Padres Rumors

Article XX(B) Free Agent Decisions

By Jeff Todd | March 28, 2017 at 12:43pm CDT

With five days to go until Opening Day, decisions are due at noon eastern on players who qualify as Article XX(B) free agents. The rule applies to players who a) have six or more years of service; b) finished the prior season on a 40-man roster or on the 60-day DL; and c) signed Minor League deals over the offseason. If a team does not release such a player prior to the deadline, then they must either put the player on the active roster (or DL) to start the year or be on the hook for some extra benefits — a $100K retention bonus and June 1st opt-out date (at a minimum).

Here are updates on players who’ll be paid the bonus or have instead learned that they’ve made their respective teams …

Righty Brandon Morrow will not make the Dodgers roster, but he will remain in the organization, as Ken Gurnick of MLB.com tweets. Morrow will take a minor-league assignment, and his $100K retention bonus, to open the season.
Giants minor-league signee Aaron Hill is set to receive his $100K bonus, Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News tweets, though that doesn’t mean he isn’t going to take an active roster spot to open the year. Baggarly suggests the veteran still has an excellent chance of earning an Opening Day nod after his solid performance in camp.
The Angels have informed righty Yusmeiro Petit that he’ll be added to the roster for Opening Day, as Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times was among those to tweet. He figures to work as a long reliever and swingman in Los Angeles. Petit struggled in the second half last year for the Nationals, ending the year with a 4.50 ERA over 62 innings.
Righty Tom Wilhelmsen and lefty Jorge De La Rosa have both been added to the Diamondbacks’ 40-man roster, the team announced, though only the latter is an Article XX(B) player. They’ll both join the bullpen for the start of the season. Wilhelmsen posted better numbers in the second half of 2016, but still wasn’t quite his former self. Meanwhile, De La Rosa is set to transition to the bullpen after serving mostly as a starter over his 13-year MLB career.
The Padres will add shortstop Erick Aybar to their roster, per Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). The expectation is that Aybar will be the team’s regular at short to open the season. Clearly, that could change either now or in the future if the organization is able to pick up a somewhat younger player deemed worthy of a shot at a significant MLB opportunity. The 33-year-old Aybar has struggled badly in the past two seasons, though he was a productive, everyday player for years before that.
Utilityman Emilio Bonifacio and lefty Eric O’Flaherty have been informed they’ll be on the Braves’ Opening Day roster, Mark Bowman of MLB.com was among those to report (Twitter link). The 31-year-old Bonifacio has struggled badly in his limited big league time over the past two seasons, though he had been a regular contributor before that. Never much with the bat, Bonifacio has long earned his keep through defensive versatility and excellence on the bases. Meanwhile, O’Flaherty has struggled to rediscover his form from his first stint in Atlanta. But he’ll receive another shot after a strong showing this spring; over 10 2/3 innings, O’Flaherty racked up 14 strikeouts and allowed just two earned runs on eight hits and three walks.
The Rays have informed both infielder Rickie Weeks and righty Tommy Hunter that they will be on the active roster to open the season, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). Weeks is expected to function as a righty bench bat, perhaps spending some time at both first base and DH, while Hunter will take up a spot in the Tampa Bay bullpen. Both players enjoyed productive Grapefruit League stints, with Weeks posting a .999 OPS and Hunter allowing just one earned run (with nine strikeouts against three walks) in his eight innings. Both will require 40-man spots, once the moves are made official. Meanwhile, it’s not yet clear whether the team will commit to doing the same with just-acquired outfielder Peter Bourjos. Topkin tweets that he may instead be paid the roster bonus, though the team’s final decision isn’t yet known.

NL Notes: Cubs, Padres, Cardinals, Dodgers

By Connor Byrne | March 25, 2017 at 7:52pm CDT

Unlike last season, when he took nearly three weeks to accept a summer demotion to Triple-A, Cubs infielder Tommy La Stella would be willing to head to the minors without incident this year, according to manager Joe Maddon (via Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago). A season-opening role with Triple-A Iowa is a possibility for La Stella, who’s battling outfielder Matt Szczur for the Cubs’ final bench spot. Szczur is the only one of the two who’s out of options, which could bode poorly for La Stella. The Cubs “haven’t decided everything or anything yet,” per Maddon, but he believes Szczur is a major league-caliber player and an ideal teammate.

NL Notes: Peralta, Aybar, Padres’ Pen, Bradley, Goeddel, Susac

By Connor Byrne and Jeff Todd | March 24, 2017 at 10:55pm CDT

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny suggested Friday that Jhonny Peralta, not Jedd Gyorko, will win the team’s third base job, according to Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “He’s looked as good as we had hoped,” Matheny said of the 34-year-old Peralta, who dealt with a thumb injury last season and slashed a modest .260/.307/.408 in 313 plate appearances. Gyorko posted far superior production last year, when he hit .243/.306/.495 with a team-high 30 home runs in 438 PAs. Nevertheless, it appears he’ll open 2017 as a frequently used utilityman — a role he’s better suited for than Peralta.

Here’s more on some roster situations around the National League:

It seems that Erick Aybar currently holds the inside track to the Padres’ starting shortstop job, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets. Aybar hasn’t hit much this spring — he’s slashing .273/.319/.318 through 16 games — but seems to be the logical solution barring a trade. Luis Sardinas, meanwhile, is competing for a spot as a utility player, per manager Andy Green. He has spent some time in left field in a bid to enhance his versatility, and will seemingly be jockeying with options such as Cory Spangenberg and Rule 5 pick Allen Cordoba.
Meanwhile, the Padres are still sorting through a variety of bullpen options, as AJ Cassavell of MLB.com writes. Rule 5’er Miguel Diaz seems to be well-positioned, while either Trevor Cahill or Jarred Cosart will also likely crack the pen if either fails to make the rotation. (The odds of both functioning as starters increased, it seems, with an injury to Christian Friedrich.) Veterans Craig Stammen, Carter Capps, and Kevin Quackenbush are among the notable names also in the running. Capps seems unlikely to be ready in time, per Cassavell, while Quackenbush’s poor showing in camp could result in an assignment to Triple-A.
The division-rival Diamondbacks have settled on their own starting five, as MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert reports. That grouping — Zack Greinke, Taijuan Walker, Robbie Ray, Shelby Miller, and Patrick Corbin — contains no surprises, but manager Torey Lovullo did note an interesting decision on another hurler. Former top prospect Archie Bradley will open the year in the major league bullpen. The 24-year-old has struggled in his MLB opportunities over the past two seasons and has allowed 13 earned runs on 23 hits over 14 2/3 innings this spring. While he could still factor as a long-term rotation possibility — Bradley has produced quality results of late at Triple-A — the club will see whether the move to a relief role helps spur some positive momentum.
When the Phillies optioned outfielder Tyler Goeddel to minor league camp Friday, they informed him he’d likely start 2017 at the Double-A level, writes Matt Breen of Philly.com. Considering he spent all of last season in the majors, Goeddel isn’t thrilled with his multi-level demotion. “I’m not too happy about that but you can’t control it,” said Goeddel, who hit a meager .192/.258/.291 in 234 PAs as a Rule 5 pick in 2016. With Nick Williams, Roman Quinn and Dylan Cozens set to comprise the Phillies’ Triple-A outfield, there aren’t any openings for Goeddel at that level. Regarding those three, Goeddel stated: “I know who’s at Triple-A with Cozens, Williams and Quinn. But I was still surprised. They hadn’t really told me anything so it was definitely surprising.”
A neck issue has kept Brewers catcher Andrew Susac out of action for the past week-plus, but an MRI on Friday revealed no structural damage to his trapezius, tweets Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Susac will be able to ramp up his rehab as a result, though he’ll still start the year on the disabled list. Milwaukee will open with Jett Bandy and Manny Pina as its top options behind the plate.

Injury Notes: Gray, Scheppers, Friedrich, Cabrera, Baez, Ravin, Smith

By Jeff Todd | March 24, 2017 at 8:20pm CDT

The Rockies have perhaps been the game’s most unfortunate team this spring in the injury department, and today delivered another bit of unwelcome news. Key righty Jon Gray left his start after experiencing discomfort in his left big toe, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports on Twitter. It’s certainly far too soon to know whether there’s any real cause for concern in Gray’s case, though the Colorado organization can scarcely afford even a short-term gap in the rotation.

Here’s more on a few other injury situations from around the game:

Rangers righty Tanner Scheppers left his club’s game today with what the team is describing as “lower core” pain, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets. His outlook won’t be known until he undergoes an MRI, but as T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com notes on Twitter, the injury seemingly opens the door for Rule 5 pick Mike Hauschild to make the club. He has impressed in 17 1/3 frames this spring, allowing six earned runs on 15 hits and five walks while recording 15 strikeouts.
After being diagnosed with a lat strain, Padres lefty Christian Friedrich is slated to open the year on the DL,Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. That takes him out of the competition for the remaining open rotation spots, at least for the time being. Per Lin, that leaves three pitchers fighting for the jobs, with veterans Trevor Cahill and Jarred Cosart trying to hold off youngster Luis Perdomo — the Rule 5 pick who showed so much promise last year.
The Braves may be without high-powered righty Mauricio Cabrera to start the season, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports. Cabrera, a key cog in the team’s future and immediate bullpen plans, felt some discomfort in his elbow. It’s possible he’ll end up back on track for Opening Day, but the organization will (understandably) be quite cautious, manager Brian Snitker explains. If he does require a DL stint, Bowman says the organization could choose to use the opening to hang onto either out-of-options righty Chaz Roe or veteran minor-league free agent Blaine Boyer.
Though Dodgers hurler Pedro Baez was able to throw a live BP and seems to be progressing through his thumb injury, the news wasn’t so good for fellow right-handed reliever Josh Ravin, as MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick (Twitter links). The 29-year-old, who has shown well in two brief MLB stints in the past two years but struggled this spring, has suffered a groin strain that’s expected to sideline him for several weeks.
With all this talk of injuries, perhaps it’s best to end on a positive note. Red Sox righty Carson Smith, who’s on his way back from Tommy John surgery, is moving in the right direction, as Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports. After Smith’s first pen session, which John Farrell described as “surprisingly good,” the club is hopeful that they’ll welcome him back by June.

NL West Notes: Hoffman, Norris, Hoover, Padres

By Mark Polishuk | March 23, 2017 at 10:50pm CDT

Some news and notes from around the NL West…

The Rockies optioned Jeff Hoffman to Triple-A today, with manager Bud Black telling reporters (including Nick Groke of the Denver Post) that Hoffman required “a little more refinement” and consistency. “The fastball has velocity, but he has to locate the fastball,” Black said. “The slider and curveball are very good pitches. They are major league quality. But he has to consistently get them into good spots. The overall command of his pitches is something he needs to harness.” Hoffman, one of the game’s top pitching prospects, posted a 4.88 ERA over his first 31 1/3 innings in the majors last season. With Hoffman at Triple-A, rookies German Marquez, Kyle Freeland, and Antonio Senzatela are all competing for the last two spots in Colorado’s injury-thinned rotation.
The Rockies are one of the teams interested in catcher Derek Norris, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Colorado joins the Cardinals and Rays as teams known to have interest in the free agent catcher. With Tom Murphy on the DL with a fractured forearm, the Rockies are a logical candidate to be exploring upgrades behind the plate.
J.J. Hoover is looking like a good bet to break camp with the Diamondbacks, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes. Hoover signed a minor league deal with the D’Backs in January that will pay him a $900K base salary if he cracks the big league roster, which seems like a distinct possibility given the righty’s solid spring numbers and Arizona’s wide-open bullpen competition. Hoover posted solid numbers out of Cincinnati’s bullpen from 2012-15 before taking over as the Reds closer and suffering a disastrous 2016 season.
The top 50 international bonuses of 2016 are compiled by Baseball America’s Ben Badler, with the Padres’ $11MM bonus to Cuban lefty Adrian Morejon leading the way. San Diego owns five of the top 12 entries and a league-leading 11 of the top 50 overall, which isn’t a surprise given the Padres’ tactic of blowing past their bonus pool limit to hoard as much young international talent as possible during this signing period. As a result, the Padres will be limited to signings worth no more than $300K during the next two international signing periods.

Pitching Notes: Quintana, Ryu, Weaver, Iglesias

By Connor Byrne | March 22, 2017 at 6:54pm CDT

Pittsburgh has pursued a trade for White Sox left-hander Jose Quintana over the past several months, but Pirates general manager Neal Huntington found the asking price to be “well above where it made sense for us” (via ESPN’s Jim Bowden). With the Bucs seemingly out of the picture for Quintana, the Astros and Braves are the “best possibilities,” per Bowden, who notes that the White Sox “continue to work hard” to trade the 28-year-old. No deal is imminent, though, according to Bowden, who adds that the Astros would have to part with both right-hander Francis Martes and outfielder Kyle Tucker, two of Baseball America’s top 20 prospects, to acquire Quintana (all Twitter links). Houston balked at giving up a package of Martes, Tucker and righty Joe Musgrove for Quintana during the Winter Meetings.

For his part, White Sox GM Rick Hahn is content to wait until someone makes what he deems a satisfactory offer for Quintana, who’s reasonably priced and controllable through the 2020 season. “We’ve had conversations even this spring where if our asks was met, we’d make a move,” Hahn told Scott Merkin of MLB.com. “Obviously nothing has developed as of yet, but that could well change early in the season or it could take to the trade deadline or into the next offseason” (Twitter links).

The latest on a few other pitchers:

Remarkably, after missing almost all of the previous two years because of shoulder problems, Dodgers southpaw Hyun-Jin Ryu is making a strong case to crack their season-opening rotation, writes Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. Ryu threw four scoreless, one-hit innings against Milwaukee on Tuesday, giving him nine frames of one-run ball for the spring. Manager Dave Roberts made it clear afterward that the Dodgers want him in their rotation, saying: “When we look back a year, where he’s come from, he’s done nothing but allow us to be very optimistic. Every time he’s gotten better and we’re building him up to be a starter and break camp with us. That’s the plan on our end. He worked hard to put himself in a position where he’s at right now. We’re a better team if he’s in the starting rotation.” With Julio Urias likely to begin the season in extended spring training and Scott Kazmir looking for his lost velocity, two of Ryu, Brandon McCarthy and Alex Wood figure to claim the Dodgers’ available starting spots.
Padres righty Jered Weaver is dealing with a dead arm, tweets Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Weaver has also battled that issue in previous springs, notes Lin, though it’s not exactly encouraging news for a soft-tossing 34-year-old who’s coming off the two worst seasons of his career. Weaver indicated last week that he’s physically “10 steps above” where he was last year, when he piled up 178 innings with the Angels and logged the fourth-worst ERA (5.06) and second-highest FIP (5.62) among the majors’ qualified starters. The former ace lasted two-thirds of an inning in his start against the Royals on Wednesday and yielded four runs on three hits. He also hit two batters.
Already sans their best starter, the injured Anthony DeSclafani, as Opening Day approaches, the Reds might also begin 2017 without top reliever Raisel Iglesias, who hasn’t pitched since March 14. An elbow issue has kept Iglesias out of action, but an MRI only showed a bone bruise, according to C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “The good news is that it doesn’t look like it’s going to be a huge setback or there are any structural issues at all,” said manager Bryan Price. “The negative is that he’s going to have four more days off before he begins to throw again and we’ll have to see how comfortable we are by Opening Day or maybe before that.” A former starter, Iglesias was among the few bright spots in a historically inept Reds bullpen last year, when he posted a 1.98 ERA, 9.72 K/9 and 3.42 BB/9 in 50 innings as a reliever. Health permitting, the 27-year-old will serve as a high-leverage bullpen weapon this season.

Rays, Yankees Interested In Nick Ahmed

By Mark Polishuk | March 21, 2017 at 9:11pm CDT

The Rays and Yankees have joined the Padres in showing some trade interest in Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed, The Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro reports. The D’Backs had begun listening to offers for the defensive star thanks to a surplus of other middle infield options, with San Diego already linked due to manager Andy Green’s familiarity with Ahmed in his old job as Arizona’s third base coach.

It makes sense that both AL East rivals would be checking in on Ahmed given how Tampa and New York have both suffered injury setbacks at shortstop. The Rays are still uncertain as to when Matt Duffy will be able to begin full baseball activities in the wake of his extended recovery from Achilles tendon in his left heel last September. The Yankees, meanwhile, will be without Didi Gregorius until the end of April as the shortstop recovers from a shoulder strain.

At first glance, the Yankees would seem to have the lesser need for Ahmed since they already have several other middle infield options (Ronald Torreyes, Ruben Tejada, Donovan Solano, Pete Kozma, Tyler Wade or even second baseman Starlin Castro) on hand, plus they have a rough idea about when Gregorius will be back on the field. Tampa Bay’s timeline for Duffy is much more uncertain, and the Rays were already operating under something of a strained middle infield in the wake of trading Logan Forsythe to the Dodgers.

Tim Beckham is slated to take over at short in Duffy’s absence, leaving the Rays short a right-handed platoon option for second baseman Brad Miller, who struggles against lefties. Daniel Robertson and the switch-hitting Nick Franklin are the other viable middle infield options on the 40-man roster, as it is rather unlikely that top prospect Willy Adames will get an early promotion to the big leagues.

Ahmed hasn’t shown much at the plate (a .597 OPS over 842 career plate appearances) in his brief career and he carries some notable injury history in the form of season-ending hip surgery from last August. On the plus side, he is controllable through the 2020 season, and potentially through 2021 spending on how much more service time he accumulates this season — he has already clocked two years and 54 days of service time in his career. Ahmed has also shown himself to be a superb defender at short, with +34 Defensive Runs Saved and a 14.3 UZR/150 over 1920 career innings at the position.

In another item from Piecoro, he also reports that the Diamondbacks are listening to offers on right-hander Enrique Burgos. The 26-year-old has a fastball that averages just shy of 96mph and he owns an impressive 10.8 K/9 over 68 1/3 career innings in the majors, though Burgos has managed only a 5.27 ERA thanks to control issues (an even 5.00 BB/9). Piecoro figures that the D’Backs are trying to move Burgos in order to clear a 40-man roster spot for Gregor Blanco, Tom Wilhelmsen, or another player who could win an Opening Day job.

NL West Notes: Morse, Dahl, Rockies, Padres

By Mark Polishuk | March 21, 2017 at 8:27pm CDT

Mike Morse suffered a hamstring strain that will keep him out of action for at least two weeks, Giants manager Bruce Bochy told reporters (including CSNBayArea.com’s Alex Pavlovic). That timeline essentially eliminates Morse’s chances of making the Giants’ Opening Day roster, bringing a sour end to what had been an impressive spring for the veteran. After signing a minor league deal with the Giants this offseason, Morse spoke openly about retirement if he didn’t make the team, though he isn’t yet sure if he’ll now pursue a Triple-A rehab assignment. “If it gets to that point, I’ll think about it, but right now it’s (about) how I feel every day. I don’t want to get ahead of myself,” Morse said. With Morse and Mac Williamson both sidelined with injuries, Jarrett Parker is now the clear favorite for the starting left field job and the Giants’ extensive battle for bench jobs has somewhat narrowed.

Here’s more from around the NL West…

David Dahl is still around 10 days away from resuming baseball activities after an MRI revealed that his right rib was still healing, Rockies manager Bud Black told media (including Nick Groke of the Denver Post). Dahl was revealed to have a stress fracture in his ribcage earlier this month, already leaving him questionable for the start of the season and the latest news should all but confirm Dahl for the 10-day DL come Opening Day. The 22-year-old was expected to be Colorado’s starting left fielder this season, though Gerardo Parra is slated to handle the job in Dahl’s absence.
Could the Rockies go from arguably the league’s worst bullpen in 2016 to a potentially dominant pen in 2017? Fangraphs’ Jeff Sullivan thinks it could happen, though Colorado will clearly need a lot of bounce-backs and good health from Adam Ottavino, Greg Holland, and Jake McGee. All three pitchers have high ceilings, however, and with Carlos Estevez, Mike Dunn and others in the mix, the Rockies could make a big turnaround in their relief corps.
There’s a small, if unlikely, possibility that the Padres will open the season with four catchers on the roster, MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell writes. Austin Hedges is San Diego’s starter behind the plate, and Christian Bethancourt (who is out of options) is being tested out as a hybrid utility player able to catch, play some outfield, and pitch in relief. With Bethancourt being used differently than a normal backup catcher, that opens the door for Rule 5 pick Luis Torrens or Spring Training star Hector Sanchez to receive some playing time.

Padres To Release Paul Clemens

By Jeff Todd | March 20, 2017 at 6:36pm CDT

The Padres are set to release righty Paul Clemens, according to Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). It’s not apparent whether the organization has an immediate, corresponding 40-man move in mind.

Clemens, 29, entered the spring out of options, meaning he had to crack the Opening Day roster or face the waiver wire. Instead, the club has made up its mind early, with Clemens now set to head to the open market.

The Friars added Clemens last summer on a waiver claim after he struggled with the Marlins. He ended up providing 61 1/3 innings of 3.67 ERA ball, with 6.9 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9. Clemens managed only a 39.8% groundball rate and 6.6% swinging-strike rate.

That showing was reasonably promising, all things considered, though it didn’t do enough to move the ball on Clemens’s overall trajectory. He owns just a 4.89 career ERA over 169 1/3 major league frames. And Clemens was off to a rough start this spring, with ten earned runs and 15 hits charged to him over a dozen frames, over which he has just six strikeouts to go with seven walks.

While it seemed there was a reasonable chance Clemens might crack the Padres’ rotation at the start of the offseason, San Diego added four starters over the winter. It seems the club has other plans with its fifth and final rotation spot; Jason Martinez of MLBTR and Roster Resource currently projects lefty Christian Friedrich to take that job.

Quick Hits: Martinez, Spangenberg, Ethier

By charliewilmoth | March 20, 2017 at 3:50pm CDT

There has been little information available today about Tigers slugger J.D. Martinez, who at last check underwent an MRI for a foot sprain. Now MLB.com’s Jason Beck tweets that Martinez will undergo a stress CT scan in Charlotte on Friday. Martinez rolled his ankle, as Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press writes, while making a catch against the Marlins on Saturday. He underwent initial tests later in the weekend, but the Tigers have not yet released them. X-rays have indicated he didn’t break any bones, but ligament damage is a possibility. Obviously, a significant injury would be a big blow to the Tigers’ offense. Martinez batted .307/.373/.535 with 22 homers in 517 plate appearances last season. Here’s more from around the league.

The Padres are aiming to get 2B/3B Cory Spangenberg time in the outfield, writes MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell. Spangenberg missed most of the 2016 season due to a quad injury, and as he works his way back onto the Padres’ roster, the team wants him to become more versatile. Outfielders Alex Dickerson, Manuel Margot and Collin Cowgill are hurt, potentially creating opportunities for Spangenberg. The team would also like to get his left-handed bat into the lineup against righties.
Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier has a stiff back and will have an MRI today, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com tweets. Ethier himself does not seem particularly worried about the situation and says the team simply wants more information so that it knows how to treat him, tweets Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times. Nonetheless, Ethier has already missed time due to back and hip issues this spring, and he collected just 26 plate appearances last season thanks to a broken tibia.

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Show all

Headlines

Padres Rumors

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect