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Orioles Acquire Left-Hander Alex Katz From White Sox For Two International Pool Slots

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The Orioles have acquired left-hander Alex Katz from the White Sox in exchange for international signing bonus slots #45 and #75, the club announced (Twitter link).  The total value of those slots adds up to $756.3K (from Baseball America, here is the full list of slot values for the 2016-17 signing period, which ends on June 15).

A 27th-rounder for the Sox in the 2015 draft, Katz has a 3.09 ERA, 10.1 K/9 and 2.65 K/BB rate over 102 innings in the minors, appearing as a reliever in all but one of his 62 career games.  Katz has shown a propensity for keeping the ball in the park, as he has surrendered only two homers during his career.  Katz has yet to pitch above the Class-A level, and the Orioles announced that the 22-year-old will be assigned to their Class-A affiliate.

This is the third trade in six weeks that has seen the O’s deal away international signing slots in exchange for players, after April deals that brought right-hander Damien Magnifico to the team from the Brewers and southpaw Paul Fry from the Mariners.  The Orioles have rather notoriously spent little on international free agents in recent years (as Baseball America’s Ben Badler recently noted in a severe critique of the club’s practices), so it makes sense that the team would look at its int’l bonus slots as trade chips.

The deal is also notable from Chicago’s end, as the team just spent between $25MM-$30MM in an agreement with Cuban outfielder Luis Robert.  Since the Sox had to far exceed their bonus pool limit to make the signing, they owe a 100 percent overage on every dollar spent above their pool threshold.  Increasing the size of that pool by $756.3K, therefore, saves the White Sox some money.

AL East Notes: Bourn, Hicks, Donaldson

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Here’s the latest from around the AL East…

  • Monday is Michael Bourn’s opt-out date in his minor league contract with the Orioles, Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun reports.  Bourn suffered a broken finger that sidelined him through most of Spring Training, which led the outfielder and the Orioles to agree to a new minors deal after Bourn opted out of his original pact.  There isn’t an obvious spot for Bourn on the big league roster, with Trey Mancini, Seth Smith, Joey Rickard and Hyun Soo Kim providing the O’s with solid corner outfield depth.  Kim, however, hasn’t hit much or seen a lot of action this season; Bourn could replace Kim as a left-handed hitting option while adding much more speed and defensive ability.
  • Aaron Hicks has been taking grounders at first base, though it may take an “emergency” scenario to see Hicks starting at the position, Yankees infield instructor Joe Espada tells NJ.com’s Brendan Kuty.  Joe Girardi asked for Hicks to get some work at first for depth purposes, though work will be required since Hicks has never played any position besides outfield during his 10 pro seasons.  Deploying an athletic and above-average outfielder at first could be seen as something of a waste defensively, though the Yankees clearly are exploring all possible ways to get Hicks’ bat into the lineup, with Aaron Judge, Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury also all hitting well in the regular outfield spots.  Greg Bird and Chris Carter, by contrast, have provided the Yankees with little production at first base.
  • A week after examining why the Blue Jays should keep Josh Donaldson at least through the season, Sportsnet’s Jonah Keri presents the counter-argument, opining that the Jays should look to move Donaldson now while his value is still very high.  Donaldson will hit the open market after the 2018 season (his age-32 season), and committing major dollars to any free agent in his mid-30’s could be a questionable move for Toronto, even for a player with Donaldson’s elite bat.  In trading their pending free agents and then Donaldson for a major package of talent, the Jays could reload for a quick return to contention next season.

Orioles Designate Francisco Pena

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The Orioles have designated catcher Francisco Pena for assignment, per a club announcement. He’ll be replaced on the roster by righty reliever Stefan Crichton.

Pena, 27, remained on the roster yesterday despite the fact that starting backstop Welington Castillo was activated from the disabled list. However, he survived only 24 hours, as the O’s understandably decided not to carry three catchers and deploy a six-man bullpen for more than a day. Though Baltimore may not relish the thought of losing Pena via outright waivers, he’s out of minor league options, thus making a DFA the only means by which the team can attempt to stash him back in Triple-A.

The son of five-time All-Star and four-time Gold-Glove-winning catcher Tony Pena, Francisco has totaled just 57 plate appearances in the Majors in parts of four seasons. He’s demonstrated a bit of power in that time, batting .241/.268/.407 with three homers, but he’s also punched out in nearly a third of his Major League plate appearances. The younger Pena is a career .249/.295/.452 hitter in parts of five Triple-A seasons.

Pena has halted 31 percent of stolen base attempts against him in Triple-A (plus a solid 5-for-9 showing in his limited big league time) and has drawn consistently above-average marks for his framing efforts in the minors (via Baseball Prospectus). That skill set could make him appealing to clubs, though his lack of minor league options means that any team to claim Pena on waivers or acquire him via trade will have to carry him on the 25-man roster.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/16/17

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Here are the day’s minor moves, all by way of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise noted:

  • Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports that the Astros have released Triple-A righty Keegan Yuhl and Double-A lefty Michael Freeman (Twitter links). Yuhl, 25, had a solid Double-A season in 2016 but has been torched for 58 earned runs in 46 Triple-A innings since being promoted on the heels of his strong Double-A output last year. Freeman, also 25, had a seemingly encouraging 3.15 ERA with Double-A this year but walked 16 batters (against 14 strikeouts), hit three more and threw three wild pitches in just 20 innings. He was Houston’s seventh-round pick as recently as 2015.

Earlier Moves

  • The Diamondbacks have released veteran lefty Brian Matusz. Once a fixture in the Orioles’ pen, Matusz has struggled to regain his footing over the past two seasons. He was hit hard in nine MLB frames last year and was off to a rough start with the D-backs organization. Through 17 2/3 innings at Triple-A, he carried a 6.11 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9.
  • The Padres also released first baseman/outfielder Jamie Romak, among a few others. The 31-year-old has seen brief MLB time in two seasons, then struggled badly last year in a short stint in Japan. He was, however, off to quite a nice start at Triple-A, with a .347/.392/.800 slash and 11 home runs over 102 plate appearances.
  • First baseman Ben Paulsen was given his release by the Twins, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports on Twitter. The 29-year-old, who slashed a Coors Field-aided .271/.316/.446 over the past three MLB seasons, was hitting .230/.278/.432 with three home runs over 79 Triple-A plate appearances.
  • Meanwhile, the Twins added righty Kam Mickolio, the 33-year-old reliever who has been pitching in Japan since wrapping up a brief MLB career. The towering hurler generated excellent results in the NPB, with 208 1/3 innings of 2.42 ERA ball and 6.5 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9.
  • The Orioles cut ties with third baseman Juan Francisco. Still just 29 years of age, the six-year MLB veteran hasn’t seen the majors since 2014 — which is also the last year in which he accumulated any playing time with an affiliated organization. Over 1,091 total trips to the plate in the majors, he owns a .236/.297/.439 slash with 48 long balls.
  • Righty Erik Cordier was released by the Red Sox, who signed him after a stint last year in Japan. Cordier, 31, has seen the majors briefly but went to the Orix Buffaloes for the 2016 campaign. He managed only a 7.30 ERA through 12 1/3 innings there. His early work at Triple-A Pawtucket in the current season was somewhat interesting. Through 8 1/3 innings, Cordier has allowed five earned runs on just four hits, with 15 strikeouts against nine walks.
  • The Nationals have parted ways with 2013 second-rounder Jake Johansen, according to Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (via Twitter). Johansen, 26, had reached Double-A for this first time this year. Through 11 2/3 innings, he had permitted eight earned runs on 11 hits and eight walks while recording 13 strikeouts.
  • The Royals have released righty Evan Beal, according to MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan (via Twitter). The former eighth-round draft pick had been working at Double-A, where he owned a 5.40 ERA through 15 innings with 5.4 K/9 against 1.2 BB/9.
  • The Giants reached a minors deal with righty Collin Balester. The 30-year-old appeared briefly last year in the Korea Baseball Organization’s Samsung Lions. His most recent affiliated action came in 2015, when he posted solid results in the upper minors but struggled to a 7.47 ERA over 15 2/3 MLB innings.

Orioles Outright Craig Gentry

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The Orioles announced that veteran outfielder Craig Gentry has been outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk in order to clear a spot on the active roster for Welington Castillo, who has been reinstated from the disabled list. The 33-year-old Gentry will have the option of rejecting that outright assignment in favor of free agency if he wishes.

[Related: Updated Baltimore Orioles depth chart]

Castillo’s return means that Baltimore is now carrying three catchers, as both Caleb Joseph and Francisco Pena (the latter of whom is out of minor league options) remain on the big league roster. And, as MLB.com’s Britt Ghiroli points out, this move also means that Baltimore will (presumably briefly) utilize a six-man bullpen. Certainly, it seems likely that the O’s will look to get back to a seven-man bullpen in the near future.

Gentry, long a light-hitting defensive standout, has appeared in 33 games for the O’s this season but received just 44 plate appearances, with the result being a lackluster .162/.256/.270 batting line. Gentry’s struggles at the plate in limited action aren’t a new development, as he’s endured similar difficulties both 2015 and 2016.

Prior to that, he turned in a solid four-year stretch with the Rangers and A’s, during which he batted a combined .278/.353/.355 (plus 75 stolen bases in 87 attempts). The right-handed-hitting Gentry has a track record of posting useful numbers against left-handed pitching and could remain with the O’s as a depth option or latch on with a new club in need of some defensive-minded outfield depth.

Pitching Notes: Trade Market, Price, Bundy, Cecil

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With so many starting pitchers potentially hitting the trade market in the coming months, don’t be surprised if teams begin selling off rotation pieces as early as mid-June, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. In the event they don’t rebound from subpar starts, unexpected sellers such as the Giants, Blue Jays and Rangers should hasten movement, per Sherman. Further, the new qualifying offer system (which no longer allows teams to receive first-round picks for departed free agents) will almost certainly lead to the Rangers marketing free agent-to-be Yu Darvish and the Blue Jays doing the same with impending free agent Marco Estrada, Sherman contends. The likeliest seller, though, appears to be the floundering Royals, who “are dying to declare,” one AL executive told Sherman. Kansas City could attempt to sell high on contract-year southpaw Jason Vargas, who has stunningly delivered a 1.01 ERA in 44 2/3 innings to begin his age-34 season.

  • The rehab start Red Sox left-hander David Price was supposed to make for Triple-A Pawtucket on Sunday was postponed due to rain, so he threw a 75-pitch simulated game indoors, per Scott Lauber of ESPN.com. Price will start Pawtucket’s game Friday at Triple-A Buffalo, weather permitting, and could rejoin the Red Sox if that goes well. “We’ll re-evaluate following Friday and wouldn’t rule out his return to us if everything goes according to plan,” said manager John Farrell (via John Tomase of WEEI). Price hasn’t pitched yet this season on account of an elbow issue that cropped up in early March.
  • Orioles righty Dylan Bundy has already thrown 51 2/3 innings in 2017, meaning he’s nearly halfway to the career-high 109 1/3 professional frames he tossed last year. That could be a problem for the recent Tommy John surgery recipient, Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com points out. However, despite both Bundy’s innings total and the fact that he has amassed no fewer than 99 pitches in any of his eight starts, manager Buck Showalter isn’t overly concerned about the 24-year-old’s workload. “We’re careful. There is nobody more careful,” said Showalter. “I’m very proud about the health of our pitchers. It’s by design. It’s walk around and talk to them. Knowing their backgrounds. But to try to evaluate someone’s health on how many pitches or innings he’s thrown from one year to the next is a big excuse. It’s more about knowing the evidence and the person. Believe me, I’m concerned about it. I’ll put our track record of that part of it. … We’re watching everything Dylan does.”
  • Cardinals lefty reliever Brett Cecil has fared poorly in the first season of the four-year, $30.5MM deal he signed as a free agent over the winter, having logged a 5.79 ERA and a 4.50 BB/9, and given up a 1.429 OPS to left-handed hitters. When speaking this weekend with reporters – including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch – Cecil used the word “embarrassing” multiple times to describe his performance, though he believes his problems stem from a fixable mechanical issue. “I know I have a good track record,” the ex-Blue Jay said. “Obviously, I know I can get guys out. And these are struggles I’ve dealt with before.”

Orioles Sign Adam Walker

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The Orioles have signed first baseman/outfielder Adam Walker to a minor-league deal, according to Rock Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter). Walker was evidently cut loose by the Braves, who had claimed him off waivers from the O’s over the winter.

Walker, 25, took a ride around the league on the waiver wire before settling in Atlanta, where he ended up being outrighted. But the Braves didnt see much out of the high-power, high-K slugger. Through 99 plate appearances, split between Triple-A and Double-A, he managed just 11 base hits and eight walks while going down 39 times by way of strikeout.

Though there’s no questioning Walker’s power — he has handily topped twenty home runs in each of his full minor-league seasons — it’s highly questionable whether he’ll ever make enough contact and draw enough walks to make it to the majors. With a lifetime .305 on-base percentage in the minors, and little in the way of value on the bases or in the field, he’ll have to make strides to earn his way onto the O’s roster. That said, the Baltimore organization has perhaps relied more on such players than any team in baseball in recent years, so it seems a rather ideal fit for Walker.

Zach Britton Expected To Be Out For 6 to 8 Weeks

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5:03pm: Britton will not pick up a ball for at least ten days, Ghiroli tweets. But he says he expects to be ready to return on the early side of the estimated timeline.

4:30pm: Orioles lefty Zach Britton is expected to miss approximately 45 to 60 days of action, as MLB.com’s Britt Ghiroli reports (Twitter links). Britton has already been placed back on the 10-day DL with what the team has described as a forearm strain.

Britton, who established himself last year as one of the game’s truly elite relievers, has been cleared of structural issues. But the fact that his forearm ailment recurred after an initial rest-and-rehab effort obviously suggested a need for more cautious handling.

The estimated timeline seemingly builds in a lengthy period of rest. As Ghiroli reports, the plan is for Britton to be shut down for some time to allow the forearm to “completely calm down.”

Baltimore hopes to get the ace closer back by the All-Star break. Given that timeline, the organization ought to be able to assess his status before making any plans for the trade deadline. Of course, with Brad Brach providing excellent work in Britton’s stead — he has a 2.41 ERA and eight saves through 18 2/3 innings on the year — it’s unlikely the O’s will be in the market for a closer this summer.

2018 Vesting Options Update

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Each year, the free-agent class is impacted by the performance of players with vesting options (as is the financial future of players with said provisions in their contract). For those unfamiliar with the option, a vesting option is typically (though not always) a club option that can automatically trigger based on the player’s health and/or performance. Meeting pre-determined criteria for games played, innings pitched and plate appearances are the most common ways of triggering a vesting option. Some also require that a player avoid the DL at the end of the season and/or for a certain number of games over the course of the year.

Here’s a look at all of the 2018 player options that can automatically trigger based on the players’ 2017 performance…

  • Matt Cain: The 2017 campaign is the final season of a six-year, $127.5MM extension that Cain signed with the Giants on April 2, 2012. Prior to that point, Cain had been one of the most durable and efficient starters in the NL, but injuries have completely derailed Cain’s career since that 2012 season. Cain hasn’t thrown more than 90 1/3 innings since 2013, and so far he’s delivered just a 4.64 ERA in 455 1/3 innings over the five extra years of control the Giants bought out. If he can reach 200 innings this season and is not on the disabled list due to elbow or shoulder troubles to end the year, his $21.5MM club option would become guaranteed. However, he’s averaging fewer than 5 1/3 innings per start in 2017, and his previous health woes make that decidedly unlikely. His option comes with a $7.5MM buyout, which seems like an inevitable outcome.
  • Andre Ethier: Ethier batted .273/.351/.429 through the first three seasons of his five-year, $85MM extension (including particularly strong efforts in 2013 and 2015), but he played in just 16 games last season and has been on the disabled list for the entire 2017 season (herniated disk in his lower back). His $17.5MM club option would automatically vest with 550 plate appearances this season, but that’s obviously not going to happen, so he’ll receive a $2.5MM buyout instead.
  • Matt Garza: Garza’s four-year, $50MM contract with the Brewers contained one of the more convoluted vesting options in recent memory. Injury concerns surrounding Garza allowed the club to land a team option valued at a base of just $5MM. However, had Garza made 110 starts over the contract’s four years, pitched 115 innings in 2017 and avoided the DL at the end of the 2017 season, the option would’ve become guaranteed at $13MM. On the other side of the coin, the Brewers would’ve been able to pick it up at just $1MM had Garza missed 130 or more days during any single season of the contract. Neither of those scenarios will play out at this point, though. All of that is a long-winded way of saying that Garza’s option won’t be vesting at $13MM and will come at a potentially reasonable rate of $5MM.
  • Gio Gonzalez: Gonzalez’s five-year, $42MM extension came with a $12MM club option for the 2017 season (which was exercised) and a $12MM club/vesting option for the 2018 campaign. If the left-hander reaches 180 innings this season, he’ll be locked in at $12MM next season. For a player as durable as Gonzalez, who averaged 31 starts per year from 2010-16, that seems simple enough. But, Gonzalez has had difficulty working deep into games and has not crossed the 180-inning threshold since 2013. This season, though, he’s already racked up 44 1/3 innings through seven starts — an average of about 6 1/3 frames per outing. He’d need only 29 starts at that pace to trigger the option. And even if he doesn’t sustain that innings pace, if he can avoid the DL and average even 5 1/3 to 5 2/3 innings per start for the rest of the year, he’d accrue enough innings to guarantee that option. Of course, if Gonzalez delivers anything close to the 3.57 ERA he’s turned in through parts of six seasons as a National, the team will likely pick up the option even if it doesn’t vest.
  • J.J. Hardy: Hardy decided to forgo the open market at the end of the 2014 season, instead re-upping with Orioles in early October on a three-year, $40MM deal. His contract comes with a $14MM club option ($2MM buyout) that could automatically vest in the event that Hardy reaches 600 plate appearances this season. Hardy, however, has reached that total just twice in six previous seasons with the Orioles, and he’s hitting a mere .196/.232/.252 through his first 113 plate appearances in 2017. Based on his recent health track record, it could be considered unlikely that he stays healthy enough to trigger the option. But if he does remain healthy and doesn’t turn things around at the plate, the O’s won’t have a hard time justifying a reduction in playing time to prevent the option from vesting.
  • Greg Holland: Holland signed a one-year, $7MM deal with a mutual option for the 2018 season, though so long as he remains healthy it’s effectively a two-year, $22MM contract with a player option/opt-out provision. Holland’s $10MM mutual option becomes a $15MM player option if he appears in 50 total games or finishes 30 games in 2017. He’s come out of the gate roaring as a dominant closer in Colorado, just as he was in Kansas City. Holland has already finished 14 games, meaning he needs just 16 more to trigger that player option and secure the right to re-enter the open market. An injury seems like the only thing that will stand in Holland’s way, as he’s currently sporting a 1.29 ERA with a 17-to-5 K/BB ratio, a career-best 51.6 percent ground-ball rate and a 93.9 mph average fastball through his first 14 innings.
  • Hisashi Iwakuma: After injury concerns stemming from Iwakuma’s physical caused the Dodgers to back out of a reported three-year, $45MM agreement in the 2015-16 offseason, Iwakuma instead returned to the Mariners on a one-year deal with a pair of vesting options. Iwakuma needed 162 innings to trigger his 2017 option, and he needed either 162 innings in 2017 or 324 innings between 2016-17 to trigger his $10MM option for the 2018 season. The 36-year-old racked up 199 innings last year, meaning he now needs just 125 innings in 2017, though he must also avoid the disabled list at season’s end as well. Iwakuma has barely averaged five innings per outing (31 through six starts), but he also needs just 94 more innings this year for that option to kick in.
  • Ricky Nolasco: Nolasco’s option isn’t a standard vesting option, but his $13MM club option would become a player option with 400 innings pitched between 2016-17. The 34-year-old logged 197 2/3 innings last year, meaning he’d need 202 1/3 innings in 2017 in order to convert his option. That’s a total that Nolasco has reached only twice in his career, and he’s not on pace to approach that number through his first seven starts of the season. If Nolasco were to make the same number of starts as last season (32), he’d need to average nearly 6 2/3 innings per outing for the rest of the season to reach that level. If he ties his career-high with 33 starts, he’d need to average 6 1/3 frames through season’s end. It’s technically possible that Nolasco does end up with a $13MM player option, but the likelier scenario is that the Halos will choose between a $13MM club option and a $1MM buyout. (Thanks to MLBTR commenters paytoplay and jdobson1822 for pointing out Nolasco’s option.)

Cot’s Contracts was used in the creation of this post.

Injury Notes: Cespedes, Britton, Heyward, McCarthy, Chen, Leclerc

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Mets star Yoenis Cespedes is nearly ready to begin baseball activities and could conceivably return within about two weeks, manager Terry Collins told reporters including MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter). His hamstring strain seemed fairly significant when it occurred abut ten days ago, though he seems to have bounced back fairly well in the interim. While New York has been showing some signs of life on the field, that doesn’t mean the club is any less anxious to welcome Cespedes back to the fold.

Here are some more updates on injury situations around the league:

  • The Orioles received some good news on closer Zach Britton, as Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports. Britton’s ailing left forearm still doesn’t appear to be related to any ligament issues, further examination showed. Noted physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache has recommended that he rest for about ten days before beginning to throw, so it’ll be a few weeks before Britton will return. It still seems concerning that Britton was forced back to the DL for a second time not long after returning, but it’s obviously also quite promising to hear that there’s still no evidence of a structural problem.
  • Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward is heading to the 10-day DL with a hand injury, as Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com was among those to report (Twitter link). For now, he’ll be replaced on the active roster by righty Dylan Floro. At present, there’s no reason to think that Heyward will require a lengthy rest. He’ll no doubt be anxious to get back to work at improving upon his stunningly poor 2016 season. There have been some signs of life, though Heyward is hitting just .253/.333/.364 with three home runs over 111 plate appearances.
  • Also heading to the 10-day DL is Dodgers righty Brandon McCarthy, as Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times was among those to report. McCarthy suggested that the layoff wasn’t necessary, as his shoulder injury occurred to the non-throwing side. But the organization felt there were at least some problems with having him on the field before the shoulder was fully healed — and, perhaps, also saw an opportunity to rest McCarthy’s arm while giving innings to other pitchers and adding another reliever (lefty Adam Liberatore). “When you have five other guys who are capable, right now, to pitch and help us win baseball games, to have the benefit of some extra days to strengthen [the shoulder], to heal it — as an organization, I think it’s the right thing [to do],” said manager Dave Roberts (parentheticals via McCullough). “I understand his frustration.”
  • The Marlins may be without lefty Wei-Yin Chen a bit longer than had been anticipated, as Craig Davis of the Sun Sentinel reports. When he went to the DL with an elbow issue, the hope was he’d only miss one outing. But skipper Don Mattingly said today that Chen’s elbow “seems to have taken a little bit of a back turn.” It remains to be seen just how long Chen will be out, but it’s certainly not promising to hear that his condition did not progress as hoped.
  • Rangers reliever Jose Leclerc is heading to the 10-day DL with a bruised index finger, per a club announcement. He’ll be replaced by southpaw Dario Alvarez. Leclerc, 23, has been a bright spot for the struggling organization. Over 11 2/3 innings, he has allowed just three earned runs on six hits while racking up 18 strikeouts against five walks. Hopefully, he’ll return to health and have a chance to get back to continuing that strong start in short order.
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