Reds Acquire International Bonus Slots From Orioles
TODAY: The signing slots acquired are worth around $700K, per Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com (Twitter link). That would appear to suggest that the Reds have added Baltimore’s first ($538,800) and fourth ($154,500) pool allocations.
YESTERDAY: The Reds have picked up two international signing slots from the Orioles in exchange for minor league righty Franderlyn Romero, according to a Baltimore announcement. Dayton Dragons pitching coach Derrin Ebert had revealed the news that Romero was headed to the O’s earlier today (via Dayton broadcaster Tom Nichols, on Twitter).
This move fits alongside Baltimore’s draft pick deal earlier today. In both instances, the club picked up questionable minor league talent while passing off some of its amateur spending capacity. The other trade also saw the O’s shed just under $3MM in salary, in the form of Brian Matusz‘s contract. Only certain draft picks may be dealt, but teams are able to trade individual signing allotments, subject to certain restrictions.
It’s not yet known which slots were sent to Cincinnati, but Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer notes on Twitter that they are for the current signing season, not the one set to begin on July 2 of this year. What that means for the Reds’ plans remains to be seen, but it’s an important distinction. After all, most of the talent available for the 2015-16 period has already signed, though there are some notable Cuban players who could sign in either period.
Among those players is Cuban shortstop Alfredo Rodriguez, who had a reported deal with the Reds. As Steve Adams of MLBTR explains here, that created some issues and raised some questions. The organization has seemingly sought to push the signing back to this summer so as to avoid incurring a two-year ban on future signings. After all, Cinci enters the coming July 2 period with a total bonus pool of just over $5MM (second-highest in the league), and the club would surely like to utilize that availability to boost its talent pipeline.
In return, Baltimore picks up a 23-year-old hurler who’s yet to advance past the Class A level. Romero opened the year there after previously making just one outing above Rookie ball. He’s off to a solid start for Dayton, at least, with a 2.87 ERA in 47 frames and 8.0 K/9 against 1.7 BB/9.
Braves Acquire Brian Matusz, Draft Pick From Orioles
The Orioles and Braves have struck a deal that sends lefty Brian Matusz and the 76th overall draft pick from Baltimore to Atlanta. Minor league pitchers Brandon Barker and Trevor Belicek are headed to the O’s in the swap.
Ultimately, the move constitutes a draft pick purchase, with the Orioles willing to part with their competitive balance round B selection and its $838,900 assigned pool value in order to offload the commitment to Matusz and add some potentially interesting arms. Of greater consequence than the selection itself, the Braves will boost their bonus pool up to just over $13MM, per the calculations of Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs (Twitter link). They’ll still fall a bit shy of the Phillies to remain in third in total spending capacity this summer.
A 29-year-old southpaw, Matusz is earning $3.9MM this year in his final season of arbitration control. The remaining $3MM or so of that deal will all be assumed by the Braves, who have already designated Matusz for assignment, as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman suggested on Twitter.
Matusz has struggled mightily out of the gates in 2016, allowing eight earned runs in six innings while recording just one strikeout against seven walks. He’s been hurt especially by the long ball, having allowed a three bombs on just ten flyballs.
Of course, the southpaw was much more effective in years past, though he’s generally outperformed his peripherals to do so. Over 2013-15, he put up 151 2/3 innings of 3.32 ERA ball, with 9.4 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9. Even if he won’t get a chance in Atlanta, Matusz seems to be a worthwhile rebound candidate given his solid track record. His fastball velocity is down by just over one mile per hour, and he’s been missing the zone a bit more than usual, but there’s good reason to believe that he’s also been hit with some poor fortune.
Neither of the pitchers acquired by the Orioles opened the year among the top 30 in a deep system, per Baseball America, but both had impressed thus far in 2016. Barker, 23, was off to a very nice start at the Double-A level, working to a 2.00 ERA in 45 frames with 8.0 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9. The righty was a 16th-round selection in the 2014 draft out of Mercer.
Belicek, meanwhile, is also a 23-year-old former 16th-rounder. The Texas A&M southpaw was taken last year, and just earned a promotion to Double-A after an impressive showing at the High A level. In his 28 1/3 total frames this year, he’s worked to a 2.22 ERA with 10.2 K/9 and a ridiculous 32:1 K/BB ratio.
Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com first reported that Matusz was traded (via Twitter).
Orioles, Brian Duensing Agree To Minor League Deal
The Orioles and left-hander Brian Duensing have agreed to a minor league contract, reports David Hall of the Virginian Pilot (via Twitter). The 33-year-old reliever opted out of a deal with the Royals on May 15. He’ll head to Triple-A Norfolk, per Hall, though he might not be officially activated until later this week.
Duensing, a former third-round pick of the Twins, was a mainstay on the Minnesota pitching staff from 2009-15, but the Twins elected not to re-sign him this season after he hit free agency. Though he made quite a few starts for the Twins early in his career, Duensing eventually settled in as a bullpen piece, logging a 3.84 ERA with 6.2 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 in 164 innings over his final three seasons with the team that originally drafted him. However, Duensing has long carried significant platoon splits — lefties have hit .238/.295/.325 against him compared to a hefty .292/.352/.462 line from righties — and his strikeout rate plummeted in his final two seasons with Minnesota. He was enjoying success with the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate this season, though, having recorded a 3.10 ERA with a 19-to-5 K/BB ratio in 20 1/3 innings.
The Orioles currently have Brian Matusz as the lone non-closing lefty in their bullpen, but Matusz has struggled quite a bit this year, allowing eight runs on 11 hits and seven walks in just six inning of work with only one strikeout. The O’s have a number of other lefty options at the Triple-A level, though, including one with MLB experience in T.J. McFarland that is on the 40-man roster. Other options for the Birds in Norfolk include Andy Oliver, Cesar Cabral and Jeff Beliveau, each of whom comes with some degree of Major League experience.
AL East Notes: Gallardo, Erasmo, Hill, Miller
Yovani Gallardo threw a bullpen session this morning, the first time he has thrown off a mound since hitting the DL a month ago with shoulder tendinitis. Gallardo and Orioles manager Buck Showalter told reporters (including MLB.com’s Fabian Ardaya) that the righty could toss another bullpen and then a simulated game later this week, though much will depend on how Gallardo is feeling in the wake of today’s session. Here’s more from around the AL East…
- Erasmo Ramirez has been a boon to the Rays in an old-school “fireman” relief role, able to pitch multiple innings at any point late in a game. R.J. Anderson of CBSSports.com explores why Ramirez has been an ideal fit for this role and how the Rays’ usage of the righty could inspire other teams to turn their own relievers into firemen.
- It looks like the Red Sox made a mistake in letting Rich Hill get away in free agent last winter given how the veteran has pitched since joining the A’s, Peter Gammons writes in his latest GammonsDaily.com piece. With the A’s struggling and Hill standing out as possible deadline trade bait, Gammons suggests the Sox could re-acquire Hill to bolster the back half of their rotation.
- The Hill-to-Boston scenario is also explored by ESPN’s Buster Olney in his latest subscription-only column, and he also opines that Yankees setup man Andrew Miller would be a great fit for the Giants. Miller is signed through 2018 so San Francisco would gain a long-term bullpen piece to guard against any of all of their top relievers (Santiago Casilla, Javier Lopez, Sergio Romo) leaving in free agency this winter. Miller’s availability could depend on whether or not the Yankees are still in a pennant race themselves, though Olney notes that New York has enough elite bullpen depth to shop Miller or Aroldis Chapman even if the club is in contention.
- In other AL East news from earlier today, the Blue Jays have made Drew Storen available and the Red Sox are prepared to spend on midseason upgrades if necessary.
East Notes: Harvey, Werth, MASN Dispute, Travis, Yanks, Fredi
Matt Harvey‘s dreadful outing tonight has left the Mets uncertain as to whether he’ll be on the hill for his next scheduled start, which also comes against the division-rival Nationals. Skipper Terry Collins said after the game that he hadn’t yet decided whether to give the ball to Harvey in D.C., as Mike Puma of the New York Post was among those to report (Twitter links). “We will take a hard look at what the next move is going to be,” said Collins. Harvey’s earned run average has ballooned to an ugly 5.77 over his first 48 1/3 frames on the year. It does seem fair to note that the peripherals suggest Harvey has suffered from some bad luck, with ERA estimators crediting him with a sub-4.00 effort entering the day, though his effort this evening will hurt those figures and he’s lost just over a tick on his average fastball. Meanwhile, Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post draws the inevitable comparisons between Harvey and Nats ace Stephen Strasburg, who had a strong showing to pick up the win.
Here’s more from the eastern divisions:
- Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth agreed last fall to a new payout structure for his contract, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. Under the agreement, Werth has deferred $10MM of his salary this year until 2018, at a 5% interest rate. That continues a pattern of postponed paydays in Washington’s player contracts, which is in some part a reflection of the team’s efforts to deal with an ongoing television-rights dispute with the Orioles and the Baltimore-controlled Mid-Atlantic Sports Network.
- Commissioner Rob Manfred addressed that TV battle today, as Svrluga reports. As things stand, the parties are appealing a lower court’s refusal to enforce a determination by the league’s Revenue Sharing Definitions Committee, putting a hold on the Nationals‘ efforts to recoup additional rights fees for past years and increase their future take. Manfred had harsh words for the Orioles‘ actions in the matter. “It is important to bear in mind the fundamentals,” he said. “The fundamentals are that the Orioles agreed that the RSDC would set the rights fees for MASN and the Orioles every five years. The Orioles have engaged in a pattern of conduct designed to avoid that agreement being effectuated.” MASN issued a counter-statement saying that Manfred was ignoring “the fundamentals of the case” — namely, the court’s findings of a conflict of interest (based on the law firm that represented the Nationals) — and stating that the RSDC had failed to use an appropriate method for setting the rights fees. If you’re interested in the gory details, you can find a recap of the trial court decision here.
- The departure of David Ortiz and reemergence of Hanley Ramirez leaves the Red Sox with both opportunity and uncertainty at first base. Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com suggests that youngster Sam Travis could keep the team from needing to add a major bat via free agency. The 2014 second-rounder has risen quickly, and is currently putting up a solid .281/.338/.438 batting line over his first 160 plate appearances at the Triple-A level at 22 years of age. Pawtucket hitting coach Rich Gedman credits Travis with being aggressive without seeking to hit the ball out of the park, suggesting that he’s a polished and well-rounded hitter.
- Entering the day in last place in the AL East, the Yankees need to seriously consider prioritizing future improvements over their 2016 prospects, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney argues (Insider link). Olney ticks through a variety of ways — including allocation of playing time and weighing trades — that New York can and should shift its focus to 2017, suggesting a sort of realistic re-tooling rather than any kind of full rebuilding project.
- Deposed Braves skipper Fredi Gonzalez tells MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM that he’s looking forward to other opportunities now that he’s lost his post in Atlanta. (Twitter link.) But he said that he isn’t necessarily looking for another job running a dugout. “I am looking forward to doing something in the game and it doesn’t have to be managing,” said Gonzalez.
AL East Notes: Yankees, Urrutia, Cecil, Porcello
While some Yankees fans have questioned GM Brian Cashman and manager Joe Girardi amid the team’s early struggles, owner Hal Steinbrenner tells Ken Davidoff of the New York Post that he thinks both men and the team’s coaching staff have done a good job to this point. Rather, Steinbrenner puts the onus on the players themselves and specifically mentioned Mark Teixeira and Michael Pineda as players that need to find ways to improve their production. Of Teixeira, Steinbrenner says the veteran “[is] not playing up to his potential with the bat,” and he later expressed “concern” with Pineda. “He’s got all these strikeouts, and yet he’s given up these runs,” says Steinbrenner. “Clearly, he’s been giving up runs early. Clearly, there have been issues with his slider. Again, Larry can only do so much. Whatever technically is wrong with the delivery, Larry [Rothschild] is working on it, but the rest is up to Pineda to figure it out.” As for Cashman, Steinbrenner goes on to praise the trades for Starlin Castro and Aaron Hicks, giving no inkling of dissatisfaction with his GM.
Here’s more from the AL East…
- Vote of confidence aside, Girardi takes blame for the Yankees‘ early struggles, writes Wallace Matthews of ESPN New York. “I always take full responsibility for what happens here — good or bad,” said Girardi. “It’s my job to get the best out of the players and right now, we’re not performing to the level I think we’re capable of.” Girardi said that he hadn’t seen or heard Steinbrenner’s comments, but he’d had meetings with the owner on what’s gone wrong early in the season, during which Steinbrenner has expressed his frustration with the team as a whole. Girardi, however, insisted in yesterday’s comments that he believes the Yankees are a playoff-caliber club and can still make a run at the postseason.
- Orioles minor league outfielder Henry Urrutia was recently demoted from Triple-A to Double-A and wasn’t happy with the move, writes MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko. The O’s would listen to trade offers for the 29-year-old, who received a signing bonus of nearly $800K in July 2012 after defecting from Cuba, but their hope is that he can turn his season around. Last season, Urrutia batted .291/.345/.409 with 10 homers in 505 Triple-A plate appearances and saw some brief time in the Majors, but he’s gotten off to a .245/.347/.304 start in 118 PAs at Triple-A this year. Urrutia hadn’t reported to Double-A Bowie as of yesterday, though he was expected to do so by Friday, Kubatko writes.
- Left-hander Brett Cecil, who was placed on the disabled list Sunday with what was termed a triceps strain, actually has a tear in his lat muscle and will miss “at least a month,” reports Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi. The Blue Jays lefty underwent an MRI earlier this week that revealed the tear. Cecil joined lefties Franklin Morales and Aaron Loup on the DL earlier this week, leaving the Jays with Chad Girodo and Pat Venditte as their primary left-handed options at the big league level. While this is solely my speculation, the Jays could take a look at one of Neal Cotts or Joe Beimel, each of whom hit the open market this week — Cotts after opting out of a minors deal with the Angels and Beimel after his previously reported agreement with the Marlins was ultimately not finalized.
- Red Sox right-hander Rick Porcello tells WEEI’s Rob Bradford that he has major issues with the way in which the current PED disciplinary system works. Specifically, Porcello joined former teammate Justin Verlander and others in voicing a distaste for the fact that players who have tested positive for a substance are allowed to play during the appeals process. “Obviously, a 50-game penalty, or an 80-game penalty, or even a season, just one year, is not deterring guys from doing what they’re doing,” says Porcello.“It’s got to be pretty stiff. It’s got to be something where you don’t have the opportunity to play at all, or you don’t have the opportunity to play for the same money that the guy is playing and doing it the right way.”
AL East Notes: Ortiz, HanRam, Smith, Matusz, Morales
Red Sox slugger David Ortiz sat down for an interesting interview with Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. His retirement tour has turned into a show of force, as the 40-year-old entered the day with a .311/.395/.674 slash that places him among the game’s most productive bats. He maintains that he’s “happy with the decision” to call it quits, citing wear and tear and family considerations, though he did drop an intriguing note to Passan. “Like I said, I’m good with the decision that I made right now,” said Ortiz. “But would you leave $25 million on the table? I don’t want nobody to offer me that.” Before leaping to conclusions, it’s worth recalling that Boston has a club option that could reach a maximum of $16MM in value, but it’s certainly hard to ignore the fact that Ortiz still seems as capable as ever of doing damage at the plate.
Here’s more from the AL East:
- Thus far in 2016, everything has come together for Hanley Ramirez in his second season with the Red Sox, as Rob Bradford of WEEI.com writes. His offensive production has caught up with the good vibes that his sunny attitude and smooth transition to first had already produced. At this point, the remaining $44MM on his contract looks like a reasonable investment, with Ramirez looking like an option at first and/or as a replacement for the outgoing Ortiz in the DH slot.
- Red Sox reliever Carson Smith has been slowed by ongoing elbow soreness, as Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald was among those to report on Twitter. That’s limited his availability recently, and has made another DL stint a possibility. As Alex Speier of the Boston Globe explores, the Boston pen hasn’t had quite the late-inning pop that was expected, particularly given Smith’s limitations and evidence of decline in Koji Uehara. The unit as a whole has still been plenty solid, but it’s still an area to watch for an organization that obviously hopes to make a deep run in 2016.
- The Orioles face a tough call on lefty Brian Matusz, writes Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com. He’s been hit hard after missing time early due to injury, giving up a lethal combination of free passes and home runs, though he says he’s healthy now. Connolly ticks through the options, which include simply placing Matusz on outright waivers. His $3.9MM salary is sure to clear, but the 29-year-old could keep his guarantee and reject an assignment. But unless a DL opportunity presents itself, Baltimore will otherwise be resigned to giving him a chance to pitch through his difficulties.
- Though he’s spent almost the entirety of the season on the DL, Franklin Morales is now guaranteed $2MM from the Blue Jays, as Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca explains in a tweet. The southpaw’s advance consent date has passed without action, so Toronto can no longer avoid the rest of the contract by cutting him loose.
Blue Jays Claim Jimmy Paredes From Orioles
1:10pm: The Blue Jays and Orioles have both announced the claim. In a full column on the move, Kubatko offers the following quote from Duquette about Toronto’s claim of Paredes:
“The O’s tried but we just didn’t find a fit for Jimmy Paredes on this year’s team when it was time for him to be reinstated. Jimmy worked hard with us and we appreciate his contributions over the past two seasons.”
12:21pm: The Blue Jays have claimed infielder/designated hitter Jimmy Paredes off waivers from the Orioles, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). Baltimore placed Paredes on waivers over the weekend.
Paredes, 27, had a big first half for the O’s in 2015, batting .299/.332/.475 with 10 homers in 277 plate appearances. However, he was unable to maintain that production in the second half as his slash line dipped to .216/.252./265 in 107 plate appearances. This season, Paredes has yet to appear in a Major League game, as sprained left wrist caused him to open the season on the disabled list. Paredes batted a combined .309/.377/.471 across three minor league levels on a rehab assignment (77 plate appearances, 19 games), but the Orioles’ offseason additions left him without a clear spot on the roster.
While Paredes has played second base and third base extensively in the minors, the Orioles were skeptical enough of his defense to limit him to just 72 2/3 innings in the field last season. Even as Jonathan Schoop missed time due to injuries last season, Baltimore’s preference was to move first baseman/outfielder Steve Pearce to second base with Paredes DHing, despite the fact that Pearce had never played the position in the Majors or minors. The offseason addition of Pedro Alvarez gives the O’s another option that the club considers to be more or less a strict DH, thus leaving the team without an easy of way of carrying Paredes.
The Blue Jays currently have a bench consisting of backup catcher Josh Thole, fourth outfielder Ezequiel Carrera, backup shortstop/second baseman Darwin Barney and corner infielder Andy Burns. Given the defensive capabilities of Thole, Carrera and Barney, it would seem that Paredes’ best fit on the roster would be to supplant Burns for the fourth bench spot.
Cafardo’s Latest: Trout, Trumbo, Reyes, Chapman, Ruiz
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe is the latest to weigh in on the possibility of the Angels trading superstar center fielder Mike Trout, naming 10 teams capable of putting together packages for the 24-year-old. The Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Phillies, Nationals, Astros, Rangers, Mets, Giants and Cubs could all make a hypothetical Trout trade work, writes Cafardo.
Here’s more from the Boston-area insider:
- The Orioles haven’t begun contract talks with free agent-to-be Mark Trumbo, but that may change if the 30-year-old outfielder continues his torrid pace. Trumbo, whom the Orioles acquired from Seattle for a pittance in the offseason, has hit a tremendous .314/.365/.606 with 11 home runs in 148 plate appearances this year and is putting himself in position to earn an appreciable raise over his 2016 salary of $9.15MM.
- There’s seemingly interest around the league in shortstop Jose Reyes, whom the Rockies will make available when he’s reinstated from a domestic violence suspension at the end of the month. Reyes, 32, is still owed roughly $41MM – including a $4MM buyout in 2018 – and is coming off arguably the worst season of his career.
- The Yankees could make closer Aroldis Chapman available in late June if they’re not in playoff contention by then, according to Cafardo. The lights-out left-hander is on an $11MM-plus salary and is slated to hit free agency at the end of the season.
- Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz is reviving his stock, having hit .291/.371/.509 with three homers in 62 PAs, and could interest teams looking for a cheaper alternative to the Brewers’ Jonathan Lucroy – who will be the best backstop on the market if Milwaukee shops him. “He doesn’t have the arm he once had, so that aspect of his game won’t come back, but young pitchers love throwing to him,” a National League scout told Cafardo. The 37-year-old Ruiz’s contract includes a $4.5MM club option for 2017.
Orioles Place Jimmy Paredes On Waivers
The Orioles have placed infielder/designated hitter Jimmy Paredes on waivers, reports Rich Dubroff of CSN Mid-Atlantic (Twitter link). Because Paredes has been outrighted in the past, he could refuse a minor league assignment and become a free agent, notes Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link).
Baltimore had to make a decision on the out-of-options Paredes, whose Triple-A rehab assignment was set to end today. The 27-year-old had been working his way back from a wrist injury since beginning the season on the disabled list. While Paredes logged extensive time at the plate in 2015, slashing .275/.310/.416 with 10 home runs in 384 trips, the Orioles’ lack of trust in his defense limited him to just 72 2/3 innings over a career-high 104 games. Given his defensive issues and Pedro Alvarez‘s presence as their DH, Paredes no longer had a place on the Orioles’ roster.
Paredes, a career .257/.293/.369 hitter in 845 major league PAs, is owed a $520K salary this season and has three years of arbitration eligibility remaining.