Angels Acquire Cesar Ramos
The Angels have acquired lefty Cesar Ramos from the Rays in exchange for righty Mark Sappington, Los Angeles announced. This mark’s the day’s second swap for the Halos.
Ramos, 30, has spent most of his time in the pen but did make seven starts in 2014 for Tampa. He ultimately threw 82 2/3 frames of 3.70 ERA ball, with 7.2 K/9 against 4.2 BB/9. Ramos has generally been better against lefties, but does not have huge platoon splits over his career. He was, however, much more effective working out of the pen.
MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects that Ramos will take home $1.3MM in his second year of arbitration eligibility, making him a cheap and controllable add for an Angels club that has rather a bare cupboard in terms of left-handed relievers. That he can provide swingman capability as well is a nice bonus.
Sappington, meanwhile, is a 23-year-old right-hander who came into the 2014 season rated as the Halos’ fifth-best prospect by Baseball America. He took a big step back, however, and struggled mightily in a starting role. A demotion and mid-season move to the bullpen revitalized Sappington, however, as Mike DiGiovanna wrote recently for Baseball America. A long-term move to the pen had always seemed a distinct possibility, and Sappington’s big fastball and biting slider make him a potentially valuable power arm. (Over 32 relief frames last year at High-A, Sappington struck out 49 and walked ten.)
Astros Acquire Hank Conger
The Astros announced that they have acquired catcher Hank Conger from the Angels in exchange for fellow catcher Carlos Perez and right-hander Nick Tropeano.
Conger, 26, split time with Chris Iannetta in Anaheim this past season but wasn’t a traditional backup catcher, as he received about 40 percent of the club’s plate appearances at the position. A former first-round pick, Conger batted .221/.293/.325 with four homers and is a lifetime .224/.294/.353 hitter in 768 plate appearances. Conger frequented top prospect lists prior to reaching the Majors, twice making Baseball America’s Top 100 (No. 79 and No. 84) and four times appearing on the Top 100 list of Baseball Prospectus (ranging between Nos. 81-89).
Though Conger’s bat hasn’t picked up at the Major League level to match his excellent Triple-A track record (.298/.371/.470), the Astros have plenty to like about his work behind the plate. He caught a slightly below-average 24 percent of base-stealers in 2014, but shined in terms of pitch-framing according to both Baseball Prospectus and StatCorner.com. Both metrics rated him as one of the four best framing catchers in baseball. The arbitration-eligible Conger is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $1.1MM this season and can be controlled via the arbitration process through 2017.
As for the Angels, they’ll get the type of cost-controlled rotation option they spent much of last offseason searching for during the infancy of the 2014-15 offseason. Tropeano, 24, made his big league debut with the Astros in 2014 and posted a 4.57 ERA with a 13-to-9 K/BB ratio and a 40.3 percent ground-ball rate in four starts (21 2/3 innings).
Baseball America ranked Tropeano as the No. 18 prospect in Houston’s system heading into the 2014 campaign and has praised his outstanding changeup multiple times in the past, grading it the best change in the Astros’ system in 2011-12 as well as the best change in the South Atlantic League in 2012. BA wrote in their scouting report that Tropeano sat 90-92 mph with a plus changeup and fringy slider that needed more work, but they also noted that he projected as a back-of-the-rotation starter or possibly more, depending on that breaking pitch’s development. MLB.com ranked Tropeano 13th among Houston farmhands following the season, also noting that he needed to further refine his slider.
As for Perez, he will give the Angels a near-MLB-ready replacement to back up Iannetta. The 24-year-old Venezuelan spent the past season at the Triple-A level where he batted .259/.323/.385 with six homers. He caught 32 percent of base-stealers last season in the minors and has caught runners at a strong 33 percent clip throughout his minor league career. BA ranked him 28th among Houston prospects prior to 2013, praising his defensive skills by calling him “fluid behind the plate” while noting that he handled velocity well and had quick pop times and a strong arm.
For the Angels, this trade allows them to add MLB-ready rotation depth without sacrificing either of Howie Kendrick or David Freese, both of whom have been rumored to be on the trading block. That the Halos have added a potential rotation piece without spending is significant; GM Jerry Dipoto and owner Arte Moreno have both stated a repeated desire to remain under baseball’s $189MM luxury tax threshold, and the team already has $140MM of guarantees committed toward that gap, to say nothing of arbitration eligible players and league-minimum players to round out the roster.
As for the Astros, their focus on improving the pitching staff will be aided by Conger’s excellent framing abilities. Incumbent catcher Jason Castro is also strong in that department, though it wouldn’t be a shock him and his projected $3.9MM salary shopped in an offseason featuring a free agent market that is painfully thin on catchers. While that’s just my speculation, the Astros could likely get by with a tandem of Conger and Max Stassi behind the plate while addressing other needs by dealing Castro.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
West Links: Rockies, Astros, Bogar, Young, Montgomery
The Dodgers made more headlines yesterday when it was reported that A’s assistant GM Farhan Zaidi would become their new GM to work under president of baseball ops Andrew Friedman, and that former Padres GM Josh Byrnes would join the front office as well. That may be the biggest front office news that’s come out recently, but it’s not the only news. Here’s are some more notes on front offices and coaching staffs, all of which happen to pertain to baseball’s Western divisions…
- The Rockies announced yesterday their entire 2014 coaching staff as well as some front office promotions (Twitter links). Former Rox reliever Darren Holmes will assume the role of bullpen coach, while Steve Foster was named pitching coach. Foster has worked as a minor league pitching coach and bullpen coach with the Marlins and also worked with the Royals bullpen from 2009-11.
- In the Rockies‘ front office, five executives were promoted. Rolando Fernandez is now the VP of international scouting and development, Zachary Rosenthal and Jonathan Weil were promoted to assistant GM, Zachary Wilson will assume the role of senior director of player development, and Danny Montgomery was named a special assistant to new GM Jeff Bridich.
- The Astros hired Alan Zinter as their new assistant hitting coach, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle tweeted yesterday. The 46-year-old Zinter had a 19-year minor league career and also saw time in Japan back in ’99. He was twice called up for a taste of big league action, first in 2002 with Houston and again in 2004 with the D’Backs.
- After missing out on the chance to become the Rangers‘ permanent manager, Tim Bogar has taken a role with the division-rival Angels as a special assistant, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Bogar took over as the interim manager in Texas following Ron Washington’s abrupt resignation, but the Rangers ultimately hired former Pirates bench coach Jeff Banister as their new skipper.
- The Rangers today officially announced the hiring of Michael Young as a special assistant to GM Jon Daniels. The move was first reported back in October though not made official until today. Young will assist GM Jon Daniels in player evaluation and development at the Major League and Minor League level in addition to going on scouting trips and special assignments.
- The Brewers officially announced on Monday that they had hired Ray Montgomery away from the D’Backs as their new vice president of amateur scouting and a special assistant to GM Doug Melvin, and Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic looks at what the loss means for the Diamondbacks. Montgomery interviewed for the team’s GM job before Dave Stewart was hired, and he was said to be in line for a promotion. Stewart tells Piecoro that the team was working to expand Montgomery’s responsibilities but hadn’t figured out exactly how his role would grow prior to his departure. Stewart and VP of baseball operations De Jon Watson will meet this week to discuss replacement candidates, and Piecoro lists a few internal candidates.
Details On Howie Kendrick’s No-Trade Clause
Angels infielder Howie Kendrick‘s extension contains a clause permitting him to block trades to four teams this year. As Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports on Twitter, Kendrick can decline a swap that would send him to the Blue Jays, Mets, Rays, or Marlins.
The 31-year-old second baseman has been mentioned as a trade candidate as he enters the final year of the extension he signed before the 2012 season. Kendrick is owed $9.5MM this year before hitting the open market.
Kendrick could hold appeal to several teams given his reasonable price tag and lack of a long-term commitment. Of course, the Jays, Mets, and Marlins are all clubs that seem poised (on paper, at least) to pursue additions up the middle, so his no-trade choices could well have an impact on his market.
For the contending Halos, the possibility of a deal seems tied primarily to the desire to open up payroll space. After all, Kendrick has produced at or above the league average rate in every year but his first. And he has been a consistently strong producer in recent years: since 2012, Kendrick has averaged 594 plate appearances and a .292/.336/.410 line and has been good for about twenty combined homers and steals per campaign.
With solid defensive marks, Kendrick has been a consistently above-average player on the whole. And a jump in defensive metrics last year thrust him into the four-to-five WAR range. That is an appealing total package, particularly when his good record of durability and limited commitment are factored in.
West Notes: Sandoval, Lewis, Ethier, Angels
Coming off another World Series win with the Giants, free agent third baseman Pablo Sandoval is seeking a nine-figure contract, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman writes. Sandoval would, however, like to remain in San Francisco. “He loves the city. He loves the team. He loves the fans,” says agent Gustavo Vazquez. “And he wants to stay.” Sandoval himself echoes those sentiments earlier today, and the Giants want him to return as well. The Red Sox are also expected to be among the teams bidding for Sandoval. Here’s more from the West divisions.
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels says starting pitcher Colby Lewis will test the free agent market, FOX Sports Southwest’s Anthony Andro tweets. The Rangers had previously indicated they were interested in re-signing Lewis, even though he posted a 5.18 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 170 1/3 innings in 2014 after missing the previous season due to elbow and hip injuries.
- The Dodgers ought to consider keeping Andre Ethier, Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times writes. Joc Pederson‘s performance in a small sample down the stretch might indicate he’s not ready to start, Dilbeck argues, and Yasiel Puig, Carl Crawford and Matt Kemp might not be able to stay healthy. So the Dodgers might as well keep Ethier, particularly if the alternative is eating tens of millions of dollars in salary and not getting much back in return.
- The Angels are likely to have a quiet offseason, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register writes. They don’t have many free agents departing and not many clear needs, and since they want to stay under the luxury tax threshold, they don’t have much money to spend anyway. They do want bullpen and rotation depth, and a report earlier today indicated one way they might try to get it is by trading Howie Kendrick or David Freese.
Angels Likely To Trade Kendrick Or Freese
The Angels are likely to trade either second baseman Howie Kendrick or third baseman David Freese, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes. Kendrick will make $9.5MM in the last season of a four-year deal after hitting .293/.347/.397 in 2014. Freese, who made $5.05MM last season after arriving from the Cardinals in a trade, will likely receive a raise in his last season of arbitration eligibility before free agency. He hit .261/.321/.383 in his first season in Anaheim.
The Angels would like to add starting pitching or left-handed relief help, and dealing a relatively expensive player in Kendrick or Freese would help with their luxury tax issues. Gordon Beckham, who the Angels acquired from the White Sox in a minor deal in August, could replace either player as a starter, or the Angels could use Grant Green at second. Beckham and Green would likely be downgrades, however, particularly if the Angels were to trade Kendrick.
Angels Exercise Street Option, Decline Burnett Option, Return Moran To Mariners
The Angels have announced a series of transactions (Twitter links). As expected, the team exercised its $7MM option over closer Huston Street while declining a $4.5MM option over reliever Sean Burnett. The Halos also returned Rule 5 lefty Brian Moran to the Mariners after he cleared waivers.
Street, 31, was an easy decision. He excelled before and after coming to Los Angeles via trade, and a big part of his value came in the ability to control him for 2015. Burnett, on the other hand, struggled with significant shoulder problems during his ill-fated time with the Angels.
The 26-year-old Moran, meanwhile, never had much of a chance to stick with the Angels. Though he was expected to compete for a LOOGY role, Moran underwent Tommy John surgery in early April.
Outrighted: Ryan Brasier, Tony Campana, B.J. Rosenberg
Here are today’s minor moves and outrights from around the league…
- The Angels have outrighted righty Ryan Brasier and outfielder Tony Campana off the 40-man roster, tweets Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com. Brasier, 27, threw nine innings of relief for the Halos last year but has worked above the 4 earned-per-nine level at Triple-A over the last two seasons and missed all of 2014 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. The 28-year-old Campana, who joined the Angels on a mid-season waiver claim from the Diamondbacks, owns a .249/.296/.288 slash over 477 plate appearances in parts of four seasons at the MLB level.
- The Phillies announced that right-hander B.J. Rosenberg has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The 29-year-old Rosenberg has 56 2/3 innings of big league experience, but he’s struggled to a 5.72 ERA in the Majors. At the Triple-A level, however, Rosenberg owns a much more palatable 3.87 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 148 2/3 innings. He’s worked almost exclusively out of the bullpen since being selected in the 13th round of the 2008 draft; in 257 games between the Majors and Minors, he’s made 224 relief appearances against just 33 starts. Philadelphia’s 40-man roster is now down to 38.
Brewers Claim Luis Jimenez From Angels
The Brewers have claimed corner infielder Luis Jimenez off waivers from the Angels, Los Angeles announced via Twitter. Jimenez, 26, had been with the Halos organization since signing as an amateur out of the Dominican Republic back in 2005.
Jimenez has seen scant big league playing time, and owns a .234/.268/.291 slash with no home runs or steals over 151 plate appearances in 2013-14. He has, however, established himself in the upper minors. Since reaching Triple-A in 2012, Jimenez has slashed a healthy .295/.327/.485 while hitting between 16 and 20 long balls and swiping double-digit bases each year.
Latest On Joe Maddon
Joe Maddon shocked many people by opting out of his contract with the Rays Friday and has now become the most coveted managerial free agent in recent history. While early speculation was that he’d follow former GM Andrew Friedman to the Dodgers, Friedman and the Dodgers have issued a statement backing Don Mattingly as their manager, definitively stating that Mattingly will manage the Dodgers next season.
There’s been plenty of other Maddon chatter, however, so we’ll keep track of the latest on his situation here…
October 25
- Maddon’s agent Alan Nero says 10 teams have contacted him about Maddon, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Job suggestions have varied from manager to something like the Chief Baseball Officer position occupied by Tony La Russa. Maddon has also been contacted by several media outlets. Nero notes that Maddon is prepared to sit out 2015. He cited a previous experience with Lou Pinnela who spent a year as a FOX analyst before joining the Cubs. Apparently, Maddon’s friends say he’s interested in joining a NL club due to the added challenge of managing the pitcher’s at bats.
October 24
- Twins GM Terry Ryan tells Berardino that the news of Maddon’s availability came as a surprise to him. “This is a pretty big opt-out,” he said. “When I saw it, I was surprised, but it’s certainly caught my eye.” Though he did not say expressly that the team would consider Maddon, Ryan seemed to indicate that is very much a possibility. “I certainly will do my due diligence on anybody that’s available,” said Ryan. “Everybody was hoping I would hurry up and get a manager. ‘What’s taking so long.’ Now everybody sees this.”
- Meanwhile, sources tell LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (via Twitter) that the team will indeed reach out to Maddon.
- Angels GM Jerry Dipoto put to bed any speculation that the Halos would consider Maddon, telling Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com (Twitter link) that, “of course Mike [Scioscia] will be our manager.”
Earlier Updates
- David Kaplan of CSNChicago has spoken to several sources who have indicated to him that the Cubs are indeed the front-runner to land Maddon at this time, but there are several teams that have shown interest (Twitter link).
- ESPN’s Buster Olney, who intially reported the opt-out, hears that if Maddon ends up with the Cubs, the Rays will investigate the issue of tampering (Twitter link).
- Sherman reports that Maddon is looking for a five-year deal worth roughly $25MM (Twitter link). He again downplays any thought that the Mets could go to those heights, noting that GM Sandy Alderson doesn’t believe managers should be compensated as such.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post spoke with Maddon on the phone (Four links to Twitter) and was told that Maddon didn’t feel the Rays would commit to him the dollars he was hoping for on a new contract. Maddon, 60, has had jobs throughout his career where his salary was dictated to him, and he felt this would be his last chance to find out how the open market would value him. He added that he was unaware of a clause in his contract that allowed him to opt out if Friedman left the team, and it was new Rays president of baseball ops Matthew Silverman who told Maddon of the clause. He said being contacted by teams with managers is none of his business. “They will do their business how they want to do it,” he told Sherman.
- Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports (via Twitter) that Maddon was looking to be compensated with a deal that would’ve paid him like one of the top two or three skippers in the game, meaning something north of $5MM per season. Cafardo then spoke with Maddon’s agent, Alan Nero (Twitter link), and was told that Maddon would consider sitting out for a year, perhaps taking a TV gig, if the right opportunity doesn’t arise, but Cafardo adds that Nero’s phone line is “lighting up.”
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports also spoke to Maddon (Facebook link), and Maddon told him that he learned his contract contained a two-week opt-out window in the event that Friedman left the Rays. Rosenthal asked Maddon specifically about the Cubs, to which Maddon replied, “I don’t know. I have to talk to people. I have interest everywhere right now. I’ve got to hear what everyone has to say.” Maddon wants to work, regardless of landing a new managerial gig, but his preference is to be in a dugout.
- Sherman tweets that he’s been told that Maddon won’t be going to the Braves or Blue Jays and that all signs point to the Cubs.
- Yahoo’s Jeff Passan spoke to one Maddon confidante who said Maddon wouldn’t have opted out of a deal without having a sense for what the market could offer, and he wants to go to a big market (Twitter link).
- The Twins are the only team with a current managerial opening (besides the Rays, of course), but La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune heard that the team had yet to contact Maddon (Twitter link).
- Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press looks at whether or not the Twins could plausibly make a run at Maddon, noting that the team has never paid a manager more than $2MM annually and will in fact be paying Ron Gardenhire $2MM not to manage the club this season.
- Mets owner Jeff Wilpon gave Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter link) a very concise and definitive answer when asked about Maddon, stating, “No. We are not changing managers.” GM Sandy Alderson told Andy Martino of the New York Daily News, “Terry is our manager,” via text message (Twitter link).
- Jayson Stark of ESPN tweets that the more people with whom he speaks, the greater the sense he gets that there was almost no offer the Rays could’ve made to keep him there.