Angels Designate Vinnie Pestano For Assignment
The Angels announced that they’ve designated right-hander Vinnie Pestano for assignment in order to clear a roster spot for newly acquired outfielder David Murphy.
Pestano, who was acquired from the Indians in a minor swap last August, now finds himself designated for assignment to make room for a former teammate. The 30-year-old Pestano appeared in 19 games for the Halos this season and totaled 11 2/3 innings with a 5.40 ERA.
Pestano at one point looked to be emerging as a key piece of the Indians’ bullpen, totaling 132 innings with a 2.45 ERA, 10.9 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 from 2011-12, but he began to struggle in 2013 and fell out of the team’s plans in 2014. He’s pitched just 30 1/3 innings in the big leagues over the past two seasons.
Angels Acquire David Murphy From Indians
The Angels announced that they’ve acquired outfielder David Murphy from the Indians in exchange for infield prospect Eric Stamets. Initial news of the swap came just minutes before the Angels announced the acquisition of fellow lefty-swinging outfielder David DeJesus.
Murphy, 33, is making $6MM this season and has a $500K buyout on his $7MM 2016 team option. He has slashed .296/.344/.437 with five homers in 229 plate appearances this season for the Indians, serving primarily as a platoon option in the corner outfield.
The Angels already have lefty hitters (Matt Joyce and Kole Calhoun) in the outfield corners, although Joyce has struggled this season. It stands to reason, then, that Murphy and DeJesus will provide the Angels with a pair of lefty bats to deploy in left field and at DH. Either would make a fine platoon partner for the recently acquired Shane Victorino, and they could both find themselves in the lineup versus tough righties, perhaps at the expense of young first baseman/designated hitter C.J. Cron. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reported on Monday that Murphy was on the Halos’ radar.
When faced with the possibility that he could lose playing time back in January, Murphy said that he would be open to a trade. Many months later, Murphy has been moved out of Cleveland, though his playing time didn’t dip much in 2015.
Stamets, a 23-year-old shorstop, was a sixth-round pick of the Halos in 2012. In Double-A this year, the defensive-minded Stamets has hit .248/.306/.360 with three homers in 241 plate appearances. The youngster has also swiped five bases.
Baseball America ranked Stamets as the No. 23 prospect in the Angels’ system following the 2014 season. “Stamets would be one of the top prospects in baseball if he could hit as well as he plays defense,” BA writes.
Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times first reported (via Twitter) that the Angels were about to acquire Murphy. Joel Sherman of the New York Post added that an agreement was in place (Twitter link). Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweeted Stamets’ inclusion.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Angels Designate Jeremy McBryde For Assignment
The Angels have designated right-hander Jeremy McBryde for assignment, tweets Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times. Presumably, the move was made to clear space for the David DeJesus, whose acquisition has officially been announced by the Angels. (The Angels are also said to be in agreement on a trade to acquire David Murphy, though there’s been no team announcement regarding that move just yet.)
The 28-year-old McBryde signed a big league deal with the Angels over the winter despite never having pitched an inning in the Major Leagues. Though he entered the season with a strong track record at Triple-A, McBryde has struggled in 2015, posting a 5.63 ERA in 46 1/3 inning. McBryde is averaging a solid 8.5 K/9 against a less-spectacular 3.7 BB/9. His problems at the Triple-A level stem largely from a .362 batting average on balls in play that is significantly higher than his usual levels.
Angels Acquire David DeJesus
The Angels have acquired David DeJesus from the Rays just minutes after finalizing a deal to acquire David Murphy from the Indians, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman had first tweeted that DeJesus was on the verge of being dealt, and Yahoo’s Tim Brown tweeted that the Angels were on the receiving end. The Rays have since announced that DeJesus has been traded to the Halos for right-hander Eduar Lopez.
In DeJesus, the Angels have acquired a second veteran bat that handles right-handed pitching well but is limited to a platoon role. DeJesus has seen just nine plate appearances against lefties this year, but he’s been solid versus righties, hitting .263/.331/.384. For his career, DeJesus has slashed .285/.362/.441 when holding the platoon advantage.
In Lopez, the Rays have acquired a young right-hander that ranked 22nd among Angels prospects entering the 2015 campaign, per Baseball America. The 20-year-old Dominican hurler has spent the season in the Rookie-level Pioneer League, where he has posted a 4.32 ERA with a 33-to-16 K/BB ratio in eight starts (33 1/3 innings).
DeJesus is earning $5MM in 2015 and has a 2016 club option for the same rate that comes with a $1MM buyout. Of his 2015 salary, approximately $1.91MM remains. Coupled with the buyout, the Rays will save about $2.9MM on this deal. The trade will also create more at-bats in the season’s final months for John Jaso, whose return has limited DeJesus’ role with the club.
While Murphy and DeJesus have somewhat redundant skill sets, the Angels could use either at designated hitter on days when facing a right-handed pitcher. That calls into question Matt Joyce‘s role with the team, as the free-agent-to-be and longtime platoon slugger has failed to produce anything close to his career norms in his lone season with the Angels. Joyce is currently on the 7-day disabled list, so there’s no need to take immediate action with his roster spot, but the presence of Murphy, DeJesus, Shane Victorino, Mike Trout and Kole Calhoun in the outfield plus C.J. Cron and Albert Pujols as first base/DH options seems to leave Joyce without much of a role on the club.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Outfield Market Notes: Maybin, Reddick, Mets, Angels, Parra, Gomez
Though the Braves have fielded plenty of interest in the revived Cameron Maybin, and have considered moving him, the team now feels it “would need to be blown away with an offer” to make a deal, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports. Contrary to an earlier report, Bowman adds, an Atlanta source vehemently denied the suggestion that Maybin had been dangled in an earlier effort to add Angel Pagan of the Giants. Maybin, 28, has been one of the game’s best turnaround stories, with his play dramatically altering perceptions of both his contract and the deal that brought him to Atlanta (which was already widely viewed as a Braves win).
Here’s more on the still-developing outfield market, which just saw one move with Shane Victorino heading to the Angels:
- The Athletics seem unlikely to move outfielder Josh Reddick, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. In his comments after today’s Tyler Clippard trade, GM Billy Beane said that his club is not presently working on deals involving players who are under future control.
- Despite a trio of acquisitions already completed, the Mets are still looking at a handful of outfield options, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com tweets. New York has, of course, just brought up top prospect Michael Conforto with Michael Cuddyer on the DL, but the team also designated John Mayberry Jr. and could use another quality option.
- A source also tells Marc Carig of Newsday that the Mets are still shopping for outfield bats. Carig notes that the team could wait for asking prices to drop on deadline day.
- The Angels are also still looking at left-handed hitting outfielders after adding Victorino, and Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets that Jay Bruce (Reds), David Murphy (Indians), and Ben Revere (Phillies) are all still on their radar.
- Gerardo Parra of the Brewers is also a player that the Angels are interested in, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (via Twitter). Heyman breaks down his market, citing the Mets and Orioles as prime suitors (along with the Halos) for the left-handed hitter. There’s also a classic mystery team involved, per the report.
- Heyman adds that some in the Brewers organization do not believe that Carlos Gomez will end up being dealt. Milwaukee is somewhat hesitant to move an affordable, in-prime player with control remaining.
- Be sure to check out MLBTR’s Trade Market series for all the most likely outfield trade pieces. We’ve covered both center field candidates as well as corner options.
Angels Acquire Shane Victorino
5:20pm: Los Angeles will be responsible for $1.1MM of the $4.9MM or so left on the contract, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports on Twitter.
5:00pm: The Angels have acquired veteran outfielder Shane Victorino from the Red Sox, Boston announced (as first reported by Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports reports on Twitter). Infielder Josh Rutledge will head to the Red Sox in the deal, while Boston will also send an unidentified amount of cash to Los Angeles.
Victorino, 34, is a switch-hitting corner outfielder who has done much more damage from the right side of the plate in recent years. That makes him a reasonable platoon candidate to pair with Matt Joyce, the left-handed-hitting corner outfielder who has historically been quite good against right-handed pitching.
There had been indications that Los Angeles was looking into a more impactful addition at the corner outfield — perhaps one that would put an everyday player into the spot. The team seemingly preferred a left-handed bat, per reports. That could still come to pass, of course, if the Angels are willing to cut Joyce loose and use Victorino as a pure fourth outfielder. Indeed, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times tweets that the club still has interest in another outfield addition.
There’s around $4.5MM left on Victorino’s contract, which expires after the present season. It’s unclear exactly how much will remain the responsibility of the Red Sox.
For Boston, the deal was all about saving some cash and clearing roster space for a lengthy audition of major recent international signee Rusney Castillo. The 28-year-old has been recalled to take Victorino’s place on the active roster.
Rutledge, after all, has not even seen time yet at the big league level this year after joining the Angels in a winter trade. His star has dimmed considerably since a nice rookie campaign with the Rockies back in 2012, though he continues to put up solid numbers at Triple-A (.286/.336/.432) and could certainly find his way back to the majors in Boston.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Quick Hits: Dodgers, Angels, Reds, Mets
The Dodgers might be able to take advantage of a productive season from Andre Ethier to clear a logjam in their outfield and add pitching, Joel Sherman of the New York Post suggests. Ethier is in the midst of a resurgent .276/.361/.459 season, so now might be a good time to deal him and move Carl Crawford back into a starting role. The approximately $46MM remaining on Ethier’s contract would likely still be an obstacle. But Sherman suggests there might be a match with the Angels. In one scenario, the Angels could send the Dodgers C.J. Wilson, who has about $28MM remaining on his own deal. There aren’t any specific rumors connecting the Angels and Dodgers, and a deal involving Wilson and Ethier would surely be complex, due to the contracts involved. The Angels have, however, reportedly recently shown interest in another lefty hitter, David Murphy, and they’re about to get Jered Weaver back from the DL. So perhaps Sherman’s idea isn’t that far-fetched. Here are more quick notes from around the big leagues.
- Reds players knew to expect the team to trade Johnny Cueto, but the team’s trade of Cueto to the Royals for three left-handed pitchers still stung, MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon writes. “Shocking is not the word, but it’s kind of a blah feeling,” says Jay Bruce. “Because everybody anticipated it happening, but for it to actually happen and someone I’ve personally known for 11 years now, just poof, gone.” Bruce, of course, is himself a candidate to be traded this week, along with Mike Leake and perhaps others. It can be easy to forget that the trades we outsiders discuss so matter-of-factly do affect the players on a personal level.
- In contrast, the Mets are excited to have the newly acquired Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson on their side, Tyler Kepner of the New York Times writes. “That versatility is enormous, to keep key, quality players on the field,” says Mets manager Terry Collins. “It’s hugely enormous.” As Kepner points out, that might be an overstatement, but the Mets are getting help, or are on the verge of getting it, from Uribe, Johnson, returning players Jenrry Mejia (suspension) and Travis d’Arnaud (elbow), and newly promoted top prospect Michael Conforto. The Mets do have reasons to be hopeful. “I’ve been in Chicago, and nobody’s thinking like Chicago’s winning. I’ve been in San Fran, and nobody’s thinking like San Fran’s winning. And they win,” says Uribe. “In baseball, you never know what could happen.”
Angels Interested In David Murphy
The Angels are among the teams interested in Indians corner outfielder David Murphy, Jon Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports report (on Twitter). The lefty-hitting Murphy is in the midst of a solid season in Cleveland in which he’s batted .299/.347/.443 in 224 plate appearances. The 33-year-old is making $6MM this season and has a $500K buyout on his $7MM 2016 team option.
The Angels already have lefty hitters (Matt Joyce and Kole Calhoun) in the outfield corners, although Joyce has struggled this season, and Murphy could also help righty C.J. Cron (who has a .679 OPS this season and has done most of his damage against lefties) at DH. Last week, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that the Indians would like to receive younger hitters in return for Murphy or Ryan Raburn.
Minor MLB Transactions: 7/26/15
Here are today’s minor moves from around the game.
- The Pirates activated infielder Justin Sellers from the disabled list and outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis, Adam Berry of MLB.com tweets. Sellers, who has been dealing with an Achilles injury, had been on the 60-day DL, so the move does not change the Pirates’ 40-man roster, which currently stands at 39.
- The Angels have outrighted lefty Adam Wilk to Triple-A Salt Lake, according to MLB.com’s transactions page. The team designated Wilk for assignment on Friday. Wilk has pitched two innings for the Angels and has spent most of the season in Salt Lake’s rotation, posting a 5.52 ERA, 6.4 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 102 2/3 innings.
Angels Acquire Conor Gillaspie, Designate Adam Wilk
12:23pm: Los Angeles has designated pitcher Adam Wilk for assignment to clear 40-man space, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports on Twitter.
The 27-year-old has made just one appearance at the big league level this year and nine in his career. He owns a 5.52 ERA over 102 2/3 Triple-A frames, with 6.4 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9.
12:04pm: The Angels announced that they’ve acquired third baseman Conor Gillaspie from the White Sox in exchange for cash considerations. Gillaspie had been designated for assignment by Chicago.
Gillaspie, 28, has struggled to a .237/.276/.364 slash line in 185 big league plate appearances this year. Mix in unfavorable defensive ratings, and he’s been worth a full win below replacement level (by measure of Fangraphs).
To be sure, the still-youthful infielder has shown more in the past. Though his defense has never drawn rave reviews, he managed a sturdy .282/.336/.416 batting line over 506 plate appearances last year. His walks are down while his strikeouts and grounder rate are up in 2015, none of which bode well, but a .275 BABIP isn’t doing him any favors either.
Regardless, the Angels won’t expect more than a fill-in performance from Gillaspie. The Halos have at least a short-term need at third base with David Freese on the disabled list due to a fractured index finger. Adding (at no real cost) an experienced player with a left-handed bat makes sense in the interim, while the club monitors Freese and continues to explore more promising players.