their arbitration cases (as can be seen in MLBTR’s 2017 Arbitration Tracker).

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/15/17

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • Two players are joining the Orioles on minor-league deals, per a club announcement. Outfielder Michael Choice and corner infielder Juan Francisco both signed on, though it’s not clear whether either has received an invitation to MLB camp. Choice, 27, is a former top prospect who has struggled in his limited chances at the MLB level and hit .246/.304/.456 in 276 Triple-A plate appearances last year. Meanwhile, it’s a return to the affiliated ranks for Francisco, who’s still just 29 years old. He hasn’t seen the majors since 2014, when he did manage above-average overall production despite a typically subpar on-base percentage, and did not play in 2016 after a brief stint in Japan during the prior season. (Note: Francisco’s signing was first reported yesterday, as we covered here.)
  • The Orioles also outrighted catcher Francisco Pena after he cleared waivers, as Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com first reported on Twitter. Pena, 27, scuffled in limited MLB action but will still enter camp with at least a shot at winning a reserve role on the Opening Day roster. The out-of-options backstop owns a .248/.294/.453 batting line in extensive Triple-A action and is regarded as a solid defender.
  • Also outrighted was right-hander Deolis Guerra, who’ll head to Triple-A for the Angels (though as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register notes on Twitter, he can still reject the assignment). The 27-year-old was recently dropped from the 40-man in favor of another reliever, but the club will get to keep both options on hand. Last year, Guerra contributed 53 1/3 frames of 3.21 ERA ball with 6.1 K/9 and an excellent 1.2 BB/9 for Los Angeles, but the soft-tossing control artist doesn’t seem to have generated much interest from other organizations.
  • Finally, the Blue Jays have outrighted lefty Chad Girodo after he cleared waivers, per a club announcement. Recently designated, the 26-year-old will hope to earn his way back to the majors after making his debut in 2016. He did generate grounders at a healthy clip last year, but struggled in his 10 1/3 MLB frames and managed only a 3.79 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in his 35 2/3 innings at Triple-A.

AL Notes: Rodriguez, A’s Closer, Phegley, Adcock, O’s, Wood

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Red Sox lefty Eduardo Rodriguez was cleared for his first pen session of the spring after suffering a minor knee injury in winter ball action, as Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com reports. There was added concern given the trouble Rodriguez experienced with the same joint last year, but he was able to throw 40 pitches without incident today. Boston has some depth in the staff, with Rodriguez slated to compete with Drew Pomeranz and Steven Wright for the final two rotation jobs, though maintaining that depth will hinge in no small part upon the ability of the 24-year-old to stay healthy throughout the coming season.

Here are a few more notes from the American League:

  • The Athletics may not go with a single closer in 2017, skipper Bob Melvin told reporters including MLB.com’s Jane Lee (Twitter link). Lefty Sean Doolittle and righty Ryan Madson have both handled the job in the recent past for Oakland, while the just-signed Santiago Casilla did the same for the cross-town Giants in recent years and John Axford also has spent plenty of time in the late innings. It’s perhaps imaginable that the less-experienced Ryan Dull could see some chances after a strong 2016.
  • There was some good health news out of Athletics camp, as catcher Josh Phegley was cleared for full duty behind the plate, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Phegley had struggled with knee inflammation after undergoing surgery, causing him to miss the second half of the 2016 season, but a change in his stance will hopefully resolve that issue. Oakland is counting on a bounceback campaign from the 29-year-old.
  • Righty Nate Adcock will not join Orioles camp as expected, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com was among those to report on Twitter. The 28-year-old righty was hoping to make it back from Tommy John surgery, but now it’s unclear what his next steps will be.
  • Meanwhile, the Orioles are still on the market for lefty relief help, Kubatko also tweets. At present, the team’s top two southpaw relievers (outside of closer Zach Britton) are Donnie Hart and T.J. McFarland. With the best remaining free agents all recently leaving the board, only two southpaws (Chris Capuano and Charlie Furbush) remain available among players who qualified for MLBTR’s list of available free agents.
  • The Royals’ signing of lefty Travis Wood was due in part to the unfortunate injury suffered by southpaw Brian Flynn, with GM Dayton Moore telling Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link) that club owner Dan Glass authorizing a payroll bump to make it happen. From Wood’s perspective, the chance to compete for a starting job played a big role in his decision to sign with Kansas City, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reports via Twitter.

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/14/17

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league…

  • The Orioles signed former Major League slugger Juan Francisco to a minor league contract, as first reported this morning by Dominican news outlet Z Deportes (Twitter link). Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets that Francisco will get an invite to big league Spring Training. The corner infielder, still just 29 years of age, hasn’t played in the bigs since the 2014 season but has always demonstrated good pop. Francisco, though, struggles against left-handed pitching and strikes out in bunches, limiting his upside despite considerable power. In 941 career plate appearances against righties, he’s a .248/.310/.476 hitter, so he could conceivably return to the bigs and fill a bench role.
  • The Mets announced today that infielder Ty Kelly cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week. Kelly was outrighted to Triple-A Las Vegas and will head to camp with the team on a non-roster invite. The 28-year-old switch-hitter made his MLB debut last year and hit .241/.352/.345 in 71 trips to the plate. Kelly’s a lifetime .275/.382/.383 at the Triple-A level and could again play a depth role for the Mets in 2017 with myriad injury questions throughout New York’s infield.
  • The Indians announced that they’ve added left-hander Chris Narveson on a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training. The longtime Brewers hurler tossed 8 1/3 innings for the Marlins last season and 30 1/3 innings in Miami the year prior, but Narveson has logged a total of just 49 2/3 innings in the Majors since the 2011 season. The 35-year-old has a 4.71 ERA in 435 1/3 Major League innings, during which time he’s held left-handed opponents to a .220/.308/.335 batting line.

AL Injury Notes: Flynn, Tillman, Richards, Perkins, Smith, Cishek, Doubront

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Royals lefty Brian Flynn is expected to miss eight weeks of action due to injuries suffered in a fall through the roof of his barn, as Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star reports on Twitter. A broken rib seems to be the main injury to the 26-year-old, who turned in 55 1/3 innings of 2.60 ERA ball last year for Kansas City. Though Flynn will clearly now be delayed, there’s no indication that there are any long-term concerns, and the organization’s recent signing of Travis Wood will help restore any lost early-season depth.

Here are some more injury situations developing around the American League:

  • The Orioles may be without righty Chris Tillman to start the year, as the veteran starter undertook a PRP injection in his shoulder in December, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com was among those to report (Twitter links). Tillman is said to be about three weeks behind, though he isn’t expected to miss significant time at this point. Still, there’s little chance he’ll be ready to take the ball on Opening Day, which would break a string of three-straight appearances in the first game of the season. It seems there’s no particular reason to worry about Tillman’s outlook for the season, though it’s fair to wonder whether the shoulder issue will gum up any attempts by the team to lock him up to a long-term deal this spring. Tillman is earning $10.05MM this season before hitting the open market.
  • Angels righty Garrett Richards reported feeling normal after his pen session on Friday, as Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. That represents a positive start to the spring for a pitcher who once seemed destined for Tommy John surgery. Richards instead elected stem cell and PRP therapy, returning to the hill over the fall before taking his winter rest. The hope remains that he’ll be able to undertake a normal spring and open the season in the rotation. Meanwhile, the Halos are still waiting to see how first baseman Albert Pujols will progress in his return from foot surgery. The high-priced slugger expressed cautious optimism, but wasn’t willing to say for sure whether he’ll be ready by the start of the year, as Fletcher further reports.
  • Twins lefty Glen Perkins felt good after a short, 15-pitch bullpen session, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press tweets. He’s on track to take the hill again late this week. If you like, you can take a look at the former closer’s progress for yourself, as Berardino has uploaded a video of him throwing to YouTube.
  • Red Sox right-hander Carson Smith is expected to throw off of a mound for the first time since his Tommy John surgery on or around March 10th, as Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal tweets. That would presumably set up Smith for a mid-season return; if he’s able to remain on track, he could provide a nice boost to the BoSox pen in advance of the trade deadline.
  • It seems that Mariners righty Steve Cishek has a bit more to overcome than just the hip labrum tear that was previously reported, as Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports (Twitter links). The reliever also needed a microfracture procedure, and now acknowledges that an Opening Day return is optimistic. Though Cishek is only just beginning light throwing, fellow relief candidate Tony Zych will soon progress to 120-foot throwing, Divish adds on Twitter.
  • Athletics lefty Felix Doubront threw a pen for the first time today since his Tommy John surgery about ten months back, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports on Twitter. It’s not clear as yet what kind of timeline can be expected for the southpaw, though it’s certainly promising that he was deemed ready to get on the hill. Doubront re-signed with the A’s on a minor-league pact this offseason.
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