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Rangers Sign Tolleson, Espino, Eibner To Minor League Deals

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Former Rangers closer Shawn Tolleson is returning to the organization on a minor league contract, per a team announcement. Texas also announced minor league deals for right-hander Paolo Espino, outfielder Brett Eibner and right-hander Zeke Spruill. (Spruill’s deal had been previously reported.) Tolleson and Espino received invitations to Major League Spring Training, though Tolleson will still be working his way back from Tommy John surgery at that point.

Tolleson, 30 in January, was cut loose by the Rangers after a dreadful 2016 campaign. Tolleson shined with the Rangers from 2014-15, tossing 144 innings and logging 35 saves with 9.1 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 against a 41.4 percent ground-ball rate. Tolleson limped to a 7.68 ERA and served up eight homers in just 36 1/3 innings with the Rangers in ’16, and he never appeared in a game for the Rays after signing a one-year deal last offseason before TJ surgery in May. Tolleson was used heavily in 2014-15, including five straight games to close out that 2015 regular season.

Espino made six appearances for the Rangers last year after being picked up from the Brewers. Though he’ll turn 31 next month, last year marked Espino’s first taste of the big leagues — a debut that included 24 innings with a 6.00 ERA and a 20-to-10 K/BB ratio. Espino brings a 3.76 ERA, 8.0 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 505 1/3 career innings at the Triple-A level and will bring some depth to a rotation mix that has plenty of injury question marks.

Last season, the Dodgers attempted to convert Eibner into a pitcher, but he ultimately underwent Tommy John surgery on Aug. 1. The Rangers announced Eibner as an outfielder, seemingly indicating that they won’t continue experimenting with him on the mound. Once healthy, Eibner can handle all three outfield spots and will come to the Rangers organization with a .274/.348/.464 career batting line in parts of four Triple-A seasons and a .191/.263/.355 slash in 244 MLB plate appearances.

Dodgers Designate Brett Eibner, Luis Ysla

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The Dodgers have designated outfielder (and partially converted pitcher) Brett Eibner and lefty Luis Ysla for assignment, per a club announcement. With Grant Dayton heading to the 60-day DL after undergoing Tommy John surgery, the club cleared the way for several September promotions.

As expected, top prospect Alex Verdugo and veteran Andre Ethier will both make their way onto the active roster. The former will be joined by first baseman/outfielder O’Koyea Dickson in appearing in the majors for the first time. Ethier is headed back to the bigs for the first time this season after an extended DL stint.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles also announced that Clayton Kershaw has been activated from the 10-day DL. Outfielder/first baseman Rob Segedin — like Dickson, a potential righty bench bat — has also been recalled from optional assignment.

NL West Notes: Giants, Eibner, Dodgers, Hand, Chacin

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After watching a last-place team make just one move prior to the non-waiver deadline, Giants fans felt plenty of frustration, but GM Bobby Evans spoke to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle about the front office’s recognition that changes need to be made before the 2018 season commences. “How much we can accomplish between now and the beginning of 2018 remains to be seen,” said Evans. “…Some of that has to be us on alert for what opportunities exist. As we sit here today, we’ve got a lot of ideas where clubs see our guys.” The offseason is a likelier time for significant changes than the August waiver trade season, Evans indicated. Schulman writes that the Giants are lacking both power and defense in the outfield, though the presence of veterans Denard Span and Hunter Pence, both signed through 2018, adds another layer of complexity to the front office’s quest for improvement.

More from the division…

  • The Dodgers had been experimenting with outfielder Brett Eibner as a pitcher, but his season will come to an end due to Tommy John surgery, tweets J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group. Eibner hadn’t actually gotten into a game in the minors, as he’s been dealing with soreness in his arm for awhile now. The Dodgers’ reported plan for Eibner wasn’t to convert him to a pitcher on a full-time basis but to use him as an outfielder and occasional reliever. Eibner pitched and played in the outfield in his college days but had been exclusively a position player since turning pro.
  • While the Dodgers have drawn headlines for their enormous Major League payrolls, their commitment to international spending has played a huge role in their success as well, writes Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times. As Shaikin notes, the Dodgers shipped out three prospects signed as international amateurs yesterday to acquire Tony Watson and Tony Cingrani, and their willingness to spend on that market has persistently left them with ammunition for trades. “The kind of scouting and player development infrastructure you have can pay off in terms of guys rising to the big leagues and impacting your team, or sometimes being able to make trades like this,” said GM Farhan Zaidi. “It’s certainly a credit to our scouting and player development staffs for giving us the players and prospect capital we needed to pull off these deals today.” The new hard cap on international spending will make that strategy more difficult, though the Dodgers have a history of finding creative ways to build up their farm by leveraging financial muscle.
  • Padres general manager A.J. Preller chatted with Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune about his lack of trades at the non-waiver deadline — specifically the decision to hold onto lefty Brad Hand and righty Jhoulys Chacin. Preller indicated that he simply didn’t receive an offer that he deemed to bring more value to the organization than Hand, acknowledging that while it’s possible he’ll incur an injury or decline, it’s also possible that Hand sustains or enhances his value with improved performance. His comments on Chacin were more interesting. “I know it’s easy for somebody to say, ‘Well, he’s a free agent at the end of the year. Just take anything,'” said Preller. “We’ve built our (farm) system up to the point where, just to take a non-prospect for the purpose of making a trade, we weren’t interested in doing that.” The Friars could move Chacin in a waiver deal, but they’ll also explore the possibility of signing him beyond 2017, Preller tells Lin.

NL Notes: Phillies, Mets, Cards, Dodgers

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While the Phillies will shop players with expiring contracts leading up to the trade deadline, team president Andy MacPhail also suggested Friday that general manager Matt Klentak would at least listen to offers for all of their big leaguers, writes Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. “He needs to keep a wide spectrum, wide horizon, and any opportunity that makes sense for us going forward, he should explore,” MacPhail said of Klentak. The Phillies own the majors’ worst record (26-52), but they’re not devoid of intriguing, controllable players who might pique teams’ interest in the next month. Outfielders Aaron Altherr and Odubel Herrera stand out in their group of position players, while Aaron Nola, Jerad Eickhoff, Vince Velasquez and Hector Neris are among their cheap pitchers who could be on clubs’ radars.

More from the National League:

  • Mets third baseman David Wright is at least three to five weeks away from beginning baseball activities, GM Sandy Alderson told Anthony DiComo of MLB.com and other reporters Friday. A setback would likely end the 34-year-old Wright’s chances of playing this season, observes DiComo, which is the latest discouraging update regarding the longtime franchise cornerstone. Wright, who’s dealing with neck, shoulder and back issues, has appeared in just 75 games dating back to 2015 and hasn’t played since May of last year.
  • Cardinals first baseman Matt Carpenter hasn’t seen any action at second base this year, but he did get some work at his former position before the Redbirds’ game on Friday, relays Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. Langosch adds that moving Carpenter back to the keystone, at least temporarily, could lead to more opportunities for first baseman Luke Voit (via Twitter). Notably, St. Louis didn’t try this season earlier in the season when it couldn’t find at-bats for first baseman Matt Adams, whom it traded to the Braves in May for an insignificant return. Adams has since been one of the majors’ hottest hitters. In fairness to the Cardinals, though, second baseman Kolten Wong wasn’t on the disabled list at that point. Wong landed on the DL with an elbow strain the week after the Adams trade and won’t return until mid-July.
  • A first baseman throughout his professional career, the Dodgers are considering turning Ike Davis into a pitcher, per Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. Pitching isn’t foreign to the 30-year-old Davis, who was an accomplished hurler in high school and went on to strike out 78 hitters in as many innings at Arizona State. Now struggling offensively at Triple-A this season (.206/.257/.381 in 70 plate appearances), Davis threw a bullpen session Friday, tweets Oklahoma City broadcaster Alex Freedman. Dodgers director of player development Gabe Kapler then commented, “We all know he’s an athlete, and we believe he might be able to provide value in many different areas.” Davis is best known for his 32-home run season with the Mets in 2012, though he hasn’t made much of an offensive impact in the majors or minors since then. Davis isn’t the first Triple-A position player the Dodgers have experimented with on the mound this year, as they’ve also tried outfielder Brett Eibner in that role. Unfortunately, though, the club had to shut down Eibner on account of a sore arm, according to Gurnick.

Quick Hits: Eibner, Torres, Padres, Gallo

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The Dodgers are experimenting with using outfielder Brett Eibner as a pitcher, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times writes. Eibner pitched in college and reached 95 MPH with his fastball, and he’s now working on developing secondary pitches; it remains to be seen, of course, how those would play against big-leaguers. The Dodgers’ plan is to continue to treat Eibner primarily as an outfielder, but they envision using him as a pitcher more frequently than the typical position player taking the mound to relieve an exhausted staff. If Eibner were to prove effective as a pitcher, he’d become a useful and interesting tactical piece, reminiscent, perhaps, of a two-way player like Brooks Kieschnick, who first arrived in the big leagues as an outfielder but who also ended up pitching for Milwaukee in 2003 and 2004. The added versatility might also help Eibner from being shipped back and forth to Triple-A so frequently, Shaikin suggests — the Dodgers have already optioned him to Triple-A Oklahoma City four times this season. Here’s more from around the game.

  • The Yankees have promoted top prospect Gleyber Torres to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, as MLB.com’s Matt Kardos first tweeted. Torres hit well for Double-A Trenton, batting .277/.363/.504 over 135 plate appearances this season. The move suggests the 20-year-old could make his big-league debut in the not-too-distant future, meaning that the Yankees could perhaps continue to see relatively quick returns on the trade that sent Aroldis Chapman to Chicago for Torres, Adam Warren, Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford. (Warren, of course, is currently in the midst of a strong season in the Yankees’ bullpen.) Torres ranks second on MLB.com’s list of the game’s top 100 prospects, topped only by another recently traded player, White Sox infielder Yoan Moncada.
  • The Padres are doing “exactly what they should be doing,” Shaikin writes. The Padres are losing games (their current .348 winning percentage is worst in the Majors), but they’re also piling up prospects through Latin American signings, the Rule 5 Draft and trades of veterans, and they’re grabbing top draft picks as well, just as the Cubs and Astros did prior to their current runs of success. Interestingly, manager Andy Green says one challenge of leading a rebuilding club is getting his players to focus on getting better while ignoring Internet commentary about their current struggles. “Everybody is on Twitter. Everybody reads everything everybody says,” Green notes. “You’re fighting a cultural battle. You have to create something special inside the house, so guys will guard their minds, guard their focus and show up every day to play. Without a doubt, it’s a challenge, but a challenge I welcome every single day.”
  • Rangers infielder Joey Gallo’s wild season thus far is testing the limits of three-true-outcomes baseball, writes ESPN’s David Schoenfield. The “three true outcomes,” of course, are home runs, walks and strikeouts, and Gallo has piled up big numbers in all three categories, particularly the first and last. In 165 plate appearances this year, he has 13 homers, 21 walks and a ridiculous 65 strikeouts. He’s currently on pace to break Mark Reynolds’ record for whiffs in a season (223), and he could also top Reynolds’ record for most homers in a season with a sub-.200 average (32). Of course, Gallo’s immediate future is up in the air, since Adrian Beltre could soon return from a calf injury. (There’s hope Beltre can begin a rehab assignment next weekend, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram recently tweeted.) And as Schoenfield notes, Gallo has faded in recent weeks, with a May batting line of just .148/.268/.443.

Dodgers Place Justin Turner On 10-Day DL

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6:22pm: Turner has only a Grade 1 strain and is expected to be ready within a “couple weeks,” Roberts told reporters including MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick (via Twitter). The club anticipates utilizing Logan Forsythe at times at third while Turner is out, the skipper added.

5:47pm: The Dodgers have placed third baseman Justin Turner on the 10-day DL, per a club announcement. He has been diagnosed with a hamstring strain.

Los Angeles will dearly miss Turner, who has excelled since re-signing with the team over the winter, for whatever stretch he’s out. He has only hit one home run thus far after swatting 27 last year, but is nevertheless slashing .379/.453/.493 over 162 plate appearances.

Turner will be replaced by outfielder Brett Eibner on the roster, as JP Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group reported, though obviously other arrangements will be needed in the infield. Presumably, the hot-hitting Chris Taylor and utilityman Enrique Hernandez will see added opportunities while Turner is down.

There does seem to be hope, however, that the hammy pull isn’t a particularly significant one. While the visual cues weren’t terribly promising when the injury occurred, manager Dave Roberts told MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (via Twitter) that he was fairly optimistic about the prognosis while noting that a DL placement was quite likely regardless. Of course, that was before the MRI took place; presumably, we’ll learn more about the current expectations before long.

Dodgers Place Joc Pederson On 10-Day DL; Julio Urias To Make Season Debut

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The Dodgers have placed center fielder Joc Pederson on the 10-day DL, per a club announcement. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by outfielder Brett Eibner.

Pederson, who just turned 25, has a groin injury. It doesn’t seem likely to keep him out for a lengthy stretch, but the Dodgers evidently felt it was worth getting out ahead of with a DL placement. He’ll look to pick up his hitting a bit upon his return, after posting a tepid .220/.322/.340 mark through his first 18 games of the season.

Notably, too, Los Angeles is set to bring up talented young starter Julio Urias for his 2017 debut, per J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group (Twitter link). The 20-year-old had opened the year at Triple-A as part of an effort to control his innings.

Urias has unsurprisingly dominated at the highest level of the minors, though he has also permitted nine walks in his 14 frames. Still, he has nothing left to prove there; the young southpaw already turned in 77 innings of 3.39 ERA ball in the majors last season.

It seems that Urias will take the ball Thursday, meaning that righty Kenta Maeda will be bumped from his next scheduled start. He’ll pitch Friday, per skipper Dave Roberts, as MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick tweets. The 29-year-old has been hit hard in the early going, with 24 hits and seven long balls recorded against him through 19 innings — though he has also maintained his excellent strikeout (9.0 K/9) and walk (2.4 BB/9) rates.

After this first outing, Urias could stay in the majors or head back to Albuquerque. How things shake out could also depend in part upon the status of Rich Hill, who is still on the DL with a troublesome blister.

Dodgers Acquire Brett Eibner From Athletics

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12:08pm: The Dodgers have announced the deal. Minor league infielder Jordan Tarsovich is headed to the Athletics in the swap. The 25-year-old spent the 2016 season with the Dodgers’ Double-A affiliate in Tulsa, batting .219/.325/.343. He’s spent time at shortstop, second base and third base since being selected in the 22nd round of the 2015 draft.

10:41am: The Athletics have agreed to a trade that will send outfielder Brett Eibner to the Dodgers in exchange for a minor leaguer, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Eibner was designated for assignment by Oakland last week.

The 28-year-old Eibner will add another right-handed bat to the Dodgers’ outfield mix. While he struggled at the plate in his big league debut this past season, hitting just .191/.266/.353 in 208 plate appearances. Eibner has a much stronger Triple-A track record and is considered an above-average defender that is capable of playing all three outfield positions. In parts of three seasons at the Triple-A level (979 plate appearances), Eibner is a .280/.356/.474 hitter. As a bonus, he has two minor league options remaining, so the Dodgers can stash Eibner in the minors as a depth piece if he doesn’t break camp with the Major League club.

From 2010-15, Baseball America rated Eibner among the Royals’ top 30 prospects, calling him a plus defensive outfielder with above-average speed and potential 15-homer pop as recently as the 2015-16 offseason. BA also noted, though, that he’s a streaky hitter that is prone to lengthy slumps, making him a tricky player to deploy in a bench capacity. Kansas City traded Eibner to Oakland last summer in a straight-up swap for fellow outfielder Billy Burns.

The Dodgers, of course, already have a plethora of outfield options — Joc Pederson, Yasiel Puig, Andrew Toles, Trayce Thompson, Andre Ethier, Scott Van Slyke and Enrique Hernandez are all on the 40-man roster — but the team clearly still saw value in Eibner despite a glut of outfielders. As a potential plus defender with minor league options and a history of hitting left-handed pitching (an area where the Dodgers flailed after injuries to Thompson, Van Slyke and Hernandez last season), it’s not difficult to see why he’d hold appeal — especially at a modest cost of acquisition.

A’s Designate Brett Eibner For Assignment

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The Athletics announced on Friday that they’ve designated outfielder Brett Eibner for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for right-hander Santiago Casilla, whose two-year deal with the club is now official.

The 28-year-old Eibner’s stay with Oakland proved to be short-lived, as he was acquired from the Royals this past July in a straight-up swap for fellow outfielder Billy Burns. Eibner made his Major League debut with the Royals this season and also logged 123 plate appearances with Oakland, though he didn’t produce at the plate with either club. In a total of 208 trips to the plate, Eibner batted just .193/.266/.353.

Eibner, though, can play all three outfield positions and has a quite productive track record in Triple-A, where he’s spent parts of three seasons. At the top minor league level, Eibner’s a .280/.356/.474 hitter with 38 homers and 20 steals in 979 plate appearances. While he’s never rated as an elite prospect, he was a mainstay on Baseball America’s top 30 Royals prospect lists from 2010-15, ranking 17th as recently as two winters ago. BA noted that Eibner is a plus defender in center and an above-average runner with 15-homer pop. However, he’s also extremely streaky and prone to prolonged slumps, per their most recent report.

Eibner does have minor league options remaining, so any team that picks him up could send him to the minors without exposing him to waivers and utilize him as a depth piece even if there’s no immediately available place on the 25-man roster.

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