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AL Notes: Athletics, Astros, Rays

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With Athletics executive vice president Billy Beane in his 20th year atop the team’s baseball department, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle takes an interesting look at his legacy. Beane’s best known as the subject of the 2003 book “Moneyball,” which has made the executive an iconic figure in business circles, Slusser writes. The author, Michael Lewis, told Slusser that Beane “made it cool to bring science into player evaluation, and because of that, every businessperson in America wants to meet him.” Lewis’ book followed the 2002 A’s, who won 103 games and were part of a run that included four straight playoff berths and eight consecutive seasons of at least 87 victories for the franchise. The low-payroll A’s haven’t been nearly that successful in recent years (they’ll finish well below .500 for the third season in a row in 2017), in part because of the trade that sent third baseman Josh Donaldson to Toronto in 2014. Beane offered an unenthusiastic review of the move to Slusser, saying: “In hindsight, that was certainly questionable — and I’m being kind to myself. There were a number of reasons why, and Josh was a good player who became a great player — but when you make as many transactions as we do, some are going to be good and some are not going to be good.”

While the Donaldson deal will likely go down as a misfire, Beane’s entire body of work has clearly earned him the respect of his peers across big league front offices, as Slusser details in a piece that’s worthy of a full read.

More from the American League:

  • The Astros announced a series of front office changes on Friday, as Brian McTaggart of MLB.com details in full. The mutual parting between the team and assistant director of player personnel Quinton McCracken was among those moves. McCracken, who had been in the Astros’ front office since 2012 and even drew interest from Boston when it was looking for a GM in 2015, talked about his exit with Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle. “(With) the recent reconfiguration of the front office staff, we mutually agreed it was best for me to pursue other opportunities in the baseball community,” McCracken said. “It was a mutual agreement. My contract was due at the end of this cycle, and we decided that it just wasn’t a proper fit moving forward.” McCracken’s departure comes on the heels of the Astros firing eight scouts earlier this month.
  • Signing infielder Danny Espinosa and optioning Daniel Robertson to the minors is the latest example of the Rays balancing the present and the future, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times observes. While Espinosa struggled mightily this season in stints with the Angels and Mariners, both of whom released him, the 23-year-old Robertson wasn’t exactly indispensable to the Rays’ lineup during his first 223 major league plate appearances (.211/.302/.340). But if the former top 100 prospect does develop into a quality big leaguer, Tampa Bay could end up controlling him for another year thanks in part to the Espinosa signing, Topkin points out. If Robertson stays in the minors for at least 20 days, he won’t accrue a year of service time this season, putting him on pace to become a free agent entering 2024 instead of 2023.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/16/17

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Here are some of the latest minor moves from around the game, courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy except where otherwise noted:

  • The Mariners outrighted right-hander Christian Bergman to Triple-A after he cleared waivers, per a club announcement. Bergman, 29, had the right to opt for free agency now or at the end of the season; given that he’s now listed on Tacoma’s roster, it seems he’ll wait and consider the latter option when the time comes. Bergman, 29, has thrown 51 1/3 innings on the year for Seattle, working to a 4.91 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9.
  • Outfielder Daniel Robertson will return to the Indians on a minors deal after being designated for assignment and then released, the club announced. The 31-year-old has appeared in each of the past four MLB campaigns — each time with a different team.  This year, he took 88 plate appearances for Cleveland, slashing .225/.287/.338. While it’s not clear whether Robertson will factor at the major league level again this year, the fleet-footed, high-contact 31-year-old could conceivably make for a useful bench piece once rosters expand in September.
  • The Diamondbacks have added right-handers Andury Acevedo and Louis Coleman on minors deals. Acevedo, who’ll soon turn 27, was intriguing enough to land a 40-man spot with the Cubs a few years back, but has yet to show any consistency on the mound in the upper minors. As for Coleman, who threw 48 innings of 4.69 ERA ball last year for the Dodgers, he’ll return to Arizona after briefly testing the open market. He has worked to a 2.05 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 over 57 innings this year in stints with the D-Backs’ and Reds’ top affiliates.
  • Heading to the Reds on a minors deal is slugging outfielder Adam Walker. He has bounced around via waiver claims and minor-league deals of late, seeing time in three organizations thus far in 2017. All told, he has compiled a tepid .185/.220/.410 batting line — with a dozen home runs but also 88 strikeouts against just ten walks — in his 241 plate appearances in the upper minors.
  • The White Sox released infielder Grant Green, who had previously seen brief action in the majors this year with the Nationals. On the season, Green owns an overall .232/.306/.300 slash over 245 plate appearances at the Triple-A level with those two organizations. The 29-year-old was once considered a notable possible contributor with the Athletics and Angels, but has managed only a .248/.283/.336 batting line in his 353 trips to the plate in the majors.
  • Six-year MLB veteran Collin Cowgill has been released by the Padres. Cowgill, 31, joined the organization on a minors deal over the winter, but never earned a crack at a return to the majors. He carries a .235/.297/.390 slash through 220 plate appearances
  • Finally, the Rangers have released lefty Bobby LaFromboise and righty Jaye Chapman. The former has made 27 MLB appearances and shown some intriguing numbers at times, but struggled last year at Triple-A with the Phillies and was sidelined for much of the current season. The 30-year-old Chapman, meanwhile, is looking to work back toward the majors for the first time since his lone stint back in 2012. But he was hit hard in his 36 2/3 innings at Triple-A Round Rock, with a 6.63 ERA and 6.9 K/9 against 5.2 BB/9.

Indians Designate Daniel Robertson

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The Indians have designated outfielder Daniel Robertson for assignment, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets. His 40-man spot was needed for the just-acquired Jay Bruce.

Robertson, 31, has seen action in each of the past four MLB seasons — including a 32-game run this year in Cleveland. But he has never shown much with the bat, with a cumulative .262/.314/.328 slash over 386 trips to the plate.

Through 178 plate appearances at Triple-A on the year, Robertson is slashing .340/.407/.409 — reflective of his typical blend of excellent plate discipline and little pop. Robertson has also swiped quite a few bags as a professional, though he’s just 7-for-12 at Triple-A this year and has only successfully taken a bag in half of his dozen career attempts in the majors.

AL East Notes: Wieters, Rays, Sanchez, Hanley

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Matt Wieters will return to Baltimore tonight for the first time since signing with the Nationals, and he spoke with Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com about his offseason departure from the Orioles as well the emotions he’s feeling in advance of tonight’s return to Camden Yards. Wieters’ podcast appearance also included talk of Dylan Bundy’s breakout and the experiences he’s had when being managed by two of our generation’s most successful managers: Buck Showalter and Dusty Baker.

Some more AL East-related notes…

  • Though Rickie Weeks has gotten off to a dreadful start to his 2017 campaign with the Rays, the “clock isn’t ticking yet,” writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. It doesn’t appear that Weeks is on the brink of losing his roster spot, despite an ugly .163/.317/.286 batting line to open the season, though Topkin notes that he’ll need to turn things around sooner rather than later. Topkin also notes that the Rays face a decision when Matt Duffy returns from the disabled list late this month. Duffy is in line to be the starter, but the Rays will have to determine if Tim Beckham or Daniel Robertson is the better option to serve as a utility option.
  • Both Aaron Sanchez and the Blue Jays were encouraged by a 33-pitch bullpen session yesterday, writes Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith. Sanchez felt comfortable enough to throw his curveball — the same pitch that has led to the blister issues and a subsequent removal of part of his fingernail — and is now slated to pitch in an extended Spring Training game on Tuesday. If that outing goes well, he’ll be an option to return to Toronto’s rotation this weekend against the Mariners, per Nicholson-Smith.
  • Hanley Ramirez has yet to appear in a game at first base this season due to a shoulder issue, but he’s ready to take the field for the Red Sox’ upcoming interleague series in Milwaukee, writes Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald. That should allow the Red Sox to deepen their lineup against left-handed pitching, he points out, with Chris Young sliding into the DH slot and Ramirez playing at first over the left-handed-hitting Mitch Moreland. While Moreland has more than held his own against southpaws in a small sample of work this season (.879 OPS in 24 plate appearances), he’s struggled against lefties throughout his career. And, as manager John Farrell points out to Mastrodonato, Moreland isn’t accustomed to playing first base on an everyday basis (due largely to his platoon issues), so the ability to keep him fresh by mixing Ramirez in at first base is important in multiple regards.

Rays Designate Nick Franklin For Assignment

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The Rays have designated utilityman Nick Franklin for assignment, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Jumbo Diaz, Daniel Robertson, Mallex Smith and Peter Bourjos have all made the Rays’ Opening Day roster.

The 26-year-old Franklin batted a solid .270/.328/.443 in 191 plate appearances with the Rays in 2016, but he posted subpar defensive numbers and was out of options. He also rarely plays shortstop and therefore doesn’t make an ideal utility infielder, and Rays manager Kevin Cash pointed to Robertson’s ability to back up the shortstop position better than Franklin as a factor in the decision, via a tweet from Topkin. With Smith and Bourjos to back up Colby Rasmus, Kevin Kiermaier and Steven Souza Jr. in the outfield (where Franklin also plays), there was no space for Franklin on the Rays’ roster.

Still, it wouldn’t be a shock if Franklin were claimed on waivers. His versatility, experience, relative youth and modestly useful bat could make him a potential fit for teams seeking to fill out their rosters as Opening Day approaches.

Franklin arrived in Tampa via the Rays’ 2014 three-team trade of David Price — the Rays got Franklin from the Mariners and Drew Smyly and top prospect Willy Adames from the Tigers, with veteran outfielder Austin Jackson heading from Detroit to Seattle. Franklin, though, spent a significant portion of his tenure in the Rays organization in the minors. He has posted a .219/.288/.371 line in parts of four seasons in the big leagues.

Indians Outright Michael Martinez, Sign Daniel Robertson To Minors Deal

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The Indians have announced that they’ve outrighted utilityman Michael Martinez. They’ve also signed outfielder Daniel Robertson to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite.

Martinez, 34, spent 2015 and part of 2016 in the Indians organization before heading to the Red Sox in a minor trade last July. He then headed back to the Indians in August on a waiver claim. He made sporadic appearances with Cleveland throughout its playoff run, collecting three plate appearances and scoring once in the World Series. (His last plate appearance was the ground out that clinched the Cubs’ Game 7 victory.) In the regular season, he appeared at six positions and batted .238/.267/.307 in 106 plate appearances. He was set to make a projected $600K in the arbitration process, a relatively paltry sum, but he still figured to be a non-tender candidate due to his light bat. The Indians still hope to keep Martinez, though — as Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com tweets, they’ve offered him a minor league deal to remain in the organization.

The 31-year-old Robertson spent 2016 in the Mariners organization, batting .287/.357/.412 for Triple-A Tacoma and briefly appearing in the big leagues. Robertson has batted a mere .273/.322/.325 in parts of three seasons in the Majors, but he can play all three outfield positions and has fared reasonably well at the Triple-A level, with an offensive game built heavily around walks and a .362 career Triple-A on-base percentage.

Matt Duffy Expected To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery

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TODAY: Duffy will likely remain active through the end of the week before having the surgery, Topkin tweets.

YESTERDAY: Newly-acquired Rays infielder Matt Duffy is expected to undergo season-ending surgery, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The procedure would “address the lingering soreness stemming from his earlier left Achilles injury,” per the report.

Duffy, acquired as the headliner in the swap that sent Matt Moore to the Giants, has continued to struggle at the plate since heading to Tampa Bay. All told, he owns only a .260/.312/.360 batting line over 364 plate appearances on the year. He has hit five long balls and swiped eight bases, though he has also been caught five times after going 12-for-12 on stolen base attempts a year ago.

The Rays are obviously banking on a return to form at the plate. Duffy benefited from a .336 BABIP in 2015, but nevertheless impressed with a solid .295/.334/.428 batting line. Even with some regression, a slightly above-average bat would conceivably make Duffy a highly valuable asset, as he rated as an outstanding defender at third with strong baserunning contributions last year. There are some questions there, too, however: Duffy hasn’t compiled stellar metrics since converting to short, though it’s a very small sample and he had primarily played at the hot corner of late, and his baserunning numbers took a huge dive in 2016 (-3.0 BsR, per Fangraphs).

Certainly, the nagging injury could go a ways toward explaining Duffy’s assorted struggles. He told Topkin that the soreness has lingered, with particular problems when playing on the turf infield at Tropicana Field. A surgical option has been on the table since June, the infielder noted, but the timeline for making a decision had shortened. “The only thing would be the recovery time,” said Duffy. “We want to be 100 percent sure that we’re ready to go by next season. I guess that’s one of the concerns.”

Tampa Bay still has plenty of time to make good on its end of the bargain, and certainly won’t be overly concerned with keeping Duffy on the field late this year with the postseason out of reach. The club controls him for four more seasons, and will be obligated only for the league minimum in 2017.

The need to replace Duffy for the rest of the season presents the Rays with many options, which Topkin details. Tim Beckham and Taylor Motter do not appear ticketed for the majors, he says, which could open the door for a move back to short for Brad Miller and/or some time there for Nick Franklin. Another player who could get a chance is prospect Daniel Robertson, though Topkin suggests the club may actually be “more likely” to go outside the organization and add a short-term veteran such as Alexei Ramirez.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/22/16

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Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league, each courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise noted…

  • The D-backs have outrighted left-hander Adam Loewen to Triple-A Reno following last week’s DFA. The 32-year-old has spent time as both a pitcher and an outfielder over the life of his pro career but has returned to the mound for the past few seasons. He yielded 10 runs in six big league innings with the D-backs this year but had a 3.43 ERA in 39 1/3 innings with Reno prior to the original purchase of his contract. Loewen has whiffed 44 batters in that time, but he’s also walked 28, demonstrating some significant control problems.
  • Outfielder Daniel Robertson has been outrighted to Triple-A by the Mariners. He, too, was designated for assignment last week but, like Loewen, ultimately cleared waivers. The 30-year-old can handle all three outfield positions and has a solid .289/.361/.394 batting line in parts of five Triple-A seasons to go along with a .277/.322/.325 slash in 298 big league PAs.
  • The Angels have outrighted second baseman Sean Coyle to Double-A after he was designated for assignment last weekend. The Halos picked up the former Red Sox prospect on waivers earlier this year, but his .140/.252/.237 slash in 110 plate appearances with the Angels’ Double-A affiliate led to the loss of his 40-man roster spot.
  • The Angels also released fleet-footed outfielder Quintin Berry from their Triple-A affiliate. The 31-year-old Berry batted .270/.348/.325 with 35 stolen bases in 45 attempts over the life of 100 games/395 plate appearances this season. Berry’s wheels have landed him a big league job in each of the past three Septembers, and another club could look to add him to the 40-man roster when rosters expand in September in order to give its manager a late-inning weapon on the basepaths.
  • Left-hander Josh Outman has been released by the Pirates. The 31-year-old inked a minor league deal with Pittsburgh earlier this summer and wound up posting a 4.95 ERA in 20 innings with the team’s Triple-A affiliate in Indianapolis. That number isn’t exactly eye-catching, but Outman did post a solid 15-to-3 K/BB ratio and, in 23 plate appearances, limited left-handed hitters to a miserable .100/.217/.100 batting line with eight punchouts, so perhaps a team in need of a lefty specialist will consider him for the season’s final month.

Mariners Designate Daniel Robertson For Assignment

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The Mariners announced today that they have designated outfielder Daniel Robertson for assignment in order to clear a spot on the roster for right-hander Joe Wieland, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Tacoma. Wieland will start tonight’s game for Seattle.

[Related: Updated Seattle Mariners Depth Chart]

The 30-year-old Robertson made 21 plate appearances for the Mariners this season and batted .263/.300/316. He’s had limited experience across the past three seasons between Seattle, Anaheim and Texas, compiling a .273/.322/.325 batting line in 298 trips to the plate. The Mariners claimed Robertson off waivers from the Angels this past winter — the second time that GM Jerry Dipoto has claimed Robertson (he also did so when he was the Angels’ GM). Robertson, who is capable of playing all three outfield positions, batted .281/.341/.418 with 14 doubles, seven triples, six homers and 10 steals with Triple-A Tacoma this season.

Wieland, also acquired this offseason (from the Dodgers), started the season terribly and found himself outrighted off the 40-man roster. However, after posting a 17.31 ERA through his first 13 innings, he’s rebounded with a 3.67 ERA and an 83-to-23 K/BB ratio in 90 2/3 innings across his past 17 starts. Wieland looked like a potential rotation option for the Padres when he came up as a 22-year-old back in 2012 but underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2013 season. Since that time he’s been traded from San Diego to Los Angeles (in the Matt Kemp blockbuster) and struggled to stick in the big leagues. Now 26 years of age, Wieland has a 5.85 ERA in 47 2/3 Major League innings, though his recent work in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League is certainly more encouraging.

Outrighted: Rondon, Monell, Cunniff, Robertson

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In addition  to the large number of minor signings and waiver claims today, there have been quite a few outrights from around the league. Righty A.J. Achter has already been outrighted by the Angels, but here are the rest of the day’s outright assignments…

  • The Pirates have outrighted right-hander Jorge Rondon to Triple-A Indianapolis. While Rondon hadn’t been previously designated for assignment, the Buccos needed to clear a roster spot to make way for John Jaso and his new two-year contract, and Rondon was the 40-man casualty. Rondon carried a 2.23 ERA over 60 2/3 innings at Triple-A last year, with 7.4 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9. He was once rated among the top thirty prospects of the Cardinals, and has a track record of solid, if unspectacular, numbers in the minors.
  • The Mets have outrighted catcher Johnny Monell to Triple-A Las Vegas, according to ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin (Twitter link). Monell was designated for assignment last week when the team needed a roster spot for the recently re-signed Bartolo Colon. Monell, 30 next March, received his second taste of Major League action last season, collecting a career-high 52 plate appearances with New York. Prior to that, his lone experience in the big leagues was a brief eight-game stint with the 2013 Giants (nine plate appearances). In the Majors, Monell is a .161/230/.196 hitter across his small sample of 61 PAs, but he has a sound track record in the minors, where he’s put together a .279/.356/.455 batting line with 31 homers across 1012 PAs in Triple-A.
  • Right-hander Brandon Cunniff has been outrighted to Triple-A Gwinnett by the Braves after clearing waivers, according to a tweet from the team. A former 27th-round draft pick by the Marlins, Cunniff spent three seasons in the independent Frontier League following his brief minor league career with the Marlins. The Braves plucked him from the indy circuit in June of 2013, and he rather quickly rose through their ranks over the past two years. Cunniff posted a brilliant 2.02 ERA in Double-A and jumped directly to the Majors, where he posted a 4.63 ERA with a 37-to-22 K/BB ratio in 35 innings.
  • MLB.com’s Greg Johns tweets that outfielder Daniel Robertson has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A by the Mariners after being designated for assignment last week. Robertson lost his roster spot to the re-signed Hisashi Iwakuma but is clearly a player valued by GM Jerry Dipoto, who acquired him from Texas while serving as GM of the Angels and again picked him up from the Halos this winter after taking over the Mariners’ GM job. In 277 career plate appearances, Robertson is a .274/.324/.325 hitter. He also boasts a solid minor league track record and is capable of playing all three outfield positions, making him a valuable depth option for a big league team.

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