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Red Sox Sign Sean O’Sullivan To Minors Deal

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The Red Sox signed righty Sean O’Sullivan to a minor league deal earlier this week, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports.

O’Sullivan posted a 6.08 ERA, 4.4 K/9 and 1.75 K/BB rate over 71 innings for the Phillies last season, all of them as a starting pitcher.  O’Sullivan was one of 14 pitchers who made starts for Philadelphia in 2015 as the Phils tried to both sort out their future rotation options and find some veterans (like O’Sullivan) to eat some innings.  It’s likely that Boston will use O’Sullivan as minor league rotation depth.

A third-round pick for the Angels in the 2005 draft, O’Sullivan has a 5.95 ERA and 4.3 K/9 over 302 1/3 career Major League innings with the Angels, Royals, Padres and Phillies.

Cafardo On Bradley, Miley, Red Sox

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A few teams, including the Royals and Cubs, inquired about Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. at the Winter Meetings only to be told that he was not available, according to Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe.  The 25-year-old Bradley (26 next April) posted a nice .249/.335/.489 bating line in 2015 and justified the considerable defensive hype that comes with his name, saving eight to 10 runs (based on his respective Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating marks) while logging a combined 608 innings across all three outfield spots.  It’s no surprise that he drew interest and also not a surprise to hear that the Red Sox are choosing to hang on to him.

Here’s more from today’s column:

  • The Red Sox and Royals also discussed Wade Miley before he was shipped to the Mariners.  A big league source tells Cafardo that Boston asked KC for Kelvin Herrera while the Royals preferred to move Luke Hochevar.  The Red Sox ultimately opted for the Mariners deal.  Miley’s first season with Boston got off to a slow start, but the lefty rebounded from a ghastly 8.62 April ERA to 4.10 ERA with a 137-to-58 K/BB ratio across his final 178 innings of the 2015 season.
  • It “appears that” Cody Ross’ career is over. The free agent outfielder suffered a bad hip injury with the D’Backs two years ago and he hasn’t been the same player since.  The 34-year-old Ross was released by Arizona last season and later went 2-for-25 in nine games with the Athletics.  Ross has played parts of 12 MLB seasons, suiting up for the Tigers, Dodgers, Reds, Marlins, Giants and Red Sox in addition to the Diamondbacks and Athletics, and hitting .262/.322/.445.
  • Agent Joe Sambito tells Cafardo that free agent third baseman Will Middlebrooks has gotten inquiries from 11 teams.  Cafardo speculates that the Brewers could bring Middlebrooks into their third base mix.
  • Most execs and scouts that Cafardo spoke with at the Winter Meetings said that they wouldn’t give Jason Heyward a $200MM deal.  Of course, the Cubs felt differently.

Minor MLB Transactions 12-12-15

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Here are the day’s minor transactions:

  • The Tigers signed 17 minor leaguers, reports Anthony Fenech and James Jahnke of the Detroit Free Press. Among the most notable names are left-handed pitcher Drake Britton and right-handed pitchers Rafael Dolis, Lendy Castillo, and Preston Guilmet. The club also inked infielder Tommy Field. Britton, a former top Red Sox prospect, has pitched well in limited major league action. However, he scuffled with the Cubs Triple-A affiliate last season, posting a 5.08 ERA in 83 innings. Guilmet has strong minor league peripherals, but he’s struggled through 23 major league innings with a 8.22 ERA (4.28 xFIP).
  • The Tigers also inked right-handed pitcher Jake Brigham. However, his situation is unique in that he’s also pursuing a contract with NPB’s Rakuten Eagles. Brigham, soon-to-turn-28, has posted decent numbers as a minor league swingman. The Braves gave him a brief major league audition last season in which he threw 16 innings with a 8.64 ERA.
  • The Braves have signed former Reds starter David Holmberg, reports Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. Holmberg, 24, has thrown 62 major league innings over 12 starts and two relief appearances. He has a 6.24 ERA with 4.79 K/9 and 5.08 BB/9. Atlanta also acquired reliever Ethan Martin. The former Phillies swingman flashed decent stuff with command problems in the majors, leading to a 5.93 ERA, 10.43 K/9, and 5.93 BB/9 in 44 innings.
  • The Orioles have signed lefty Jeff Beliveau. The southpaw missed most of 2015 with a labrum injury. He’s experienced success as a situational reliever, including a 2.63 ERA with 10.50 K/9 and 2.63 BB/9 in 2014 (24 innings, 30 appearances).
  • The Marlins have added righty Dustin McGowan. The once successful 33-year-old pitched poorly for the Phillies while struggling with control in 2015. He was only marginally better at Triple-A. If McGowan recovers his form, he could be a valuable reliever. He has a career 4.68 ERA with 7.35 K/9 and 3.90 BB/9 in 505 innings.
  • The Mets have inked former Brewers closer Jim Henderson. Injuries caused the 33-year-old to lose his ninth inning role in 2014, and he’s failed to reestablish himself since then. Last season in 29 innings for Milwaukee’s Triple-A affiliate, Henderson posted a 4.55 ERA with 7.58 K/9 and 5.16 BB/9.
  • The Padres have signed Philip Humber to a minor league deal. Humber pitched the 2015 for the KBO’s KIA Tigers in 2015. He posted a 6.75 ERA in the offensively charged league. Humber is perhaps best remembered for his unlikely perfect game for the White Sox in April of 2012. He was also part of the haul that brought Johan Santana to the Mets.

Brewers Acquire Garin Cecchini From Red Sox

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The Red Sox have traded third baseman/outfielder Garin Cecchini to the Brewers in exchange for cash considerations, reports Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). The former top prospect was recently designated for assignment in Boston.

Cecchini, 25 next April, will provide the Brewers with an option at third base or first base, where they’re quite thin on MLB-ready talent. The 2010 fourth-rounder has received 40 plate appearances in Boston over the past two seasons and batted .229/.325/.400, but his bat never really came around in two seasons at the Triple-A level. Viewed as a consensus top 100 prospect heading into the 2014 season, Cecchini has batted just .238/.314/.333 in two seasons at the top minor league level.

Following the 2013 season Baseball America lauded Cecchini for his knowledge of the strike zone and ability to barrel up pitches and hit to the opposite field, projecting that even if his glove would cause him to move to first base or left field, his on-base skills and high averages could make him a big league regular. Last winter, BA wrote that he still had considerable offensive upside even as his defensive question marks grew, but he struggled a great deal in Triple-A this year.

Starting Pitching Notes: Maeda, Angels, A’s

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The Red Sox will not submit a bid to negotiate with Japanese right-hander Kenta Maeda, a source tells WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford. While Maeda at one point looked like a possibly intriguing target for Boston, the team has plenty of mid-rotation options beyond ace David Price and probably won’t seek to add another, Bradford writes. Earlier Tuesday night, Giants GM Bobby Evans told MLBTR’s Zach Links that his team is having internal discussions about Maeda, though John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle hears that a match between the two sides is “unlikely.” Here are more notes on the starting pitching market.

  • The Athletics are hunting for a “No. 2” type of pitcher, Joe Stiglich of Comcast SportsNet California tweets. Manager Bob Melvin says the team is looking at veterans to fill that role. The A’s have recently been connected to free agent and former Athletic Scott Kazmir, who would certainly fill the bill as a veteran No. 2 starter.
  • The Angels are willing to trade not only C.J. Wilson (as was reported Monday), but also Hector Santiago and Matt Shoemaker, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan tweets. Of the three, Santiago has attracted the most attention, Sullivan’s colleague Alden Gonzalez tweets. Teams want the Angels to eat at least $15MM of the remaining $20MM on Wilson’s contract, which Gonzalez suggests is “too much.” Santiago, though, is effective as well as relatively young and cheap — MLBTR projects he’ll make $5.1MM next season, a very reasonable sum for a pitcher who threw 180 2/3 innings with a 3.59 ERA in 2015. One might think Shoemaker would also be an attractive target — his ERA last season was a run higher than Santiago’s, but his peripherals (7.7 K/9, 2.3 BB/9) were solid, and he’ll be making the league minimum again next season.

Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.

 

Pitching Notes: Rangers, Giants, Maeda, Chapman, Stammen, Jays, Pirates, Okajima

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It appears the Rangers are at least looking into an impactful pitching addition. MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan says (Twitter links) that the club has pursued Jose Fernandez, Shelby Miller, and Drew Smyly on the trade market, but “couldn’t make headway” on any of those players. The club is, however, holding a line of dialogue with the Indians on their rotation arms. Meanwhile, Texas has “neither funds nor interest level” to take a run at Japanese righty Kenta Maeda, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports on Twitter.

Here’s more on the pitching market:

  • The Giants have some interest in Maeda, skipper Bruce Bochy told reporters including John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). And the team has scouted him previously in Japan, colleague Henry Schulman adds on Twitter. Of course, Bochy also added that the club expects Maeda to draw wide interest, and didn’t make clear just how strong of a draw he represents.
  • With uncertainty abounding, the Dodgers are holding internal discussions on what to do about the team’s prospective trade for Reds lefty Aroldis Chapman, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports via Twitter. It’s possible that the club could “pivot” to some other acquisition targets or that it might allow the situation to play out before committing in either direction, he adds.
  • Recently non-tendered righty Craig Stammen is “100% recovered” from his arm surgery, a source tells MLBTR’s Zach Links (via) Twitter. Stammen, a stalwart of the Nationals pen for several years, was non-tendered recently. He’ll be entering his age-32 season after producing a 2.88 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 in 246 2/3 innings over 2012-15.
  • The Blue Jays are considering an array of options as they look at pen additions, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca tweets. Toronto is considering everything from the best remaining free agent relievers to “bounce-back types,” he says.
  • While a lefty reliever isn’t the Pirates’ top priority, the team has reached to free agent Matt Thornton, Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on Twitter.
  • The Pirates have shown interest in free agenty righty Kyle Kendrick, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports (via Twitter). Kendrick struggled last year for the Rockies, but he’s still just 31 years old and has had success at times in a swingman capacity. Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review broke down the Bucs’ efforts to find starters in a piece yesterday.
  • Japanese reliever Hideki Okajima is eyeing a return to the majors for his age-40 campaign, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com tweets. The long-time Red Sox southpaw last appeared in the bigs in 2013 with the Athletics and has played in Japan for the last two years.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/8/15

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With all the big moves and rumors from the Winter Meetings grabbing the headlines, here are a few lower-tier transactions from around the baseball world…

  • The Red Sox announced that right-hander Roman Mendez has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A.  Mendez was designated for assignment last week to make room for outfielder Chris Young on Boston’s roster.  Mendez made three appearances for the Sox after being claimed from the Rangers in September.  The righty owns a 94mph fastball and has a 3.09 ERA in 46 2/3 career Major League innings, though that ERA is belied by some very unfavorable peripheral numbers, particularly in his 2014 stint with Texas.
  • The Pirates announced some minor league signings, all on contracts that contain Spring Training invites: infielder Cole Figueroa, outfielder Danny Ortiz, left-hander Robert Zarate and right-handers Wilfredo Boscan and Deolis Guerra.
  • The Mariners signed righty Donn Roach to a minor league contract, the Tacoma News Tribune’s Bob Dutton reports (Twitter link).  The deal contains an invitation to the Mariners’ big league Spring Training camp.  Roach has a 5.35 ERA in 33 2/3 career innings and appeared in just one MLB game in 2015.  Roach, who turns 26 later this week, pitched for three organizations (the Blue Jays, Cubs and Reds) last season.
  • The Phillies announced that southpaw Joely Rodriguez has been outrighted to Triple-A.  Rodriguez, acquired from Pittsburgh in exchange for Antonio Bastardo last winter, posted a 6.12 ERA, 5.1 K/9 and 1.3 K/BB rate over 129 1/3 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A in 2015.

Starting Pitching Notes: Miller, Leake, Dodgers

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Braves president of baseball operations John Hart says that the club is “absolutely not in the mode” of shopping pitcher Shelby Miller, according to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter).  For his part, O’Brien (on Twitter) has a feeling that the Braves have not given up on getting infielder Javier Baez or outfielder Jorge Soler from the Cubs in exchange for Miller.  On top of that, a few teams have also reached out with interest in Braves hurler Julio Teheran, as Mark Bowman of MLB.com writes.

Here’s more out of Nashville:

  • The D’Backs, Dodgers, and Red Sox are staying in touch with the Braves regarding Miller, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets.
  • A person familiar with Mike Leake’s talks thinks he could land a five-year deal for $75-80MM, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com tweets.  To some, that would appear to mark a spike in his market value, though MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes predicted that Leake could net a five-year, $80MM deal way back in early November.
  • Agent Rob Martin told MLBTR (Twitter link) that pitcher Brandon Beachy is “100% healthy” as he seeks his next deal in free agency.  Beachy will be prioritizing the best pitching opportunities without any real preference for geographic location.   Beachy was designated for assignment by the Dodgers in July before accepting an outright assignment in August.  From 2010-13 with Atlanta, he posted a 3.23 ERA, 9.2 K.9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 267 2/3 innings. Durability has been an issue since reaching the Major Leagues, however, as he’s topped 100 innings just once in his career and made 10 starts in a season just twice.
  • Chris Young turned down the opportunity to sign a three-year deal elsewhere to return to the Royals on a two-year pact, according to Andy McCullough of The Kansas City Star (on Twitter).
  • There are five teams in on Justin Masterson, including the Pirates, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
  • As many as a dozen teams are already showing interest in Henderson Alvarez, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets.
  • The Tigers and Cardinals both tried to land Jeff Samardzija, according to Heyman (on Twitter).  The Tigers, predictably, were out on Shark once they inked Jordan Zimmermann.

AL West Notes: Wilson, Angels, Kendrick, Rangers, Pearce, Lewis, Catchers, Mariners

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The Angels are telling clubs they’ll listen to offers on lefty C.J. Wilson, Scott Miller of Bleacher Report reports on Twitter. It seems that Los Angeles would be interested in clearing some payroll in a bid to address the multiple areas of need on the position-player side of the equation.

More from L.A. and the AL West:

  • Angels GM Billy Eppler told reporters that he’s looked into deals for a short-term option in the corner outfield, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. As Fletcher notes, Jay Bruce of the Reds is one player who could meet that description, though it’s not clear that he’s a target for the Halos.
  • Free agent second baseman Howie Kendrick is “definitely open” to returning to his long-time club, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times tweets. While Eppler and co. have reached out to the veteran, that isn’t “on the front burner” for the team at present.
  • The Rangers have had internal discussions about adding free agent first baseman/outfielder Steve Pearce, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports via Twitter. Pearce has long seemed a good match on paper for Texas, which has a heavily left-handed lineup.
  • Meanwhile, the Rangers are looking at bringing Colby Lewis back and want to add at least two starters, Sullivan tweets. Texas would be looking for a rotation piece in any theoretical deal of first baseman Mitch Moreland.
  • While the Rangers’ interest in righty Joe Kelly now seems dead in the water after Boston dealt Wade Miley, Texas could also look to chat with the Red Sox about a possible deal for a catcher, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets. Tigers backstop Bryan Holaday could draw some attention from Texas as well, Sullivan adds on Twitter. As MLB.com’s Jason Beck notes on Twitter, Holaday is out of options and could hit the waiver wire if he loses the team’s reserve catching job to the just-signed Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
  • In other Rangers-related backstop news, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets that he’s told the team “covets” Brewers receiver Jonathan Lucroy. Of course, as he adds, Milwaukee likely won’t move Lucroy unless it can achieve a “huge return.”
  • The Mariners are not looking at any major rotation upgrades after acquiring Miley, GM Jerry Dipoto tells Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News-Tribune (via Twitter). Dipoto also noted that he wasn’t willing to guarantee Hisashi Iwakuma a third year, which is why the club reportedly lost out on him to the Dodgers, MLB.com’s Greg Johns tweets. Miley was the M’s “Plan A” after missing on Iwakuma, added Dipoto.

Mariners Acquire Miley, Aro In Exchange For Smith, Elias

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An exceptionally busy offseason for Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto continued on Monday, as the Mariners acquired left-hander Wade Miley and right-handed reliever Jonathan Aro from the Red Sox in exchange for lefty Roenis Elias and right-handed reliever Carson Smith. Both teams have formally announced the trade.

Wade Miley

Miley, 29, has a long history with Dipoto, who not only was a consultant with the Red Sox after electing to leave his job with the Angels this summer but also served as the Diamondbacks’ scouting director when Miley was drafted back in 2008. Miley is controlled for at least two more seasons for a total of $15.25MM, and his contract also contains a $12MM club option for the 2018 season. He’ll give the Mariners a reasonably priced arm to slot into the rotation behind Felix Hernandez alongside Taijuan Walker and James Paxton.

Miley’s first season with Boston got off to a slow start, but the lefty rebounded from a ghastly 8.62 April ERA to 4.10 ERA with a 137-to-58 K/BB ratio across his final 178 innings of the 2015 season. Miley has been a healthy and consistent innings eater dating back to his sophomore season in 2012, averaging 198 innings of 3.92 ERA ball per year despite spending three years with the hitter-friendly Chase Field as his home park and a fourth season in the American League East. One can imagine that the move to the spacious Safeco Field will benefit Miley considerably.

Aro, 25, posted outstanding numbers between Double-A and Triple-A in 2015 and ultimately made his big league debut. He logged a 3.04 ERA with 8.8 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9 in 74 minor league innings. He yielded eight runs in 10 1/3 Major League innings and averaged 92.5 mph on his fastball while posting an eight-to-four K/BB ratio. MLB.com ranked Aro 26th among Boston farmhands, noting that his fastball features some sink and can touch 95 mph. He has a slider and changeup as well, with the former grading as at least average. Their scouting report feels he can pitch successfully in multiple-inning relief stints and calls Aro “durable.”

Seattle’s decision to part with Smith comes as somewhat of a surprise. The 26-year-old delivered 70 brilliant innings of relief, pitching to a 2.31 ERA with 11.8 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and an exceptional 64.8 percent ground-ball rate. Smith ranked sixth among qualified relievers in ground-ball rate and struck out a greater number of batters than nearly any pitcher on the top 30 in that regard. He’s controllable for another five seasons and will give president of baseball operation Dave Dombrowski and the Red Sox another elite relief arm to pair with the likes of Craig Kimbrel and Koji Uehara in the late innings.

Carson Smith

The Red Sox will also pick up a left-hander with significant big league experience in the form of Elias. The 27-year-old has spent the past two seasons mostly at the big league level, logging a 3.97 ERA with 7.7 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and a 44.9 percent ground-ball rate. Elias has yielded an unspectacular .255/.333/.411 batting line to right-handed hitters but dominated lefties, holding same-handed batters to a .218/.304/.332 clip. His control against lefties could stand to improve a bit, but he’s a generally useful weapon against them and could conceivably be tougher if shifted to a bullpen role, where he could throw harder in shorter stints.

A bullpen slot could be his best shot at cracking the roster next spring, as an immediate spot in the Boston rotation doesn’t seem too likely. The Red Sox currently have David Price, Clay Buchholz, Eduardo Rodriguez, Rick Porcello and Joe Kelly, to say nothing of highly regarded left-handers Henry Owens and Brian Johnson more or less ready for big league action.

Of course, Elias could simply be rotation depth for the Red Sox in the event that they trade another arm or two, or he could be flipped to another club himself. Earlier this offseason, the Marlins were said to have some interest in him when discussing potential Marcell Ozuna deals (though they were looking for considerably more than Elias alone in exchange for Ozuna). Elias is controllable through the 2020 season and won’t be arbitration eligible until at least the 2017-18 offseason.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX reported earlier this afternoon that the two sides were making progress on a deal that would send Miley to Seattle. Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reported the trade was in place (Twitter link). Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweeted that Aro, Elias and Smith were involved.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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