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Minor MLB Transactions: 8/18/18

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The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Royals have selected right-hander Jake Newberry’s contract from Triple-A Omaha and optioned fellow righty Jason Adam, per a team announcement. Meanwhile, righty Blaine Boyer is now a free agent after clearing waivers, Maria Torres of the Kansas City Star tweets. The 23-year-old Newberry is in line to make his major league debut long after joining the Royals as a 37th-round pick in 2012. Newberry has dominated at both the Double-A and Triple-A levels this season, with a combined 1.63 ERA and 9.6 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 in 49 2/3 innings. Boyer, whom KC released Wednesday, has logged a godawful 12.05 ERA with 3.7 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 in 21 2/3 major league frames this year.
  • The Angels announced that righty Akeel Morris has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake. The 25-year-old Morris, whom the Angels designated for assignment on Wednesday, has struggled at both the Triple-A and major league levels in 2018. He owns an ERA near 6.00 in a combined 53 2/3 innings between Salt Lake and Anaheim, with the majority of his work (39 2/3 frames) coming with the former.
  • The Braves have outrighted righty Chase Whitley to Triple-A Gwinnett, David O’Brien of The Athletic tweets. Whitley, 29, has thrown just one inning this year with the Braves. The former Yankee and Ray has recorded a 4.56 ERA/4.01 FIP with 7.25 K/9 and 2.31 BB/9 in 167 2/3 major league innings.

Braves Promote Mike Soroka

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The Braves have promoted top pitching prospect Mike Soroka to take the ball in tonight’s contest, per a club announcement. Though Soroka had to be added to the 40-man roster, there were openings available.

Mike Soroka | Getty Images

In a corresponding move that was completed yesterday, righty Chase Whitley was optioned to open a spot on the active roster. The Braves still have eight arms available in the pen.

Soroka, 20, entered the season as one of the game’s most-hyped pitching prospects. By consensus, he placed among the game’s top thirty-five or so pre-MLB players. Baseball America is among the most bullish outlets on the young righty, ranking him 27th on its board.

Thus far, Soroka has done nothing but increase the anticipation with his first four starts at the Triple-A level. In 22 2/3 innings this season for Gwinnett, he sports an attractive 1.99 ERA wih 9.5 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9. He’s also drawing grounders on an eye-popping 69.0% of the balls put in play against him.

Needless to say, it’s an exciting time to be a Braves fan. The organization is off to a nice start and has already welcomed top overall prospect Ronald Acuna, who has knocked the cover off the ball early on.

Now, the club will get a look at perhaps its most exciting young arm. The 28th overall pick in the 2015 draft, Soroka has breezed through the Braves’ system. While he has not typically carried his current strikeout or groundball rates over full seasons, all the tools are there for a front-of-the-rotation starter.

It’s worth noting, too, that Soroka ought not to face many restrictions on his workload this year. He threw 143 frames in 2016 and 153 2/3 last year at Double-A, so he should be clear to handle about as many as the team likes in 2018. If he can hold down a MLB roster spot the rest of the way, Soroka would put himself on course to reach arbitration as a Super Two player after the 2020 season. Regardless, he cannot pass six years of major-league service until after the 2024 campaign, at the earliest.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Braves Designate Carlos Perez

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The Braves have designated catcher Carlos Perez for assignment, per a club announcement. That move came as part of a series of decisions.

Fellow receiver Tyler Flowers will make his return from the DL, which left the team without a need for Perez. The Atlanta organization also elected to bring up righty Chase Whitley while optioning Matt Wisler back to Triple-A.

Perez had a chance to make a case to be retained by the Braves after being acquired from the Angels at the outset of the season. But he managed just three singles and a walk in his 22 plate appearances for the Braves. Though he has hit the ball well at times in the minors, Perez is just a .221/.264/.325 hitter over 617 total trips to the dish at the game’s highest level.

On the pitching side, the Braves will fill out their pen by calling upon Whitley, who was acquired from the Rays over the winter. He has thrown 12 1/3 innings of 3.65 ERA ball thus far at Triple-A, with ten strikeouts against three walks. A veteran of four MLB campaigns, two apiece with the Yankees and Rays, Whitley will be joining the Braves’ MLB roster for the first time.

As for Wisler, he raised hopes with a strong season debut in which he racked up eight strikeouts without issuing a walk in seven two-hit innings. But he coughed up three free passes, nine hits, and four earned runs without recording a single K in his next outing. For now, then, the former top prospect will head back to Gwinnett and wait for another opportunity.

After 310 total frames of 5.20 ERA ball in the majors, Wisler remains in a somewhat precarious roster position. That said the Braves have cleared several 40-man spots in recent weeks, so the pressure shouldn’t be felt immediately, particularly given the team’s ongoing need for rotation depth and the fact that Wisler’s first two outings at Triple-A were quite good.

Dee Gordon Among Players Moving To Rep 1 Agency

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Mariners center fielder Dee Gordon is among the notable players that will be joining Rep 1 Baseball, the agency announced today. Veteran agent Nate Heisler has joined the Rep 1 ranks as a vice president, bringing with him an array of clients.

In addition to Gordon, the players going with Heisler to his new agency include major leaguers Liam Hendriks and Chase Whitley. Several prospects are coming along as well, includingJesus Luzardo and Jacob Pearson.

Gordon is obviously the most notable name on this list. He’s also under contract through at least 2020, pursuant to the extension he inked with the Marlins back in 2016. Now with the Mariners following a December swap, Gordon has been tasked this winter with moving from his accustomed middle infield role into center field in Seattle.

Hendriks is earning $1.9MM this year and will qualify for arbitration one final time at season’s end. Whitley, also a reliever, recently agreed to a $800K deal in his first trip through the arb process. Among the younger players, Luzardo has received top-100 leaguewide prospect billing.

Rep 1 Baseball already represents such prominent major leaguers as Edwin Encarnacion and Miguel Montero. Its new clients are reflected in MLBTR’s Agency Database.

An earlier version of this post indicated that Twins prospect Nick Gordon was also changing representation, as Rep 1 announced. A report from Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter) now indicates that the younger Gordon will remain with the Beverly Hills Sports Council.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: 12/1/17

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With the deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players set for 8pm tonight, there should be several agreements over the next few hours — particularly among players that were considered to be potential non-tender candidates. Many non-tender candidates will be presented with offers that are lower than what they’d project to earn via arbitration in a “take it or leave it” manner; some will agree to the lesser deal (as Brewers catcher Stephen Vogt did earlier this morning) while others will reject and likely hit the open market.

Here’s today’s slate of players that have avoided the arb process and locked in at least a partial guarantee for the upcoming season (arbitration contracts are not fully guaranteed, but each of these players will be guaranteed one sixth of the agreed-upon sum unless specifically negotiated otherwise). All projections are via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz…

  • The Padres announced that lefty Robbie Erlin has agreed to a contract for 2018. The 27-year-old missed all of 2017 due to Tommy John surgery and was projected to earn $700K through arbitration. Terms of his deal have not yet been reported.
  • The Braves appear to have agreed to terms with just-claimed righty Chase Whitley, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). Whitley, who was projected to earn $1.0MM in his first season of arb eligibility, is said to be in line for an opportunity to work as a starter. It’s a split deal that would pay Whitley $800K in the majors, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets.
  • The Mariners agreed with Andrew Romine on a $1.05MM contract, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). Romine, a versatile infielder, was claimed off waivers after the end of the 2017 season.
  • Outfielder Abraham Almonte has reached a deal to avoid arbitration with the Indians, per a club announcement. He had featured as a possible non-tender candidate but instead found common ground with the organization. Almonte, 28, slashed just .233/.314/.366 in his 195 trips to the plate in 2017. He had projected to earn a $1.1MM payday in his first season of arbitration eligibility but will take home $825K, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter).
  • The Royals have agreed to terms with righty Mike Morin to avoid arbitration, the club announced. He’ll receive a split contract, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan tweets, with a $750K annual earning rate in the majors and $250K in the minors. Morin, who projected at $700K, drew a mention on MLBTR’s non-tender candidates list. Indeed, his contract reflects the middling season that he turned in. Morin allowed 16 earned runs in twenty MLB frames, though he was more effective at Triple-A.
  • Yimi Garcia and the Dodgers have avoided arbitration, per J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group (via Twitter). Garia projected to command only a $700K salary after missing all of 2017 following Tommy John surgery; he’ll end up taking home $630K, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). Now 27, Garcia had established himself as a significant member of the Dodgers’ bullpen in 2015, when he compiled a 3.34 ERA with 10.8 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 over 56 2/3 innings. But injuries limited him in the ensuing season and ultimately culminated in a UCL replacement.
  • Per a club announcement, the Indians have agreed to a contract with righty Dan Otero. Otero will take home $1.3MM, per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian (via Twitter). He was projected to command $1.4MM. The 32-year-old Otero has been an unmitigated bargain for Cleveland over the past two years, turning in 130 2/3 total innings of 2.14 ERA pitching despite averaging just 6.5 K/9 in that span. Otero has succeeded with unfailing command (just 19 walks since joining the Indians) and a hefty groundball rate (over 60% in each of the past two seasons).
  • The Angels and righty Blake Wood agreed to a one-year, $1.45MM deal that falls well shy of his $2.2MM projection, as FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman was the first to report (via Twitter). Wood struggled mightily in Cincinnati before being picked up by the Halos late in the year and turning his season around a bit. In 17 innings with the Angels, he posted a 4.76 ERA with a much more promising 22-to-4 K/BB ratio. Heyman notes that he can earn up to $50K worth of incentives as well.
  • The White Sox announced that they’ve signed right-hander Danny Farquhar to a one-year deal worth $1.05MM — a pact that falls shy of his $1.5MM projection. In 49 1/3 innings between the Rays and ChiSox, the 30-year-old logged a 4.20 ERA with 8.2 K/9, 5.1 BB/9 and a 41.7 percent ground-ball rate.

Braves Claim Chase Whitley From Rays

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The Braves have claimed right-hander Chase Whitley off waivers from the Rays, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (on Twitter). Whitley was arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason and was projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $1MM.

Whitley, 28, tossed 57 1/3 innings this past season in his first full year back from Tommy John surgery. The righty made all 41 of his appearances with the Rays out of the bullpen after working as a starter throughout his minor league career and early on after his MLB debut with the Yankees. Whitley logged a 4.08 ERA with 6.8 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9 and a 32.8 percent ground-ball rate. He doesn’t throw hard, averaging just 90 mph with his heater, but he still missed more bats earlier in his career and in the minors, leaving the potential for a modest uptick in strikeouts with Atlanta. (A move to the NL, clearly, won’t hurt his chances in that regard.)

The Rays are facing somewhat of a payroll crunch due in no small part to an arbitration class that at one point contained a dozen players. They’ve pared that back some by waiving Whitley and trading former closer Brad Boxberger to the D-backs, but it’s still likely that we’ll see a few more moves out of Tampa Bay before tonight’s 8pm ET deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players.

Tender Deadline Notes: Mercer, Rays, Brewers, Cubs, Tigers, Romine

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Friday at 8pm EST marks the deadline for teams to tender contracts for the 2018 season, meaning that we’ll see a few difficult calls made on arbitration-eligible players. MLBTR recently compiled a list of the players we feel are most at risk to be non-tendered (with the proviso that many of the names on the list likely will not end up being set free). As ever, anticipated cost is a major factor, so you’ll want to reference the arbitration projections of MLBTR and contributor Matt Swartz for a sense of where the salaries could be headed.

Here’s the latest chatter as the decision time draws near …

  • Some readers were surprised to see Pirates shortstop Jordy Mercer tabbed as a possible non-tender on MLBTR’s list. In our view, his hefty salary (projected at $6.5MM) and the possibility of finding cheaper alternatives combine to create some vulnerability — at least, that is, from an outside examination. The expectation of MLB.com’s Adam Berry, though, is that Pittsburgh will continue to rely on Mercer in his final season of arb eligibility. Berry cites Mercer’s steadiness and the fact that the team’s middle infield prospects aren’t quite ready yet to take over at short.
  • The Rays face a number of interesting arbitration decisions even after resolving one by trading Brad Boxberger; Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times runs through the list. The most recent report suggests that Tampa Bay will tender Brad Miller if they don’t trade him on Friday, and Topkin generally concurs with that assessment. While MLBTR feels there’s a chance that shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria and catcher Jesus Sucre could be at risk, Topkin says the expectation is they’ll be retained. Rather, he feels the focus could remain on the relief corps, with pitchers Xavier Cedeno, Dan Jennings, and Chase Whitley all being candidates for something other than a straight tender. That could mean a trade, a pre-deadline deal to lock in their salary at a favorable rate, or perhaps a non-tender.
  • Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel similarly examines the choices facing the Brewers. Two players that MLBTR identified as plausible non-tender candidates, reliever Jeremy Jeffress and catcher Stephen Vogt, receive similar billing from Haudricourt, as does righty Jared Hughes. Per the article, Milwaukee has “probably been trying to do pre-deadline deals” with the two pen pieces, while Vogt could simply be sent onto the open market.
  • For the Cubs, too, the toughest calls may come in the relief department. As Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Times writes, and as MLBTR’s analysis has suggested, Hector Rondon ($6.2MM projection) and Justin Grimm ($2.4MM) may be entering their final day with the Chicago organization. Rondon, especially, could receive trade consideration from other teams if the Cubs decide it’s time to move on.
  • Speaking of pen pieces at risk, the Tigers landed two players on our list: righties Bruce Rondon ($1.2MM projection) and Alex Wilson ($2.1MM). Evan Woodberry of MLive.com tweets that both are indeed potential non-tender candidates for Detroit, but both are not necessarily going to be cut loose. In Woodberry’s estimation, the volatile Rondon is somewhat likely to be cut loose after allowing 19 earned runs in his 15 2/3 MLB innings in 2017. Though he continued to show swing-and-miss stuff, and posted a 2.70 ERA in his 36 2/3 frames at Triple-A, Rondon struggled to limit the free passes. As for the 31-year-old Wilson, it’s something of the opposite scenario for Woodberry. He says that he expects Wilson will be tendered despite a middling 4.50 ERA in his most recent season. The veteran did post similar K/BB figures to those that allowed him to generate better results in prior campaigns.
  • We drew some ire for suggesting that the Yankees could pass a chance at retaining catcher Austin Romine for his projected $1.2MM salary, but MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch suggests there’s some possibility that could occur. Even if he is not kept on the 40-man roster, says Hoch, Romine could be targeted to return on a minors pact. Of course, he’d also then have a chance to see if he could score a MLB slot with another organization. Romine limped to a .218/.272/.293 slash line in 252 plate appearances last year, but is generally regarded as a solid defender. It seems likely that the decision will come down to a question of whether the Yanks simply think they can do better with youngster Kyle Higashioka or another open-market option to complement regular Gary Sanchez.

Notable Roster Decisions: Friday

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As Spring Training draws to a close, the final determinations about each team’s roster will be continue to come into focus. Here are some of the day’s more notable roster decisions…

  • Prized righty Tyler Glasnow will take the final spot in the Pirates rotation, Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on Twitter. He had been competing with Trevor Williams, who’ll head to the bullpen, Adam Berry of MLB.com adds on Twitter. With southpaw Wade LeBlanc also taking a job, that seems to set the stage for Rule 5 pick Tyler Webb to hit the waiver wire.
  • The Giants have nailed down their bench and rotation, as Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports. Aaron Hill and Chris Marrero will round out the bench. The veteran Hill figures to share the infield reserve duties with Conor Gillaspie, while Marrero will surprisingly open the season as a part of a left field platoon with the left-handed-hitting Jarrett Parker. Meanwhile, Matt Cain will keep a rotation spot, though Ty Blach will also make the club as a reliever — where he could often spell Cain in lengthier outings.
  • With injuries and young arms entering the picture, the Rockies’ pitching plans were interesting to watch this spring. As Nick Groke of the Denver Post tweets, the team will roll with lefty Kyle Freeland and righties Antonio Senzatela and German Marquez to fill out their starting staff. It seems likely that the former two will open the year in the rotation, with Marquez heading to the pen and staying on hand if a need arises.

Click to read earlier updates …

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Rays Notes: Cobb, Weeks, Whitley, Boxberger

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Some rumblings out of Tampa Bay…

  • Alex Cobb is drawing “potential interest” from the Cubs, Dodgers, and other teams as a trade target, The Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin writes.  The determining factor, as Topkin notes, is how Cobb performs in his first full season back after undergoing Tommy John surgery in May 2015.  The righty returned late last season to make five starts (and post an 8.59 ERA in 22 IP), and still drew some offseason trade buzz as teams likely were looking to buy low.  The Cubs and Dodgers, of course, both have past connections to Cobb and the Rays in the form of Joe Maddon and Andrew Friedman.  If Cobb returns to his 2012-14 form and Tampa is out of contention, he’ll be a prime trade chip at the deadline.
  • Cobb is entering his last year before free agency, and he tells Topkin that he is being realistic about the possibility that he’ll be dealt since the Rays rarely retain top players hitting the open market.  “It’s just the way things unfold here.  If you were a betting man, [a trade] probably would be the way to go,” Cobb said.  The fact that 2017 could be his last year in a Rays uniform has been weighing on Cobb due to the “life-changing stuff” that has taken place over his 13 years with the franchise.  “Then you go into the clubhouse and you see all the faces, people that I’ve seen since I was 18, that really have been your family since then….You think about it, and it’s sad.  It’s sad that it’s a possibility I could no longer be around here,” Cobb said.
  • Rickie Weeks’ minor league deal with the Rays will pay him $1.5MM if he makes the big league roster, Topkin reports in another item, with $600K more available to the veteran in incentives.  In that same piece, Topkin looks through some of the roster decisions facing the Rays during the spring, as the club’s choices are complicated by several out-of-options players.  Nick Franklin, for instance, could lose his utility job to Daniel Robertson, or Erasmo Ramirez could be dealt to a team in need of starting depth.
  • Chase Whitley, who also underwent Tommy John surgery in May 2015, pitched four scoreless innings in Spring Training action on Saturday.  Manager Kevin Cash told reporters, including Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times, that while Whitley is slated for a relief job, “we’re not ruling out him starting, either.  It depends on how the numbers and how the injuries pan out, but right now, we saw last year what he can do coming out of the bullpen.  There’s a lot of value to that.”  The pen (specifically a long relief role) is still Whitley’s best bet to make the roster, and a spot could open up should Brad Boxberger start the year on the DL.  Boxberger has been sidelined all spring with a bad back, but expects to pitch in a minor league game on Tuesday.

AL East Notes: Swisher, Lohse, Davis, Rays

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Nick Swisher spoke to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News about his excitement over rejoining the Yankees organization. “There’s no place I love more than New York,” said Swisher. “I think a lot of people know that. … I’m one of those lucky guys that gets an opportunity to come back and try to prove myself again.” Swisher also talked with Feinsand about the difficulty of dealing with significant knee injuries in recent seasons and the jarring feeling of getting a phone call to inform him of his release in Atlanta. The 34-year-old firmly believes he’s capable of contributing in the Majors again and looks forward to working his way back to a Yankees uniform. “To have the first phone call come from the Yankees, a place you think of as family, it was amazing,” said Swisher. “For this to happen during such a dark time, it makes you want to work that much harder, to train and play that much harder.”

Elsewhere in the AL East…

  • The Orioles are among the clubs that hold interest in right-hander Kyle Lohse, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Baltimore’s 7-0 start to the season has drawn its fair share of headlines, but it’s worth noting that Ubaldo Jimenez is the only one of their starters to have topped five innings in an outing thus far. Bringing Lohse into the organization would provide the club with some veteran depth, although Lohse’s most recent work with the Brewers didn’t exactly inspire confidence that he’s still a quality big league option. The 37-year-old lost his rotation with the Brewers last season after recording a 6.31 ERA in 22 starts. Lohse did appear to turn it around somewhat upon his move to the bullpen, logging a 3.81 ERA in 28 1/3 innings of work.
  • Chris Davis tells the Boston Herald’s Chris Mason that the Red Sox had interest in him over the winter before he re-signed in Baltimore. “I pretty much tried to stay out of it as much as I could and let my agent handle it, but I remember their name coming up a few times,” said Davis. “I don’t know how in depth they talked. I don’t know if it was just a feeler or what was going on.” As Mason notes, the immediate fit might not be optimal, but with Hanley Ramirez perhaps sliding to designated hitter next season following David Ortiz’s retirement, it’s easy enough to see how Davis could’ve fit into the club’s plans beyond the 2016 campaign.
  • Never afraid to try something outside the box, the Rays have adopted the usage of virtual reality training for their hitters, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Rays batters have available to them a set of virtual reality goggles that allow them to stand at/near/behind the plate in the batting cage and watch a virtual simulation of that evening’s pitcher throwing to them. Steven Souza Jr. and Curt Casali both spoke very highly of the new tool, whereas Evan Longoria was optimistic about its benefits down the line but said he feels there’s room for improvement. “We’re looking forward to learning more about the technology and how it might benefit our players,” said Rays president of baseball operations Matt Silverman to Topkin. Topkin notes that the Rays aren’t the only club using the technology; the Pirates and “several” other teams have begun to experiment with it.
  • Rays right-hander Alex Cobb and Chase Whitley each made 20 throws from halfway up the bullpen mound on Tuesday, Topkin writes in a separate piece. Each will throw again on Friday and next Tuesday before moving to the top of the mound late next week. Cobb noted that while the news isn’t exciting, he and Whitley both considered it to be a big day in their rehab. Both right-handers are making their way back from Tommy John surgery that was performed in May of last season.

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