AL West Notes: Lincecum, Valencia, Lohse, Mariners
Tim Lincecum is set to debut for the Angels tomorrow against the Athletics, as MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez writes. Per Gonzalez, the Angels felt that Lincecum might’ve been ready for his debut after his second rehab outing, but the pitcher himself asked GM Billy Eppler for one more rehab tune-up because he wasn’t pleased with his ability to command his fastball in that second outing. His third outing proved to be the best of the bunch, as he went seven innings and picked up eight strikeouts while yielding just one hit and one walk. His velocity is still in the 88-91 mph range, Gonzalez notes, but Eppler says that he expects Lincecum will be able to locate his fastball and secondary pitches to get by “with moxie and some deception and pitchability.” Lincecum appears set to join Jered Weaver, Hector Santiago, Jhoulys Chacin and Matt Shoemaker in the Halos’ rotation, as is reflected on their updated depth chart.
More from the American League West…
- Danny Valencia feels like he’s found a home with the Athletics — his sixth team in four years — but he knows there’s a possibility that he could again be traded this summer, he tells USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. “We all joke about it,” said Valencia, who is hitting .302/.353/.529 with 28 homers dating back to the start of the 2015 season. “They are notorious for making trades, so it’s in the back of everybody’s mind. If the team’s not in the thick of things, they will make moves and blow up the team to some degree. I know I don’t want to go anywhere. I love Oakland. I love the Bay Area. I love my coaching staff, my teammates. We all love it here.” Valencia acknowledged that the team’s poor play decreases the likelihood of him remaining there, however, and Nightengale speculates that he could be a strong fit for the Mets, who recently lost David Wright to neck surgery. Valencia’s clubhouse personality has drawn some negative reviews in the past, though teammate Yonder Alonso spoke to Nightengale about that perception, opining that Valencia is the type of player that is loved by his own team but rubs opponents the wrong way. “He’s a guy that if you’re not his team, you may not like him, and you want to beat him,” said Alonso. “If he’s on your team, you want this guy playing every single night, helping you win. And if you’re in a fight, you want him right next to you.”
- The Rangers are “seriously” considering bringing veteran righty Kyle Lohse up to serve as a bullpen option, though their current roster construction make the situation a bit complicated, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Lohse, 37, inked a minor league pact with Texas last month and has been starting for the team’s Triple-A affiliate in Round Rock. Lohse’s numbers leave plenty to be desired — he has a 5.35 ERA through six starts, though the bulk of the damage came in one start — but he could add some length to the bullpen or provide the team with some spot starts if necessary.
- While the Mariners‘ bullpen has stumbled lately, general manager Jerry Dipoto tells Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune that he’s not planning on making an early splash on the trade market to address his relief corps. “It’s not a great time to do trades really,” said Dipoto, “but we are doing our recon, like we always do, as we prepare for July. Right now, this is our group.” Per Dutton, if the Mariners do look to upgrade their ‘pen next month, it would likely be by pursuing someone that can pitch at the very back of the group, but the market isn’t exactly rife with shutdown options for the ninth inning. MLBTR’s Jeff Todd recently listed the top trade candidates from around the game and did include a fair number of relief options, though certainly not all of them are the types that the Mariners (or another club) would immediately slot into the closer’s role.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/16/16
Some minor moves from around the game…
- Righty Brandon Gomes has been released by the Cubs, as Baseball America’s Matt Eddy recently reported. The 31-year-old had thrown 167 relief innings over the last five years with the Rays, working to a 4.20 ERA with 7.8 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9. He had struggled with command this year at Triple-A in the Chicago organization, however. In his 22 2/3 frames, Gomes allowed ten earned runs on 14 hits and 14 walks while striking out twenty.
- The Orioles have re-signed lefty Andy Oliver, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports on Twitter. Oliver, 28, had recently opted out of his minor league pact with Baltimore, but evidently did not find a better opportunity elsewhere. He owns a nice 2.08 ERA over 34 2/3 Triple-A frames on the year, with 8.8 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9.
- Veteran catcher Gerald Laird has signed a contract with the Mexican League’s Tijuana Toros, MLBTR has learned. The 36-year-old Laird signed the with D-backs prior to the 2015 season but appeared in just one game before a back injury sidelined him into late August, at which point he was designated for assignment and released. Laird enjoyed a productive season with the Braves back in 2013, when he batted .281/.367/.372 in 141 plate appearances. In parts of 13 Major League seasons, Laird is a career .243/.305/.353 hitter. He’s spent time with the Rangers, Tigers and Cardinals in addition to Arizona and Atlanta.
- The Angels announced that lefty David Huff has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Salt Lake. The 31-year-old made a pair of spot starts for the Halos this season but struggled in each and ultimately yielded seven earned runs on 13 hits and two walks in 5 1/3 innings. He’ll have the right to reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency, though he could very well accept due to the fact that the injury-riddled state of the Angels’ pitching staff could afford him another crack at the Majors later this summer.
- Former Major League right-hander Robert Coello has been waived by the Nexen Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization, as Jeeho Yoo of the Yonhap News Agency writes. In his place, the Heroes will sign right-hander Scott McGregor, who had been pitching for the Somerset Patriots of the independent Atlantic League (Mike Ashmore of MyCentralJersey.com reported the McGregor news earlier this week). The 31-year-old Coello hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2013, when he posted a 3.71 ERA in 17 innings for the Angels. He had a 3.77 ERA in 62 innings out of the Heroes’ rotation this season, but Yoo notes that control problems (42 walks in those 62 innings) led him to be waived. McGregor, a longtime Cardinals farmhand, has a career 4.78 ERA at the Triple-A level and was throwing well for Somerset this season, having posted a 3.36 ERA with a 31-to-6 K/BB ratio in 59 innings.
Angels Sign First-Rounder Matt Thaiss
10:15pm: Thaiss will receive a $2.15MM bonus, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. That leaves just over $500K in added funds for the club to dedicate to other draftees.
9:51pm: The Angels have signed first-round pick Matt Thaiss, the backstop himself tweeted. His bonus remains unknown, but the 16th overall selection came with an assigned value of $2.661MM.
Likewise, the Halos have an agreement in place with third-rounder Nolan Williams, with MLB.com’s Jim Callis reporting (via Twitter) that he’ll earn $950K. The shortstop was taken 96th, which had an assigned $620,100 slot amount.
A catcher at the University of Virginia, the smooth-swinging Thaiss may move around defensively as a professional. Halos amateur scouting director Ric Wilson suggested that his team’s top selection isn’t tied to the position, and many evaluators question whether he’ll be able to stick behind the dish.
Certainly, his bat is good enough that it could play elsewhere. Thaiss has impeccable command of the strike zone, which led ESPN.com’s Keith Law to rank him 21st among eligible prospects. Placing him in the 28th slot, Baseball America noted that he delivers above-average, line-drive pop. MLB.com listed Thaiss 36th on its board.
It’ll be interesting to see where the bonus landed for Thaiss. The Halos went on to select high schoolers with its next three selections, including Williams, though it’s not yet clear just how much extra cash will be needed to round out the team’s draft class.
Angels Designate Kyle Kubitza
The Angels have designated third baseman Kyle Kubitza for assignment, Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter link). He was the club’s seventh-ranked prospect in the estimation of MLB.com, but lost his 40-man spot as the team continued to cycle through pitching.
Kubitza, who’ll soon turn 26, got a taste of the majors last year but struggled in 19 games of action. The former third-round pick had been productive in the lower minors, and showed fairly well last year in his first taste of the hitter-friendly PCL, but he’s off to a tepid .253/.349/.366 start in 2016.
While roster pressures are always tough, it’s somewhat surprising to see the Halos compelled to part with a decent prospect here. The team’s new leadership, under GM Billy Eppler, obviously didn’t quite see eye to eye with its prior front office. Former GM Jerry Dipoto had sent well-regarded young lefty Ricardo Sanchez to the Braves to add Kubitza back before the 2015 season.
Angels Designate David Huff, Select Al Alburquerque
The Angels made a series of roster moves involving their oft-rotated pitching staff. As MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez first suggested (Twitter links), the team will designate lefty David Huff for assignment and place righty Cory Rasmus on the 15-day DL, clearing active roster spots for right-handers A.J. Achter and Al Alburquerque.
Huff, 31, surrendered ten earned runs in just 5 1/3 frames over two starts, allowing 13 hits and four home runs along the way. He had been tasked with stepping into the rotation while the club awaits Tim Lincecum, who is expected to be ready for major league action this weekend.
Achter has provided 11 1/3 innings of 4.76 ERA pitching on the year to the Halos’ pen, but this’ll be the first shot for the veteran Albuquerque. He has thrown 21 2/3 frames at Triple-A on the season, working to a 2.49 ERA with 10.4 K/9 with 4.2 BB/9.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/13/16
Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…
- The Angels announced today that right-hander Cody Satterwhite has been released from Triple-A Salt Lake so that he may sign with the Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball (Twitter link). The 29-year-old Satterwhite — a former farmhand of the Tigers and Mets — was in his first season in the Angels organization and had pitched to a 1.80 ERA with 7.9 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 in 18 relief appearances, totaling 25 innings. The former second-round pick (Tigers, 2008) has a career 3.71 ERA in 96 innings at the Triple-A level.
Earlier Moves
- The Blue Jays are set to select the contract of left-hander Scott Diamond from Triple-A Buffalo, reports Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith. The Canadian-born southpaw hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2013 with the Twins, but he has a strong 3.16 ERA through 74 innings in the minors this season. Diamond, 29, isn’t one to miss many bats (4.5 K/9 at Triple-A this season, 4.2 K/9 in 343 MLB innings), but he’s displayed excellent control throughout his career and keeps the ball on the ground quite well. He’s been starting with Buffalo but could step into a multi-inning relief role for the Jays; Nicholson-Smith writes that manager John Gibbons said the team’s bullpen is “on fumes right now.” The Jays will need to make a 40-man move to add Diamond to the mix, but they could simply move fellow lefty Franklin Morales to the 60-day DL in order to create room.
Pirates Place Francisco Cervelli On DL, Acquire Erik Kratz From Angels
The Pirates have announced that they’ve placed catcher Francisco Cervelli on the 15-day DL with a broken hamate bone in his left hand. To take his place on the active roster, they’ve acquired fellow backstop Erik Kratz from the Angels for cash considerations. To make room for Kratz on the 40-man roster, they’ve designated reliever Trey Haley for assignment.
Cervelli had surgery today to remove a fractured hook of the hamate bone, the Pirates also announced. He is expected to return to baseball activities in four to six weeks. He left yesterday’s game against the Cardinals with hand pain after taking a swing. Cervelli was hitting .257/.373/.293 this season, posting his usual high on-base percentage but with little of the modest power he demonstrated during his breakout 2015 season. It’s possible his hand injury could further hamper his power once he returns.
Kratz will likely share the Pirates’ catching duties with Chris Stewart in the meantime. His acquisition was necessary in part because of an injury to Bucs catching prospect Elias Diaz, who ordinarily likely would have started in Cervelli’s place. Kratz (who, incidentally, made his big-league debut with the Bucs in 2010) has a career .210/.261/.381 line in parts of seven big-league seasons, although he rates as a good defender and solid framer, qualities the Pirates value highly in catchers. The Angels signed Kratz to a minor league deal two weeks ago after he was released by the Astros.
The Pirates signed Haley to a big-league deal last offseason despite a lack of previous big-league experience, then sent him to Triple-A Indianapolis. He throws very hard, routinely hitting the high 90s, but continues a longstanding pattern of struggling badly to throw strikes, with a 6.66 ERA, 7.0 K/9 and 7.4 BB/9 in 24 1/3 Triple-A innings this year.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/10/16
Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…
- The Angels announced that both right-hander Javy Guerra and left-hander Chris Jones have cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake after having been designated for assignment earlier this week. Guerra, having previously been outrighted, has the right to reject the assignment in favor of free agency, though he’s already accepted one outright from the Halos this season. Guerra has a 5.68 ERA through just 6 1/3 inning with the Angels this season but has worked to a 2.99 ERA in 156 2/3 innings over the life of his Major League career. The 27-year-old Jones was acquired from the Orioles in a minor trade late in Spring Training and has worked to a 7.33 ERA in 50 1/3 innings at Triple-A this season despite a good deal of prior success at that level. In 390 2/3 innings of Triple-A work, Jones has a 3.66 ERA even after this season’s poor results.
Angels Acquire Jose Valdez, Designate Chris Jones
The Angels announced that they have acquired right-hander Jose Valdez from the Tigers in exchange for cash considerations. In order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Valdez, the Halos have designated left-hander Chris Jones for assignment.
Valdez, 26, has just nine innings of Major League experience, all coming last season with Detroit. However, he’s posted fairly intriguing numbers at the minor league level, including a 3.34 ERA in 67 1/3 innings at Triple-A and a 3.32 ERA in 276 2/3 innings overall. Control has been a persistent problem for Valdez, who has averaged 5.4 walks per nine innings throughout his minor league career. He’s also averaged more than a strikeout per inning, though his ability to miss bats has not yet manifested at the Triple-A level, where he has a 51-to-43 K/BB ratio in those 67 1/3 frames.
Entering the season, Baseball America rated Valdez as Detroit’s No. 23 prospect, praising his “high-octane stuff” and calling both his fastball and slider plus pitches. However, BA also noted that Valdez’s struggles with control often leave him pitching behind in the count.
As for Jones, the 27-year-old was in his first season with the Angels organization, having been acquired in a minor trade late in Spring Training. Previously, Jones spent parts of nine seasons in the minor league systems of the Indians, Braves and Orioles. The former 15th-round pick entered the season with a 3.12 ERA in 340 1/3 innings of Triple-A work, but he’s been rocked for a 7.33 ERA in 50 1/3 innings this season. All told, he has a 3.66 ERA in 390 2/3 innings at Triple-A and a 3.62 ERA in 754 1/3 total minor league frames.
Angels Designate Javy Guerra For Assignment; Place Joe Smith On DL
The Angels have designated righty Javy Guerra for assignment, as MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez tweets. It’s the second trip through DFA limbo for Guerra this year; previously, he cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment. Guerra’s roster spot will go to lefty David Huff, who is starting tonight. Also coming up for the Halos is righty Mike Morin, who takes over with set-up man Joe Smith hitting the 15-day DL with a hamstring strain. Smith tried to pitch through the pain in his hamstring for three weeks, the L.A. Times’ Pedro Moura tweets, but he’s ultimately succumbed to a stint on the disabled list. His hope will to be ready for activation in the minimum allotment of 12 days (his stint is retroactive to Saturday).
Guerra, 30, has appeared in seven games for the Halos this season, totaling 6 1/3 innings and surrendering four runs on five hits and seven walks (one intentional) in that time. His last effective stint at the big league level came in 2014, when he pitched to a 2.91 ERA in 46 1/3 innings for the White Sox, and it’s also worth noting that he was a solid bullpen piece for the Dodgers back in 2011-12, even serving as the team’s closer for much of 2011. In 156 2/3 innings at the Major League level, Guerra has a 2.99 ERA, though his strikeout rate (7.4 K/9) is below average for a reliever, and he’s often battled through sub-par control as well (career 4.3 BB/9).
Guerra has already cleared waivers once this season, so one would think there’s a good chance that he can do so again. However, he’ll again have the option to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, which could come into play if Guerra believes there’s another club that presents him a better opportunity to return to the Majors.