Several Former Big Leaguers Sign With Mexican League’s Guadalajara Mariachis
6:50pm: Bonifacio’s representatives at CAA tell MLBTR that despite the announcement from Guadalajara, Bonifacio has not signed with the club and remains a free agent.
9:14am: Outfielder Jorge Bonifacio, infielder Dawel Lugo and right-hander Justin Grimm are among the former Major Leaguers on the spring roster for the Mexican League’s Guadalajara Mariachis, the team announced this week (Twitter link). Infielders Luis Sardinas and Deven Marrero are on the roster as well, as are pitchers Jason Gurka and Daniel Corcino. All have big league experience, though only Bonifacio, Grimm and Lugo were in the big leagues last season. Five-time MLB All-Star Adrian Gonzalez is also on the roster for the Mariachis, an expansion club in 2021, as was initially reported late last month.
Bonifacio, now 27, looked like a potential option for the Royals in right field back in 2017 when he slugged 17 homers in 113 games as a 24-year-old rookie. He batted .255/.320/.432 that season and was in line for a lengthier audition in 2018 before being hit with an 80-game PED suspension during Spring Training that year. Bonifacio struggled through 270 plate appearances upon returning and was out of the Royals organization a year later. He played in 30 games with the Tigers last season but managed just a .221/.277/.326 slash in 94 trips to the plate.
Grimm was an oft-used and generally successful member of the Cubs’ bullpen from 2014-16, working to a collective 3.36 ERA with a hearty 28 percent strikeout rate against a 10.5 percent walk rate through 171 1/3 innings in that time. He struggled considerably in 2017, however (5.53 ERA in 55 1/3 frames), and has yet to regain his form at the game’s top level. Now 32 years old, Grimm is certainly young enough to make another big league run if he can right the ship pitching with Guadalajara.
Lugo, meanwhile, was the headliner of the prospect package the D-backs sent to the Tigers in exchange for J.D. Martinez back in 2017. The now-26-year-old infielder appeared in the big leagues each season from 2018-20 but didn’t provide much reason for optimism, slashing just .236/.270/.358 in 400 plate appearances.
The 30-year-old Marrero was a first-round pick by the Red Sox in 2012, and while he’s a strong defender he’s never hit much in 163 big league games. Sardinas, 27, was a top prospect back in 2013-14 but hit .224/.274/.292 in 500 big league plate appearances from 2014-18. Gurka and Corcino both briefly reached the Majors between 2014-18, though they have only 40 2/3 total innings combined between them. Corcino does have a 3.97 ERA in his limited time, but he walked nearly as many hitters (13) as he struck out (16) in 22 2/3 innings.
Minor MLB Transactions: 1/2/19
The latest minor league transactions from around baseball….
Latest Moves
- Per mlb.com’s transaction page on Dec. 14, the Dodgers have re-signed righty Daniel Corcino to a minor league pact. Corcino, 28, made two late-season appearances for Los Angeles last season after being a fixture in the AAA-Oklahoma City rotation for much of the year. The 5’11 righty was mostly excellent for the team’s chief affiliate, offering an 8.88 K/9 against 3.57 BB/9 with just 9 HR allowed in 103 1/3 IP, his first AAA exposure since 2013. Corcino, who made five appearances for the 2014 Reds, had worked mostly as a reliever since, appearing in 56 games at the High-A and Double-A levels from 2015-17.
- The Rockies have signed right-hander Jairo Diaz to a new minors contract, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports. The deal, notably, doesn’t seem to include an invitation to the team’s big league Spring Training camp. That could be an indication that the Rox don’t want to pressure Diaz into trying to win a big league job and are simply focused on getting the injury-plagued righty on track. Diaz missed all of 2016 due to Tommy John surgery, and subsequent forearm and elbow issues have limited him to just five MLB innings in 2017 and 32 1/3 total innings in the minors over the last two seasons. Diaz did toss 30 1/3 IP in Venezuelan Winter League ball this year, so there is some sign of progress.
Earlier Today
- The Dodgers have signed outfielder Shane Peterson to a minor league deal. The contract contains an invitation to the team’s Major League Spring Training camp. Peterson, who turns 31 in January, spent 2018 with the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate, and he has a .254/.319/.359 slash line over 322 career MLB plate appearances. The bulk of that action (226 PA) came with Milwaukee in 2015, and Peterson last appeared in the Show in 2017 when playing for the Rays. Peterson has seen a lot of work at all three outfield positions over his 11-year professional career plus substantial time as a first baseman, giving L.A. another versatile asset to deploy as a bench piece or as minor league depth.
Dodgers Acquire Dylan Floro, Zach Neal From Reds; Designate Daniel Corcino
The Dodgers have acquired right-handers Dylan Floro and Zach Neal from the Reds, as per a team press release. Los Angeles will also receive some international bonus pool space from Cincinnati in the trade, and right-hander Daniel Corcino has been designated for assignment to create a 40-man roster spot. The Reds will receive minor league right-handers Aneurys Zabala and James Marinan in the trade.
After signing a minor league deal with Cincy over the winter, Floro emerged as a solid bullpen piece for the Reds, posting a 2.72 ERA, 2.25 K/BB rate, and a 6.7 K/9 over 36 1/3 innings this season. While he doesn’t miss many bats, Floro has consistently been able to keep the ball on the ground over his seven-year pro career, including a 56.8% grounder rate in 2018. He has also done a good job of limiting contact, as his .282 xwOBA is notably lower than his .307 wOBA.
Floro’s skillset makes him a logical fit in a Dodgers bullpen that has had some issues keeping the ball in the park, as the L.A. relief corps ranks in the bottom half of all bullpens in HR/9. Dodgers relievers generally rank around the middle of the pack in most categories, and the team was known to have been looking around (particularly at the Marlins) for some bullpen help to bolster a unit that has been thinned by injuries. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Dodgers weren’t done with their relief shopping prior to the deadline, as while Floro has been effective this year, he isn’t a proven commodity with only 61 career Major League innings under his belt.
This is actually the second time Floro has been in the Dodgers’ system, as the club selected him off waivers from the Cubs last summer before letting him go as a free agent after the season. Neal is another former Dodger, who was dealt to the Reds back in April as part of a three-player trade. The 29-year-old Neal saw lot of action (70 innings) right out of the gate in his 2016 rookie season as a member of the A’s, though he has since tossed just 15 2/3 big league frames. He’ll likely continue to pitch in Triple-A, potentially replacing Corcino as minor league relief and swingman depth if Corcino is lost on DFA waivers.
Corcino tossed four innings for L.A. this season, which marked his first bit of MLB action since 18 2/3 innings for the Reds back in 2014. The 27-year-old has a 4.06 ERA, 8.2 K/9, and 2.05 K/BB rate over 838 1/3 minor league innings in the farm systems of the Reds, Cubs, and Dodgers.
This is the Reds’ second trade of international bonus pool space in the last three days. Cincinnati can’t spend more than $300K on any single international prospect in this year’s July 2 class due to past overages (under the old int’l signing rules), and with a large pool of $6,025,400 to work with, it isn’t surprising that the Reds have unloaded some of that cash to the Red Sox and now the Dodgers to obtain some other young talent. It isn’t known how much Cincy is sending to Los Angeles, though international pool funds can only be dealt in $250K increments.
Marinan is the most notable prospect name in the trade, with MLB.com ranking him 21st amongst Dodgers farmhands (Baseball America had Marinan 24th in their preseason ranking of Los Angeles’ top 30 minor leaguers). A fourth-round pick in the 2017 draft, Marinan is still just 19 years old, and he has a 1.95 ERA over 27 2/3 innings at the rookie ball level, albeit with a troubling 5.9 BB/9. MLB.com’s scouting report lists the young righty at 6’5″ and 220 pounds, and describes him as possessing a fastball in the 92-96mph range, a slider, and “an upper-70s curveball that features good depth when he stays on top of it.”
Zabala is another young arm joining the Reds’ farm system, a 21-year-old signed out of the Dominican Republic who is in his fifth season of pro ball. Zabala has worked exclusively as a reliever since 2015, and he has a career 5.05 ERA, 7.5 K/9, and 1.26 K/BB over 164 innings.
Dodgers Select Daniel Corcino, Transfer Dennis Santana To 60-day DL
The Dodgers have selected the contract of right-hander Daniel Corcino, the team announced today. To make room for him on the 40-man, they’ve transferred fellow righty Dennis Santana to the 60-day DL. The switch-pitching Pat Venditte was optioned to Triple-A to make room on the active roster.
It’s been an impressive season thus far for the 27-year-old Corcino, who’s pitched to a 1.95 ERA thus far in 37 Triple-A innings this season. Things haven’t been perfectly rosy, as his 3.54 FIP and 4.62 xFIP might indicate, but he’s struck out almost a batter an inning and has a walk rate (3.5 BB/9) and ground ball rate (41.5%) that are at least passable. He’s made six starts in Triple-A and four relief appearances.
As for Santana, J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group reports that his rotator cuff injury could potentially sideline him until late August. That’s noteworthy considering he’d be eligible to be activated from the 60-day DL as early as August 8th. Concurringly, manager Dave Roberts has stated that while Santana isn’t a surgery candidate, he won’t even so much as pick up a baseball for at least a few weeks (h/t Bill Shaikin of the LA Times). The righty allowed five earned runs across 3 2/3 innings in his only MLB appearance this season, but carries a solid track record of run prevention and high strikeouts in the upper minors.
Minor MLB Transactions: 5/20/17
Here are the latest minor moves from around the baseball world, with the newest transactions at the top of the post…
- The Dodgers have signed righty Daniel Corcino to a minor league deal. Corcino was with the Dodgers organization from 2015-16, though he didn’t see any major league action during that time. The 26-year-old’s only experience at the game’s highest level came with Cincinnati in 2014, when he pitched to a 4.34 ERA over 18 2/3 innings. Corcino, who opened this year with 9 1/3 subpar innings as a member of the Cubs’ Double-A affiliate, has logged a 4.19 ERA, 8.0 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 750 career minor league frames.
EARLIER TODAY
- The Reds purchased the contract of right-hander Asher Wojciechowski from Triple-A, the team announced. In corresponding moves, catcher Stuart Turner was placed on the 10-day DL with a right hamstring strain and righty Nefi Ogando was moved to the 60-day DL. Wojciechowski signed a minor league deal with the Reds last month after being released by the D’Backs near the end of Spring Training. The righty was selected 41st overall in the 2010 draft by the Blue Jays and he has 16 1/3 innings in the majors to his name, all with the Astros in 2015.
- Craig Gentry accepted his outright assignment to the Orioles‘ Triple-A affiliate, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko tweets. Gentry was outrighted off Baltimore’s 40-man roster earlier this week, and he had the option of rejecting that assignment to become a free agent, though he has clearly chosen to remain in the organization. The veteran outfielder hit .162/.256/.270 in 44 plate appearance for the O’s this season.
- The Marlins outrighted Mike Aviles to Triple-A yesterday, as per a team announcement. Aviles was signed to a minor league deal less than two weeks ago and was already promoted for a brief stint in the bigs due to Miami’s lack of infield depth, though Aviles was designated for assignment after Christian Colon was claimed off waivers.