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Minor MLB Transactions: 4/1/17

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Saturday’s minor moves:

  • The Red Sox have selected the contract of right-hander Ben Taylor, who will open the season in their bullpen. Prior to Saturday, the 24-year-old hadn’t gotten above Double-A since the Red Sox selected him in the seventh round of the 2015 draft. Taylor held his own at that level last year, when the reliever recorded a 3.44 ERA, 11.12 K/9 and 3.18 BB/9 in 34 innings, and fared well in spring training as a non-roster invitee. MLB Pipeline ranks Taylor as Boston’s 19th-best prospect.
  • The Tigers have released left-hander Travis Blackley, per an announcement from the veteran (Twitter link via Evan Woodbery of MLive.com). Blackley, who joined the Tigers on a minor league deal in December, didn’t pitch in the majors in any of the previous three seasons. Since 2014, the well-traveled 34-year-old has seen action in his native Australia, Japan, Mexico and Triple-A New Orleans. Blackley owns a 5.23 ERA, 6.17 K/9, 3.78 BB/9 and a 43.3 percent ground-ball rate in 192 2/3 major league innings (82 appearances, 26 starts).

Tigers To Re-Sign Daniel Stumpf

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The Tigers have agreed to re-sign lefty Daniel Stumpf to a Major League deal and added him to their 40-man roster, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press tweets. Stumpf, who the Tigers had placed on waivers earlier this week, elected free agency after clearing waivers and before agreeing to his new deal.

The Tigers took Stumpf from the Royals in last winter’s Rule 5 Draft. He became eligible for free agency after clearing waivers because he had previously been selected in the Rule 5 Draft and returned — he pitched five innings for the Phillies in 2016 before being offered back to the Royals. It appears, then, that the Tigers were willing to re-sign him to a big-league deal after he declared free agency because they could then option him to the minors, despite his having been a Rule 5 pick previously and the fact that he will again occupy a spot on their 40-man.

Stumpf pitched a total of 41 1/3 innings of relief in the minors last season, posting a 2.83 ERA, 8.5 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 with four separate affiliates in two organizations. He has a history as a starter and has shown the ability to pitch multiple-inning stretches. He threw his fastball in the 92-MPH range in his stint with the Phillies last season, also throwing a slider and change.

Steven Moya Clears Waivers

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March 31: Moya went unclaimed on waivers, reports Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link), meaning he can now be sent outright to Triple-A and remain in the organization without occupying a spot on the 40-man roster. Indeed, the Tigers have announced that’s just what they’ve done.

March 29, 2:29pm: Moya is actually on outright waivers, not release waivers, Stark clarifies on Twitter. Regardless, he’s departing the 40-man roster and can be taken by another organization. If he does clear waivers, though, Detroit would be able to retain control.

2:20pm: The Tigers have placed outfielder Steven Moya on release waivers, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark (via Twitter). The move provides some clarity to the organization’s outfield situation and also clears a 40-man spot.

Moya, who’s still just 25, entered the season without any options remaining, so it was a make-or-break spring. The former organizational top prospect failed to impress, however, hitting just .192/.208/.288.

Long considered a risky prospect, showing big power but a suspect on-base approach as he climbed the ladder, Moya has seen his star fade of late. He has failed to show much at all in his brief time in the majors, slashing .250/.293/.452 with fifty strikeouts and just eight walks in 133 total plate appearances.

Moya did post a .500 slugging percentage in his 100 trips to the MLB plate last year, so there’s plenty of reason to believe the power will play at the game’s highest level. And he lowered his strikeout rate to 22.5% in his 426 Triple-A plate appearances in 2016, though he also walked just 3.5% of the time and managed only a .310 OBP.

Daniel Stumpf Clears Waivers

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March 31: Stumpf has cleared waivers, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports (via Twitter). The club announced he has been offered back to Kansas City, though as noted he could also elect free agency.

March 30: The Tigers have placed lefty Daniel Stumpf on waivers, the pitcher himself told reporters including Evan Woodberry of MLive.com (via Twitter). He was taken in the Rule 5 draft last winter from the Royals.

Because Stumpf was previously taken in the Rule 5 draft and returned to K.C. — last summer, he was shipped back from the Phillies — he’s in something of a unique situation, as Woodberry notes. If he clears waivers, Stumpf would have the right to reject an assignment with the Royals and instead take free agency.

Stumpf, now 26, only made a few MLB appearances last year because he first served a PED suspension. He was assigned to Double-A by the Royals, where he worked to a 2.11 ERA with 11.0 K/9 against 1.7 BB/9 — thus setting up his latest Rule 5 adventure. He failed to follow up on that this spring, though, allowing four earned runs on five hits and five walks while striking out eight opposing hitters in 8 2/3 frames.

Tigers Sign Bryan Holaday To Minors Deal

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The Tigers announced on Friday that they’ve signed catcher Bryan Holaday to a minor league contract. With the new contract, the 29-year-old Lagardere Sports client will return to the organization with which he spent the first six seasons of his pro career.

Holaday also spent the bulk of 2016 Spring Training with the Tigers, but as an out-of-options player he ultimately found himself traded to the Rangers. He’d go on to split the ’16 season between Texas and Boston, hitting a combined .231/.281/.359 in 129 plate appearances over the life of 44 games. That production bears a striking resemblance to the lifetime .245/.282/.346 batting line that Holaday has accumulated across 411 plate appearances in parts of five Major League seasons.

This past offseason, Holaday inked a minor league pact with the Phillies, but he exercised his opt-out clause earlier this week when Philadelphia elected to name young Andrew Knapp as the backup to Cameron Rupp.

The Tigers will send Holaday to Triple-A Toledo to start the season, as they’ll go with James McCann and Alex Avila as their primary catching tandem to open the season. Holaday, though, will give them a familiar face to serve as a depth option in the event of an injury to either McCann or Avila.

Mariners, Mark Lowe Agree To Minor League Deal

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6:04pm: It’s a minor league contract for Lowe, reports Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune (on Twitter). The right-hander will head to Triple-A Tacoma to begin the season.

4:08pm: Shortly after being cut loose by the Tigers, veteran right-hander Mark Lowe is set to sign a deal to return to the Mariners, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter). The 33-year-old Lowe is represented by Frye McCann Sports.

Mark Lowe

Seattle is where Lowe revitalized his career back in 2015. After throwing just 18 2/3 innings big league innings from 2013-14, Lowe inked a minors deal in Seattle and proved to be one of the best minor league pickups of the offseason; in 36 innings with Seattle that season, Lowe turned in a ridiculous 1.00 ERA with a 47-to-11 K/BB ratio. That performance led to a trade to the Blue Jays, where Lowe took a step back but still logged a 3.79 ERA with a 14-to-1 K/BB ratio in 19 innings, helping the Jays to the postseason.

That terrific rebound campaign led the Tigers to commit to Lowe in the form of a two-year, $11MM contract, but that deal yielded disastrous results. Lowe’s average fastball velocity dipped from 95.5 mph in 2015 to 92.4 mph, and he stumbled to a 7.11 earned run average. Lowe did still strike out nearly a batter per inning, but his BB/9 rate shot from 2.0 to 3.8, and he went from averaging 0.65 HR/9 to 2.19 HR/9 as a member of the Tigers.

It’s not clear whether the Mariners are signing Lowe to a Major League deal or a minor league deal, but the financial commitment will be minimal either way. The Tigers are paying Lowe $5.5MM this year as part of the aforementioned two-year contract, and the Mariners would only be on the hook for the Major League minimum of $535,000 (or the pro-rated version of that sum, for whatever time Lowe spends in the Majors).

As it stands, the Mariners’ bullpen is slated to be anchored by flamethrowing right-hander Edwin Diaz, who emerged as a dominant closing option for manager Scott Servais last season. Also likely to be in the relief corps are right-handers Nick Vincent, Evan Scribner, Dan Altavilla and Casey Fien, while left-hander Marc Rzepczynski will be locked into a spot after signing his own two-year, $11MM contract this winter. Right-handers Tony Zych, Steve Cishek and Shae Simmons are all currently being slowed by injuries.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Tigers Release Mike Pelfrey

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The Tigers have released veteran righty Mike Pelfrey, per a club announcement. Detroit will remain obligated for the $8MM owed to him for the coming season.

Pelfrey, 33, has struggled since inking a two-year pact with the team last winter. In 2016, he worked to an unsightly 5.07 ERA with just 4.2 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 over 119 frames. And he was torched for 15 earned runs on 24 hits in his 17 innings this spring.

The Tigers were said to be looking for a taker for the righty, even offering to pick up some or all of his remaining salary, but it seems no other organization was interested in adding Pelfrey to its 40-man roster. Still, he seems an easy bet to land a minor-league deal from a club looking to bolster its depth.

AL Central Notes: Haley, Twins, Rondon, Infante, Tigers, Chisenhall

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Here’s the latest on some final roster decisions being made in the AL Central:

  • Rule 5 righty Justin Haley will crack the Twins’ Opening Day roster, as Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reported on Twitter and skipper Paul Molitor later confirmed. He and Michael Tonkin will round out the Minnesota pen to start the season. Though Haley allowed nine earned runs on 19 hits in his 16 1/3 frames this spring, he carried a 13:4 K/BB ratio and evidently showed enough to warrant a shot at holding a MLB roster spot for the full season.
  • The Twins will likely place infielder Ehire Adrianza on the DL to open the season, as Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press tweets. He is dealing with an oblique issue. That injury may help the club resolve some of its final roster decisions; both Adrianza and fellow utility candidate Eduardo Escobar are out of options. Minnesota is expected to announce its remaining roster calls tomorrow.
  • Though he’s still going to be on the Opening Day roster, righty Bruce Rondon has shown diminished velocity this spring. Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said he has some concerns about the once-hyped reliever, as Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports on Twitter. Rondon has issued six walks and allowed six earned runs over his 6 1/3 spring innings. Meanwhile, as MLB.com’s Jason Beck tweets, Ausmus confirmed that Matt Boyd will join the rotation to open the year, with Anibal Sanchez very likely heading to the pen, as was reported yesterday (though as noted below, there’s still some uncertainty in the staff).
  • Veteran infielder Omar Infante was among the Tigers’ camp cuts today, possibly setting him up to opt out from his deal next week, as Beck notes on Twitter. Infante showed well in camp, slashing .351/.368/.486, and Beck suggests it’s unlikely he’ll pass on an opportunity to test the open market if Detroit doesn’t change its mind about his roster placement. Ausmus did say, though, that he believes Infante would be willing to take a Triple-A assignment if he can’t find a major league job elsewhere, Evan Woodberry of MLive.com tweets.
  • The Tigers also sent out 31-year-old outfielder Alex Presley, despite the fact that he put up a ridiculous .452/.528/.839 batting line in camp. Ausmus says he told Presley to be prepared for a call-up at any time, though, as Woodberry tweets. Otherwise, Ausmus played things close to the vest, Woodberry writes, as the skipper declined to give clarity to the team’s intentions in the outfield. With Presley out of the picture, it seems that Tyler Collins and JaCoby Jones could share time in center while Mikie Mahtook and Steven Moya do the same to cover for the injured J.D. Martinez in right. But Ausmus seemingly hinted there could be some moves in the works that would change the complexion of the roster, so there’s still plenty of uncertainty.
  • The Indians will place Lonnie Chisenhall on the 10-day DL to open the year, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets. But the shoulder injury he suffered in a recent collision with the outfield wall doesn’t seem likely to keep him out for much more than the minimum. For the time being, at least, Abraham Almonte will take a spot on the active roster.

Quick Hits: Pagan, Tigers, Giants, M. Upton, Rangers, Brewers, BoSox

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The expectation is that free agent outfielder Angel Pagan will choose his next team in the coming days, reports Jim Bowden of ESPN.com. The Tigers are among the clubs that have shown interest in Pagan, according to both Bowden and Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press. However, a Pagan-Tigers union “doesn’t sound like a real possibility,” per Fenech (Twitter link). While Bowden also relays that the Giants are in on Pagan, Andrew Baggarly of the Bay Area News Group tweets otherwise.  Pagan, of course, spent the previous half-decade in San Francisco.

More from around the majors as Opening Day draws closer:

  • It’s likely that outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. will make the Blue Jays, but it’s not a lock, according to Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com. The last spot on the team figures to go to either Upton, whom Toronto acquired last summer from San Diego, or out-of-options middle infielder Ryan Goins. While Upton will make $16.45MM in 2017, the final season of the five-year, $75.25MM contract he signed with the Braves in 2012, the Padres are on the hook for most of that money. The Blue Jays only took on $5MM of the remaining $22MM-plus Upton had coming his way when they traded for him. The 32-year-old was amid a decent season at that point, but he closed the campaign by slashing just .196/.261/.318 in 165 plate appearances as a Jay.
  • The Rangers are in talks with right-hander Dillon Gee about restructuring his contract, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Gee, who has an opt-out for Wednesday, is in line to make a guaranteed $2MM if he takes the last spot in the Rangers’ bullpen. That’s unpalatable to the Rangers, who might want to send Gee to the minors during the season; however, Gee would be able to refuse such an assignment because of service time and still collect the $2MM. Grant suggests the two sides should work out a minor league split, meaning Gee would earn a prorated $2MM in the majors and a lesser salary in the minors.
  • First baseman Jesus Aguilar has made the Brewers’ roster, reports Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link). Aguilar cracking Milwaukee’s roster seemed like a long shot at the outset of camp, but the February waiver wire pickup from the Indians has since recorded a video game-like, major league-best 1.395 OPS in 54 spring at-bats. The right-handed, out-of-options Aguilar could pair with fellow first baseman Eric Thames, a lefty-swinger, to give the Brewers a powerful tandem at the position.
  • Red Sox infielder Marco Hernandez came up as a trade candidate last week, when it appeared he had no place on the club’s roster, though an injury to Rule 5 pick Josh Rutledge may have created room. Rutledge suffered a strained left hamstring Tuesday, and Hernandez could be the beneficiary, notes Scott Lauber of ESPN.com. The problem is that the Red Sox want a right-handed hitter to complement corner infielders Mitch Moreland and Pablo Sandoval, but Hernandez is a lefty.

Tigers To Use Anibal Sanchez In Relief; Shopping Mike Pelfrey

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The Tigers appear to be waving the white flag with a pair of longtime starters set to rake in sizable paydays this year. Right-hander Anibal Sanchez will open the season as a long reliever, according to Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press. Meanwhile, the team is shopping fellow righty Mike Pelfrey, and it’s willing to eat his $8MM salary, tweets Fenech.

Sanchez is entering what should be the last year of his contract, though the Tigers will still have to pay a $5MM buyout for 2018 if they don’t exercise his $16MM club option. In 2017, the 33-year-old will collect $16MM as part of the five-year, $80MM deal the Tigers awarded him in 2012. Sanchez had established himself as a terrific starter at that time, as he combined for a 3.75 ERA, 7.59 K/9, 3.31 BB/9 and a 44.5 percent ground-ball rate over 869 innings with the Marlins and Tigers. While his quality pitching continued through 2014, he has since posted a 5.42 ERA in 310 1/3 frames. A bloated home run-to-fly ball rate and drops in grounders, velocity and swinging strikes are among the prime culprits for Sanchez’s recent decline. To his credit, he did generate infield pop-ups at a 14.2 percent rate the past two years and log decent strikeout and walk rates of 7.92 and 2.96 per nine.

The bullpen isn’t totally foreign to Sanchez, who totaled nine of his 11 career relief appearances last season. Left-hander Matt Boyd, whom the Tigers acquired from the Blue Jays in 2015 as part of a deal centering on David Price, will take over for Sanchez and join Justin Verlander, Michael Fulmer, Daniel Norris and Jordan Zimmermann in Detroit’s rotation. The 26-year-old Boyd owns a 5.64 ERA and 5.43 FIP in 154 2/3 big league innings, but his repertoire provides reason for hope, as FanGraphs’ Jeff Sullivan explained earlier this month.

As for Pelfrey, 33, his two-year, $16MM contract has been a head-scratcher since the Tigers signed him to it an offseason ago. Pelfrey was OK at times with the Mets and Twins from 2007-14, but the former top prospect has never been either a high-strikeout or low-walk hurler in the majors. He spent most of last season in the rotation (22 starts in 24 appearances) and registered a 5.07 ERA, 4.24 K/9 and 3.48 BB/9 in 119 innings. If he makes the Tigers this year, he’ll work from the bullpen. The Tigers ate reliever Mark Lowe’s $5.5MM over the weekend after a lousy 2016, though, so it’s possible they’ll also release Pelfrey if a taker isn’t found via trade.

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