Minor MLB Transactions: 6/9/17
Here are Friday’s minor moves from around the league (all courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise noted)…
Latest transactions
- The White Sox released left-hander Giovanni Soto, according to the official Twitter feed of their Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte. Soto struggled to a 5.33 ERA over 25 1/3 relief innings in Charlotte, thanks to some uncharacteristic problems with the long ball — he allowed four homers over his 25 1/3 IP this year after giving up just 28 homers in his previous 514 career innings in the minors. It has been a busy 14 months for Soto, who has been property of five different organizations since April 2016.
- Right-hander Mike Bolsinger has cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to the Blue Jays‘ Triple-A affiliate, the team announced. Bolsinger was designated for assignment earlier this week. The 29-year-old posted a 5.61 ERA, 7.4 K/9 and 1.11 K/BB rate over 25 2/3 IP for Toronto this season, making five starts as a fill-in for the many injury absences on the Jays’ staff.
Earlier today
- Right-hander Miguel Socolovich was outrighted to the Cardinals‘ Triple-A after clearing waivers. St. Louis designated the 30-year-old for assignment in late May after he allowed 18 runs in 18 2/3 innings of work. The well-traveled righty has a 4.25 ERA over the life of 82 2/3 Major League innings, and he’s averaged 7.5 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9 in that time. Socolovich could’ve elected free agency but instead accepted his assignment and will hope for another crack at the Majors later in 2017.
- The Mariners have added shortstop Ryan Jackson on a minor league contract. The 29-year-old last saw Major League work with the Angels in 2015 and has struggled in his limited exposure to the big leagues, going just 2-for-33 in 39 plate appearances. He’s long been a solid performer at the Triple-A level, though, where he’s posted a collective .273/.352/.352 batting line across parts of six seasons.
- Former Giants righty Mike Broadway was cut loose by the Nationals after yielding 20 earned runs in 17 1/3 innings for Triple-A Syracuse. The 30-year-old entered the season with a career 2.96 ERA in 127 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level but has been uncharacteristically hittable. Broadway has just 22 2/3 innings of Major League experience, all coming with the 2015-16 Giants. While the resulting 6.75 ERA isn’t pretty, he does have a track record of missing bats and limiting walks in Triple-A.
White Sox Claim Alen Hanson
The White Sox have claimed infielder Alen Hanson off waivers from the Pirates, reports Jon Morosi of MLB Network and FOX Sports (via Twitter). Pittsburgh placed the former top prospect on waivers last week.
Once one of baseball’s top overall prospects, Hanson’s production trailed off upon reaching Triple-A. That didn’t prevent him from reaching the Majors, but he hasn’t performed well there, either, hitting a combined .205/.239/.261 in 92 plate appearances between the 2016 and 2017 seasons. The bulk of his time in the field as a big leaguer has come at second base, though defensive metrics such as Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved don’t paint a favorable picture. Hanson is out of minor league options, so if the White Sox wish to send him down at any point, they’ll have to once again expose him to waivers.
Central Notes: White Sox, McCutchen, Royals
The White Sox‘s rebuild compares favorably to where the cross-town Cubs were five years ago, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune writes. The White Sox already have Tim Anderson, Carlos Rodon, Yoan Moncada, Luis Robert, Michael Kopech, Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez, all of whom could still be with the club several years from now. (The newly signed Robert, by the way, recently reported to the White Sox’ Dominican Summer League team.) Of course, the White Sox have already traded a number of key pieces, including Chris Sale and Adam Eaton, and they aren’t likely to perform as badly as the 2012 Cubs did, meaning they won’t have access to some of the draft picks the Cubs received (including the No. 2 overall pick in 2013, which netted them Kris Bryant). And obviously, a good start to a rebuild doesn’t always lead to the sort of success the Cubs have had. But the number of premium talents the White Sox already have in place would appear to put them in good position overall. Here’s more from the Central divisions.
- Andrew McCutchen‘s struggles this season could potentially leave the Pirates with a decision about whether to exercise his $14.5MM 2018 option (which comes with a $1M buyout), Travis Sawchik of FanGraphs writes. That call wouldn’t have seemed like a difficult one even after McCutchen’s lackluster 2016 season, but after a modest .232/.313/.419 start in 2017, it perhaps seems possible now. The Pirates could also consider dealing him at the deadline after keeping him over the winter. McCutchen did recently make a mechanical adjustment and is batting .394/.500/.727 over the past two weeks, and he could change his outlook entirely with more of that kind of hitting. Of course, the evidence that he can continue to hit so well after over a year of mediocre work at the plate is still a bit limited, and as Sawchik suggests, the Pirates are running out of time to figure out what to do with him.
- The Royals have announced that they’ve recalled righty Jake Junis from Triple-A Omaha and optioned fellow righty Seth Maness to Omaha. Junis will start tonight against the Astros; the Royals’ rotation has struggled lately with injuries to Danny Duffy and Nate Karns, and will now lean on Junis, who has a strong 2.34 ERA, 12.1 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 42 1/3 innings in Omaha thus far this season. (Junis has also already made three appearances in the big leagues, striking out six but walking seven over 6 2/3 innings.) Maness briefly pitched for Omaha earlier this season while he was returning from injury, but this will be the first time he’s been optioned to Triple-A since the Cardinals first selected his contract in 2013. He’s allowed five runs, four earned, while striking out four and walking two in 9 2/3 innings with the Royals this season.
White Sox, Bobby Parnell Agree To Minors Deal
The White Sox have agreed to a minor league pact with veteran right-hander Bobby Parnell, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Parnell, who is represented by ACES, opted out of a minor league deal with the Royals last week.
The 32-year-old Parnell has yet to reestablish himself as a quality big league reliever after undergoing Tommy John surgery back in 2014. Since Opening Day 2014, he’s logged a collective 30 1/3 innings in the Majors with a 6.53 ERA and more walks (23) than strikeouts (18). He did still manage a ground-ball rate north of 50 percent in limited action across each of the past two seasons, and Parnell’s fastball velocity remained a healthy 94.9 mph, on average, in his brief stint with the Tigers last season. That, however, is down quite a bit from the 97 mph he averaged at his peak with the Mets from 2010-13.
Chicago will hope that Parnell can get back to that 2010-13 form, during which he posted a 2.79 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 across 213 innings. Chicago’s bullpen has been among the best in baseball, though the team is also widely expected to trade away some of its veteran contributors, including closer David Robertson. Adding Parnell could give them an experienced depth option to turn to following some of those moves, though his 2017 performance to date hasn’t exactly been encouraging. Through 21 innings with the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate in Omaha, he’s been tagged for a 4.71 ERA with 17 strikeouts, 13 walks and a 42.2 percent ground-ball rate.
Pitching Notes: Mets, Rangers, ChiSox, Tribe
Both left-hander Steven Matz and right-hander Seth Lugo will join the Mets’ rotation next weekend for their 2017 debuts, manager Terry Collins announced Saturday (via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). The Mets have been without the pair all season because of elbow injuries, and once they return, righties Robert Gsellman and Tyler Pill will exit the team’s rotation. While righty Matt Harvey has arguably pitched poorly enough to warrant a demotion, the Mets aren’t considering relegating him to the big league bullpen or their Triple-A rotation, according to David Lennon of Newsday. Instead, they’ll continue to give the former ace an opportunity to work his way back from last year’s thoracic outlet syndrome surgery as part of their starting five.
- Righty Tyson Ross could start for the Rangers next weekend, though the team hasn’t made a decision yet on when it will activate him, per T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. “It comes down to how he feels the next few days, going through the progression and his overall health,” manager Jeff Banister said of Ross, an ex-Padre who hasn’t pitched in the majors since suffering a shoulder injury on Opening Day 2016. Ross, who underwent thoracic outlet syndrome surgery last October and then signed with the Rangers in the winter, made his third Triple-A rehab start Saturday and allowed two runs and five hits over 5 1/3 innings (93 pitches).
- White Sox southpaw Carlos Rodon, on the shelf all season with shoulder bursitis, is about to take an important step in his recovery. Rodon will begin a rehab assignment Tuesday at the Class-A level, which will represent his first game action since a March 19 spring training start, writes Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune. A key piece for the rebuilding White Sox, the 24-year-old Rodon recorded a 4.06 ERA, 9.16 K/9, 2.95 BB/9 and a 44.1 percent ground-ball rate in 165 innings last season.
- Indians righty Danny Salazar hasn’t made enough progress since his demotion to the bullpen last week to return to the rotation, manager Terry Francona suggested Sunday (per Robert Falkoff of MLB.com). “He’s got some work to do,” Francona said. “We felt like the best thing to do is keep him where he is and let him keep working more often. He’ll have more chances to throw with shorter segments. He’s still not where he needs to be.” In two appearances and 2 2/3 innings in relief, the flamethrowing Salazar has given up one earned run on four hits and four strikeouts.
Central Notes: Royals, Cardinals, White Sox, Brewers
Five games back of a playoff spot, the Royals aren’t ready to sell yet, but contending clubs are eyeing their potential trade chips, reports Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star. The changed qualifying offer system in the new collective bargaining agreement could impact the Royals’ decisions, per Dodd, who notes that draft-pick compensation isn’t as appealing as it was previously. Had the Royals been in this situation last year, they could have kept impending free agents such as Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain and Mike Moustakas, issued them qualifying offers and landed first-round picks had they signed elsewhere. Now, in order to secure a first-rounder, KC would need to offer a QO, have the player reject it and then join another team for $50MM-plus. Otherwise, if a player signs someplace else for less than $50MM, the Royals will get a pick after the second round.
More from the Central divisions:
- The Cardinals will have to decide before the trade deadline whether their current lineup will suffice, observes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Ranking 26th in the majors in runs and 21st in wRC+, the Cardinals’ offense lacks a hitter capable of inspiring fear in opposing teams, several talent evaluators told Goold. They’re unlikely to acquire that type of hitter if he’s only a short-term rental, though, as Goold relays that the Redbirds “remain reluctant” to sacrifice significant assets for a stopgap. Internally, St. Louis isn’t convinced it needs to make a notable upgrade offensively. Rather, the club could pin its hopes on Matt Carpenter, Dexter Fowler and Aledmys Diaz recovering from slow starts. All three, especially Carpenter, have been resoundingly successful offensive producers in recent seasons.
- Writing for MLB.com, Cuban outfield prospect Luis Robert acknowledges that the White Sox “probably were the team that offered more money” than anyone else, which was key in his decision to sign with the team for $26MM last weekend. It also helped the White Sox’s cause that they’ve never shied away from adding Cuban players. That includes first baseman Jose Abreu, who “can be a big help for me, because he is a veteran and has experience in this league,” posits Robert. The 19-year-old believes he’ll need a full year in the minors before he’s ready to contribute at the big league level.
- Third baseman Travis Shaw has been a steal thus far for the Brewers, opines Tyler Kepner of the New York Times. Shaw, whom the Brewers acquired in an offseason trade with Boston, has slashed .296/.341/.538 with 10 home runs and five steals across 214 plate appearances with his new team. The 27-year-old is relishing his time in Milwaukee, telling Kepner: “I miss the guys over there, but coming over here was a blessing for me,” Shaw said. “I get a chance to play every single day. They wanted me, the ballpark fits my strengths a little bit more, and so far everything’s gone very smoothly. I’m glad I’m over here.”
Cafardo’s Latest: Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs, Quintana, Cueto, Samardzija, Rangers, Cozart
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe looks at nine teams who are trending upward this season and nine teams who are on the downward swing in his latest notes column. These rankings (and Cafardo’s piece in general) contain several hot stove items as teams look to be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline. The highlights…
- The Yankees are looking for a third baseman, according to league sources. Chase Headley got off to a hot start but scuffled badly in May, posting just a .446 OPS in 90 plate appearances last month. Top prospect Gleyber Torres has been getting some reps at third base in the minors amidst rumors that he could be promoted later this season, though New York could prefer a more proven veteran for the hot corner if the team is chasing a pennant. Headley is still owed $21.6MM through the end of the 2018 season, though the Yankees have shown a willingness to reduce the playing time of other highly-paid veterans in the past if they aren’t producing.
- “Most talent evaluators” believe the Dodgers will make a play for the top starter available at the deadline. The Dodgers’ rotation has combined for 6.2 fWAR (second in baseball) and a 3.94 ERA (third in baseball), though given the number of injury concerns within their staff, it wouldn’t be a shock if L.A. pursued yet another notable arm.
- Cafardo also suggests that the Cubs will look to acquire a top starter, even if they’re one of the teams on the “trending down” list. Cafardo believes the retirement of clubhouse leader David Ross has had a bigger impact on the Cubs than the team is willing to admit.
- Some teams that were in on Jose Quintana have cooled their interest thanks to the southpaw’s rough start to the season. There has been some questions about whether Quintana is healthy, though the White Sox say he is healthy. Quintana has a 5.60 ERA in 64 1/3 innings, with career highs in BB/9 (3.36) and homer rate (13%) combining with a career-low 37.8% ground ball rate. On the plus side, he also has a career-best 8.96 K/9 and ERA indicators are all over a run lower than his 5.60 real-world ERA.
- “Don’t look for major subtractions” from the Giants, even if the team doesn’t make any additions at the deadline. Cafardo doesn’t expect the Giants to deal the likes of Johnny Cueto or Jeff Samardzija. I would imagine San Francisco is hoping to make a quick return to contention next season, though if Cueto gives them an indication that he’ll opt out of his contract this winter, a trade could be explored.
- The Rangers are also a team that won’t go into full-scale selling mode, so Cafardo expects them to wait and see if they should pursue starting pitching help for a run at a wild card slot.
- Zack Cozart has often been mentioned in trade rumors over the last couple of years as the Reds have been rebuilding, though one AL GM wonders why Cincinnati hasn’t instead explored an extension with the veteran shortstop. The Reds’ long-term plan is to have Jose Peraza at short and Dilson Herrera at second, so on paper, Cozart makes more sense as a trade chip than a building block. While Cozart is mashing the ball and playing his usual excellent defense, he also turns 32 in August and may be declining by the time the Reds are again ready to contend.
Heyman’s Latest: Managers, Quintana, Royals, Cubs, Holland, Bush
There’ve been an average of 3.4 in-season managerial firings since the 2007, writes Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports in the intro to his latest weekly notes column, but the 2017 campaign may be the rare year where all 30 Opening Day skippers are still at the helm of their respective teams at the conclusion of the regular season. Heyman notes that while there’s been plenty of fan and/or media criticism of high-profile managers like John Farrell (Red Sox) and Terry Collins (Mets), no manager seems to be on a particularly hot seat at the moment. He also runs down a list of nearly half the managers in the league and examines their chances of being dismissed, though again, the primary takeaway is that most seem to be rather safe.
Some highlights from both his American League and National League roundups…
- The GM of a rival club tells Heyman that he doesn’t think the shaky start to the season for White Sox lefty Jose Quintana will negatively impact his trade value all that much. While some have suggested that the Sox missed an opportunity to move him this offseason, there are of course still three and a half very affordable years on Quintana’s contract, and his 8.95 K/9 rate is actually a career-best. In more loosely related ChiSox news, he notes that Brett Lawrie is still waiting for his ailing foot to get back to full health before seeking out a new team.
- Though the Royals recently lost Danny Duffy for the next six to eight weeks, they’re still planning to see if there’s one more run with their longstanding core for the time being. A sale from Kansas City still looks likely to me, given that the Royals have the worst record in the American League and plenty of potential rental pieces to market this summer. It’s worth noting, though, that even with the worst record in the AL, they entered play today a relatively manageable six games back from the division lead and from a Wild Card spot.
- The Diamondbacks have sent out indications that they’re planning to wait until the last minute to determine whether they’re going to add pieces prior to the non-waiver deadline or sell off some shorter-term assets. Arizona is currently a half-game back of the NL West division lead and is in possession of a Wild Card slot at the moment, though it seems that the new front office is understandably not looking to react rashly to the team’s hot start.
- With both Jake Arrieta and John Lackey set to hit free agency (and a shaky mix in the five-spot in the rotation), the Cubs are likely to pursue at least two starters following the 2017 season, per Heyman. He lists Marco Estrada and Derek Holland as some semi-speculative picks, noting that one exec from another club feels they fit the mold of arms the Cubs are likely to eye. Chicago, of course, is certainly a candidate to add some rotation help this summer and could well pick up an arm controllable beyond the current season, which would impact their offseason trajectory.
- The Nationals and Rangers were among the teams to make a play for Greg Holland, Heyman writes, but only the Rockies were willing to take the significant risk of including a vesting player option worth as much as $15MM. Washington GM Mike Rizzo was actually on board with the concept of a vesting player option, but Nationals ownership, on the other hand, was not. The Rangers didn’t come as close in talks as the Nats did, he adds. Holland’s $15MM player option will trigger once he finishes 30 games or appears in 50 (the former will happen first), and barring an injury he seems like a lock to turn that down and reenter free agency in search of a four- or five-year pact.
- Jeb Bush’s departure from the potential Marlins ownership group he’d been assembling with Derek Jeter was due to a disagreement over who’d be the “control person,” Heyman writes. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald recently reported that Bush was set to commit less than $20MM to the sale, and Heyman now adds that Bush was on the hook for just $10MM of his own money, which would understandably make him a curious choice as the point person in the group. It’s still not known how much Jeter is planning to invest if his group is selected, but the Marlins were apparently aware that Bush could be leaving the group and remain interested in working out an agreement with Jeter and his investors.
Draft Notes: Law, McKay, Pearson, Top Talents
With the MLB draft less now less than two weeks away, a look at some of the latest news and rumors…
- ESPN’s Keith Law has published his latest mock draft (Insider subscription required and strongly recommended) and, like many others, now has the Twins leaning toward Vanderbilt right-hander Kyle Wright with the top pick. Looking a bit further down the board, Law has Louisville lefty/first baseman Brendan McKay slip a bit out of the top three to the Rays at No. 4, and looking further down the board a ways, he has the White Sox taking Vanderbilt outfielder Jeren Kendall, with whom Sox GM Rick Hahn met last week, according to Law. There’s interesting intel on the general types of players (e.g. college bats, high school arms, etc.) that many teams seem to be eyeing sprinkled throughout, making it well worth a look for anyone with an interest in the draft.
- There’s been plenty of debate over whether McKay, a two-way star at Louisville, is best developed as a pitcher or a first baseman. There are compelling arguments for either side, and McKay seems to be a consensus top five pick at this time. Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen scouted McKay’s last game and provides some fairly extensive info on McKay’s repertoire as well as his swing, in addition to sharing a nearly 30-minute video of McKay on the mound. Longenhagen notes that he ultimately prefers McKay as a pitcher, though he calls the decision close enough that it’d be wise to allow McKay to hit and pitch early in his pro career. Longenhagen also wrote about McKay and the draft’s other two-way stars recently when unveiling Fangraphs’ sortable draft board — an invaluable free tool for draft followers which even includes some Trackman data that offers max fastball/curveball RPMs for pitchers.
- Baseball America’s Hudson Belinsky writes that potential first-rounder Nate Pearson, a junior college righty out of Florida, helped his stock by reaching 101 mph in his most recent bullpen session. Some scouts even had Pearson as high as 102 mph, Belinsky writes.
- MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo put together an “All-Draft Prospect Team” by creating a roster of the draft’s top talent at each position (three, in the case of outfielders, plus one right-hander and one left-hander). Mayo’s piece offers a paragraph or two of scouting info on each of the listed players.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Tigers, Dodgers, White Sox, Rays
As the trade deadline approaches, the Tigers have discussed dealing veteran players for pieces capable of helping them both now and in the future, reports FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (video link). Regardless of whether they’re in the playoff hunt around the deadline, the Tigers could move impending free agent right fielder J.D. Martinez, says Rosenthal, who notes that the new qualifying offer system will make it difficult for them to keep the slugger through the season if they’re not going to re-sign him. Should the Tigers retain Martinez through 2017, stay above the luxury-tax threshold and issue him a qualifying offer after the season, they’d only get back a pick after the fourth round if he rejects the QO and signs elsewhere.
More from Rosenthal:
- Athletics right-hander Sonny Gray would be a perfect fit for the Dodgers, suggests Rosenthal, though he adds that they’re not convinced they’ll need to acquire another starting pitcher this summer. The Dodgers are loaded with rotation depth, of course, and their starters entered Saturday ranked fourth in the majors in ERA and first in FIP. Their bullpen has been similarly successful (third and first in those categories), but some members of the organization believe adding a left-handed reliever is a much bigger priority than picking up another starter, per Rosenthal.
- Even though White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu could serve as a mentor to fellow Cubans Yoan Moncada and Luis Robert, they’re not necessarily inclined to keep Abreu, relays Rosenthal. This summer might not prove to be the right time for Chicago to trade him, however, as fellow first baseman Eric Hosmer (Royals) and Yonder Alonso (Athletics) are likely to end up on the block, thereby weakening Abreu’s market.
- The Rays (26-26, plus-24 run differential) are unlikely to buy at the deadline if they’re still in contention, according to Rosenthal. The low-payroll club instead plans to rely on in-house reinforcements, including soon-to-return injured players in shortstop Matt Duffy, catcher Wilson Ramos and reliever Brad Boxberger. The Rays also expect one or more of their top Triple-A arms to make an impact out of their bullpen down the stretch. Tampa Bay has well-regarded pitching prospects in Brent Honeywell and Jose De Leon at the highest level of the minors. Both righties rank among Baseball America’s 40 best prospects.