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Brandon Phillips Suffers Torn Thumb Ligament

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3:12pm: Phillips has indeed suffered a torn thumb ligament, tweets John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. He will undergo surgery tomorrow.

3:00pm: Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips has suffered an injury to the ligament in his left thumb which could be a tear, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). As Rosenthal notes, Phillips is expected to be “out a while;” Bryce Harper recently lost 57 games to a torn ligament in his thumb.

The news on Phillips is not the only significant injury development out of Cincinnati (to say nothing of the rest of the NL Central). After placing first baseman Joey Votto on the DL and seeing center fielder Billy Hamilton go down with a hamstring issue last night, starter Homer Bailey left in the middle of his start today with what the team described as pain in his left patellar tendon (via Twitter). The status of those two important players remains unknown.

MLBTR’s Steve Adams recently broke down the trade market for second basemen. If Phillips requires an extended absence, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes asks (via Twitter) whether the Reds might match up with the White Sox on a deal for Gordon Beckham.

Reds Designate Brett Marshall For Assignment

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The Reds have designated righty Brett Marshall for assignment, reports John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter). With the move, the club opened a 40-man spot for recently-recalled outfielder Kristopher Negron.

Marshall, 24, threw 12 innings last year for the Yankees in his only MLB stint. Designated to make room for Carlos Beltran, Marshall was claimed by the Cubs and then the Reds. Since working back from a finger injury, he has struggled in 21 1/3 frames over seven starts at Triple-A for the Reds, working to a 10.97 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and a troubling 11.4 BB/9.

Rockies Acquire Jair Jurrjens From Reds

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The Rockies announced that they have acquired right-hander Jair Jurrjens from the Reds in exchange for minor league first baseman Harold Riggins.

The 28-year-old Jurrjens inked a minor league deal with the Reds back in May that came with an $800K base salary upon making the Major Leagues. The former All-Star has thrown 34 1/3 innings with Triple-A Louisville since signing the deal, posting a 4.46 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9.

Jurrjens looked to be a young star on the rise a few years ago, finishing third in the 2008 NL Rookie of the Year voting with the Braves and making an All-Star team in 2011. Acquired from the Tigers in exchange for Edgar Renteria, Jurrjens posted a 3.34 ERA in 671 2/3 innings for Atlanta from 2008-11, but knee injuries have derailed his career and limited him to just 55 2/3 innings of 6.68 ERA ball since. He spent last season with the Triple-A affiliates for the Orioles and Tigers, posting a combined 4.57 ERA in 134 innings.

Riggins, 24, had a .263/.351/.447 batting line with seven homers in 205 plate appearances with Double-A Tulsa this season. He ranked as Colorado’s No. 23rd prospect heading into the 2013 season, per Baseball America, but did not crack the club’s Top 30 prospects heading into this season.

The Rockies have seen a great deal of their pitchers go down with injuries, as they currently have Brett Anderson, Tyler Chatwood, Eddie Butler, Jordan Lyles, Jhoulys Chacin and Christian Bergman on the disabled list. Jurrjens will provide depth at Triple-A Colorado Springs for the time being, per the Denver Post’s Nick Groke (on Twitter).

Reds To Sign First-Rounder Nick Howard

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The Reds have agreed with first-round choice Nick Howard on a $1,990,500 bonus, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (Twitter link). That falls just $100K shy of the slot allocation that came with the 19th overall pick.

Howard, a closer in his last season at the University of Virginia, is expected to be given a chance to transition into back into a starting role in the Reds organization. He has two strong offerings: a mid-to-high 90s heater and often-devastating slider. On the back of those pitches, Baseball America (25th) and MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis (31st) saw Howard as one of the best arms available.

Howard becomes the last of the team’s choices from the first ten rounds to sign. In total, the club saved $375K on those signings as against its total available pool of just under $7MM, per MLB.com’s signing tracker.

Reds Sign Second-Rounder Taylor Sparks

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The Reds have agreed to a $972.8K bonus with second-round (58th overall) choice Taylor Sparks, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). That represents the assigned value of the pick.

Sparks is a third baseman out of UC Irvine. He was the 56th overall prospect in the view of MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis, who write that he is strong, athletic, and delivers hard contact at the plate. He is expected to develop some power and be able to stick at the hot corner. ESPN.com’s Keith Law rated him at the 72nd spot, while Baseball America had him as the 87th best player available.

According to the MLB.com signings tracker, Cincinnati has now locked up all of its picks from the first ten rounds with the exception of its first selection (19th overall): Nick Howard, the University of Virginia closer, who just completed play at the College World Series.

Minor Moves: Collier, Loe, Pineiro, Maine

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Here are today’s minor league transactions from around baseball, with the newest moves at the top of the post…

  • Phillies outfielder Zach Collier cleared waivers and was outrighted to Double-A, the team announced.  The Phils designated Collier for assignment earlier this week.  Collier, picked 34th overall in 2008, has a .240/.312/.349 slash line over 2084 career minor league plate appearances.
  • The Braves released righty Kameron Loe, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (via Twitter).  Loe posted an 8.83 ERA in 17 1/3 relief innings with Triple-A Gwinnett after signing a minor league deal with the Braves last month.  This is Loe’s third change of teams in 2014, as he already opted out of a minor league deal with the Giants in March and was released by the Royals in May.
  • The Angels released right-hander Joel Pineiro, Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish reports (Twitter link).  Pineiro struggled to a 7.48 ERA over four Triple-A starts after signing a minor league deal with the Halos earlier this month.  Pineiro was attempting a comeback after missing most of 2012 and all of 2013 recovering from shoulder problems,  and the Angels were his second stop after already being released by the Cubs earlier this season.
  • The Reds have signed left-hander Scott Maine to a minor league deal and assigned him to Double-A.  Maine had been pitching for the Bridgeport Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League, and the transaction was announced via Bridgeport’s team website.  The southpaw had a 4.95 ERA, 10.4 K/9 and a 5.75 K/BB rate in 20 innings for the Bluefish this season, with all but one of his 19 appearances coming out of the bullpen.  Maine posted a 5.59 ERA and 48 strikeouts over 46 2/3 IP with the Cubs and Indians from 2010-12, though he was plagued by both the long ball (1.5 HR/9) and walks (4.8 BB/9) over his brief stint in the bigs.  Maine spent 2013 pitching in the Marlins’ farm system.

Minor Moves: Rowland-Smith, Dunning, Romak

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We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here.

  • The Reds have signed pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith to a minor-league deal, Robert Murray of SportsRumorAlert.com tweets. Rowland-Smith saw his first MLB action since 2010 when he pitched 7 1/3 innings for the Diamondbacks earlier this season. He also pitched 14 innings for the Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo before being released earlier this month. MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo tweets that Rowland-Smith has an August 1 opt-out date.
  • The Giants have outrighted pitcher Jake Dunning to Triple-A Fresno, Murray tweets. The 25-year-old has appeared in one game with the Giants this season after pitching 25 2/3 innings for him in 2013. Dunning has posted a 5.88 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 33 2/3 innings for Fresno this season.
  • 1B/OF Jamie Romak has cleared waivers, and the Dodgers have outrighted him to Triple-A Albuquerque, MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick tweets. The Dodgers designated Romak for assignment on Wednesday. The 28-year-old Romak made his big-league debut earlier this season and collected one hit in 23 plate appearances with the Dodgers. He hit .272/.354/.578 in 206 plate appearances for Albuquerque earlier this season. Romak has a July 1 opt-out date, so he could reappear in this space again soon.

Minor Moves: Komatsu, Santos, Snyder, Bernadina, McCutchen, Diaz, Camp, Canzler, Hanson

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Here are the latest minor moves from around the league…

  • Outfielder Erik Komatsu has signed with the Brewers, reports Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (via Twitter). Komatsu, 26, started out with Milwaukee but was dealt to the Nationals in 2011 in a summer deal for Jerry Hairston. He was then taken in the Rule 5 draft, and saw brief time with both the Cardinals and Twins, before being returned to D.C. After being released by the Nats earlier this year, Komatsu had a brief stint with the Angels but was apparently released again.
  • The Pirates have traded outfielder Adalberto Santos to the Giants, according to the PCL transactions page. Santos, 26, was off to a rough .186/.234/.256 start in 47 plate appearances at Triple-A after performing well at each prevous level in the minors.
  • First baseman/outfielder Brad Snyder has elected free agency rather than accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Round Rock from the Rangers, reports Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest (via Twitter). The 32-year-old Snyder was designated for assignment earlier this week when Texas purchased the contract of fellow first baseman Carlos Pena from Round Rock. Snyder, a converted outfielder, was relatively new to first base, but all 10 games in which he appeared with the Rangers this season came as a first baseman. In those 10 contests, Snyder slashed .167/.265/.400 and blasted a pair of homers in 34 trips to the plate. The first-round pick has demolished Triple-A pitching in his minor league career but never received an extended look in the Majors.
  • Outfielder Roger Bernadina has refused an outright assignment from the Reds and elected free agency, reports C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter). The 30-year-old has been unable to regain the form he showed in 2012 with the Nationals (.291/.372/.405 with 15 steals in 261 plate appearances). He split last year between Washington and Philadelphia before inking a minor league deal with Cincinnati. In 71 plate appearances, Bernadina scuffled to a .153/.286/.203 line.
  • The White Sox have inked righty Daniel McCutchen to a minor league deal, Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com reports on Twitter. McCutchen, a 31-year-old righty, saw significant time in the Pirates pen over 2009-11 but has only appeared in two MLB contests since (including one with the Rangers this year). He had a 7.05 ERA and 8.1 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9 over 60 innings (including eight starts) at Triple-A with Texas.
  • The Blue Jays have outrighted infielder Jonathan Diaz, according to the International League transactions page. Diaz, 29, put up a .158/.256/.184 line in 45 plate appearances with Toronto, his only MLB action other than a cup of coffee last year with the Red Sox.
  • Also according to the International League transactions page, the Phillies have released reliever Shawn Camp. The 38-year-old righty appeared in three games earlier in the year before being outrighted, electing free agency, and re-signing with Philadelphia. He currently owns a respectable 3.79 ERA through 19 innings in the minors, with 7.6 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9.
  • The Phillies have signed Russ Canzler to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, per the team’s transactions page at MLB.com. Canzler, who debuted for the IronPigs yesterday, spent the early portion of the season with the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate. He’s a career .276/.355/.457 hitter in Triple-A and has 102 career MLB plate appearances between the Rays and Indians.
  • The Angels have signed independent league right-hander Ray Hanson, per the club’s transactions page. The 6’7″, 235-pound Hanson has pitched very well in both the Frontier League and the United League, posting a 3.59 ERA with a strong 129-to-40 K/BB ratio in 125 1/3 innings. Hanson, 24, made his affiliated debut yesterday with the Halos’ Class-A Advanced club and fired five shutout innings, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out three.

Jeff Todd contributed to this post.

Reds Sign Raisel Iglesias To Seven-Year Deal

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The Reds announced that they have signed Cuban right-hander Raisel Iglesias to a seven-year contract. The deal will guarantee Iglesias $27MM (including a signing bonus in the range of $5MM to $6MM) once he obtains a work visa. It also allows him to opt into arbitration if he becomes eligible. While the deal is for seven years, Iglesias’ free agency will not be delayed, as one of those years includes the 2014 season, during which he will not accrue a full year of service time anyway.

Iglesias, who is represented by Bart Hernandez and Praver Shapiro Sports Management, was said last week to be nearing a deal with the Reds. At the time, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports relayed a report from Cuban baseball expert Peter Bjarkman, who has seen the 24-year-old Iglesias pitch extensively and thinks he could be in the Majors after just a month or so in the minor leagues (Twitter links).

Iglesias’ name has been on the rumor circuit for months following his defection from Cuba last November (after one previous failed attempt). Ben Badler of Baseball America provides a scouting report on the 5’11, 165 lb righty, noting that he pitched at 88-92 mph in the 2013 World Baseball Classic but had pitched more in the 92-95 mph range in previous international tournaments. Iglesias also features a sweeping breaking ball in the 76-81 mph range, per Badler.

The 24-year-old Iglesias’ stats are available over at ObstructedView.com, which shows that in his past 82 2/3 innings in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, he posted a 3.05 ERA with a 74-to-30 K/BB ratio (five of those walks were intentional). His new contract means that he will be controlled through the 2020 season.

Most evaluators peg Iglesias as a quick-to-the-Majors bullpen arm, but the report of MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon notes that the Reds believe he is capable of starting. According to a tweet from MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez, Iglesias has added a changeup and otherwise tightened up his offerings. Cincinnati held a similar belief about fellow Cuban signee Aroldis Chapman before eventually settling Chapman into the closer’s role, where he has become arguably the best reliever in baseball. The club has also used several valuable draft picks on college relievers with the intention of trying them as starters, such as Tony Cingrani, Michael Lorenzen, and Nick Howard.

Depending on the annual salary structure and his ultimate usage, the ability to go to arbitration could convey a good bit of upside to Iglesias. Certainly, he would have greater earning capacity if he is used a starter or closer. Sheldon tweets that Iglesias will take the 40-man roster spot of Roger Bernadina, who was designated for assignment earlier this week.

MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon and colleague Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter) reported the financial details of the deal. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweeted that that Iglesias could opt into arbitration. 

Reds Designate Roger Bernadina For Assignment

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The Reds have announced that they’ve designated Roger Bernadina for assignment. The move clears space on the Reds’ active roster for pitcher Carlos Contreras.

Bernadina, who turned 30 last week, has hit .153/.286/.203 in 71 plate appearances for Cincinnati this year. The Reds signed him to a minor league deal in January. The outfielder has a career .236/.306/.352 line in parts of seven seasons with the Nationals, Phillies and Reds.

Contreras, 23, has not pitched above Double-A Pensacola, but he’s gotten good results there, posting a 2.70 ERA with 12.2 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9 in 20 innings this season. MLB.com ranks him as the Reds’ No. 5 prospect.

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