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Minor MLB Transactions: 2/15/2021

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Some minor league moves from around the sport…

  • Former Tigers infielder Dawel Lugo will play 2021 with the expansion Mariachis of Guadalajara of the Mexican League, per Evan Woodbery of the MLive Media Group (via Twitter). The 26-year-old Lugo spent time in each of the past three seasons on the Tigers’ roster, though with just 11 plate appearances in 2020. In all, Lugo owns a .236/.270/.358 batting line, 61 wRC+, over 400 plate appearances with a 20.0 percent strikeout rate and 4.0 percent career walk rate. Lugo was signed back in 2011 by the Blue Jays as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic. He was sent from Toronto to the Diamondbacks for Cliff Pennington in 2015 and then on to Detroit as part of 2017’s J.D. Martinez deal. He ranked among his organization’s top-30 prospect by Baseball America in every season from 2013 to 2019 except for 2016. Most recently, he was the Tigers’ No. 17 prospect before the 2019 season as a versatile, contact-oriented infielder with some potential for doubles power.

Tigers Designate John Schreiber For Assignment

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The Tigers announced that they have designated right-hander John Schreiber for assignment to make room for newly signed outfielder Nomar Mazara.

Schreiber, a Michigan native whom the Tigers chose in the 15th round of the 2016 draft, came out of their bullpen in each of the previous two seasons. The 26-year-old has totaled 28 2/3 innings in the majors thus far and recorded a 6.28 ERA, though some of his other numbers are far more encouraging. For instance, Schreiber has logged a 3.65 SIERA with strikeout and walk percentages that check in far above average (25.6 and 6.2 percent, respectively).

Schreiber has accrued 59 1/3 innings in Triple-A ball, where he has pitched to an excellent 2.28 ERA and amassed 70 strikeouts against 21 walks. He has three minor league options left, so some other team could take a chance on him in a trade or via waivers in the next week.

Braves Claim Travis Demeritte From Tigers

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The Braves have claimed infielder/outfielder Travis Demeritte off waivers from the Tigers, per announcements from both teams. Atlanta released right-hander Jeremy Walker in a corresponding move.

Demeritte was the 30th overall pick of the Rangers in 2013, but they traded him to the Braves in 2016 for pitchers Lucas Harrell and Dario Alvarez. Demeritte stayed with the Braves until they sent him to the Tigers at the 2019 trade deadline in a deal for reliever Shane Greene. He combined for 219 plate appearances as a Tiger from 2019-20 and batted .217/.264/.323 with three home runs. The Tigers designated the 26-year-old Demeritte for assignment last week. Despite his woes in the bigs, Demeritte’s a .286/.387/.558 hitter in 399 PA in Triple-A with two minor league options remaining, so he could have a legitimate second act with the Braves.

Walker, 25, was a fifth-rounder of the Braves in 2016 who worked his way to the majors in 2019, when he tossed 9 1/3 innings and surrendered just two earned runs on nine hits and four walks (with six strikeouts). Walker impressed at the Double-A and Triple-A levels before then, but he didn’t pitch at all last year because of shoulder problems.

Tigers To Sign Nomar Mazara

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The Tigers are closing in on a deal with free-agent outfielder Nomar Mazara, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports. It’s a major league contract that will pay Mazara $1.75MM plus incentives, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network.

Mazara was a much-ballyhooed prospect in his younger days, as he entered the pro ranks with a whopping $5MM bonus from the Rangers when he signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2011. He topped out as Baseball America’s No. 21 overall prospect in 2016, when he debuted in the majors and played his age-21 season. Mazara got off to a nice start then relative to age, hitting .266/.320/.419 with 20 home runs in 568 plate appearances, but hasn’t progressed much since then.

From 2017-19 as a Ranger, Mazara hit .259/.320/.440 with 59 homers and just 1.2 fWAR across 1,621 trips to the plate. The Rangers decided to part with Mazara after the last of those seasons, sending him to the White Sox for outfield prospect Steele Walker prior to 2020.

Chicago was obviously hoping the proverbial light bulb would go on for Mazara in its uniform, but that didn’t happen. He wound up slashing a disastrous .228/.295/.294 with a single HR and a microscopic .066 isolated power number in 149 PA. The White Sox saw enough and elected to non-tender Mazara in lieu of paying him a projected $5MM-plus in arbitration in 2021.

Mazara is still only 25, so the Tigers will follow the division-rival White Sox in hoping he’ll be able to tap into his potential sometime soon. The left-handed-hitting Mazara has typically had a terrible time against same-handed pitchers, though he has offered league-average offense versus righties. He could at least emerge in Detroit as a platoon partner for fellow corner outfielder Victor Reyes, who has had trouble against righties during his career.

Tigers Sign Renato Nunez

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The Tigers announced Wednesday that they’ve signed infielder/designated hitter Renato Nunez to a minor league contract with an invite to Major League Spring Training. They also confirmed their previously reported minors pact with infielder Greg Garcia. The Atheltic’s Cody Stavenhagen first reported talks between the Tigers and Nunez, who is represented by Octagon.

Nunez, 26, was designated for assignment by the Orioles back in late November and run through outright waivers. Baltimore would’ve owed him a raise in arbitration and clearly wasn’t keen on paying that out to a player with a rather one-dimensional skill set, and the league largely agreed based both on Nunez clearing waivers and on him settling for a non-guaranteed deal in mid-February.

It’s true that Nunez has been a generally above-average hitter over the past couple seasons, batting at a .247/.314/.469 batting line that translates to a 106 wRC+ and OPS+. Put more simply: he’s been about six percent better than a league-average hitter when adjusting for his league and his home park.

Nunez has some clear pop in his bat, with 43 home runs from 2019-20, but he rarely walks and also has a penchant for both strikeouts (25.4 percent) and infield flies (42). Since Opening Day 2019, 30.6 percent of Nunez’s plate appearances have resulted in a punchout or a pop-up. Add in a below-average 7.5 percent walk rate and questionable defense at both infield corners, and it becomes less surprising that clubs were wary about offering him a guaranteed pact.

All that said, it’s hard to fault Detroit for bringing in an above-average bat to compete for a roster spot this spring. With the Tigers, Nunez will vie for playing time at first base with Jeimer Candelario. He could also make the club as a bench bat, but with Miguel Cabrera still on the books all the way through the 2023 season at $30MM+ per year, there won’t be any DH at-bats available for Nunez anytime soon, barring another lengthy injury absence for Cabrera. And if Nunez does take a step forward, either in terms of his on-base skills or with the glove, Detroit could control him through the 2024 campaign via arbitration.

Tigers, Renato Nunez Discussing Minor League Deal

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The Tigers are discussing a minor league pact with former Orioles first baseman/designated hitter Renato Nunez, tweets Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic. Baltimore designated Nunez for assignment rather than tendering him a contract prior to this December’s deadline.

The Nunez DFA caught some by surprise, given the 26-year-old’s 43 home runs for the O’s over the past two seasons and a modest arbitration projection as a first-time-eligible player. Nunez, however, is a sub-par defender at both infield corners with below-average walk rates that have held back his ability to get on base. Despite the 43 long balls over the past two years, his penchant for strikeouts and pop-ups have coupled with that aversion to walks to produce a .247/.314/.469 batting line.

That’s still a bit north of league-average offensive output, by measure of wRC+ and OPS+ (106), but combined with a lack of any value with the glove, it clearly didn’t lead to much interest in his services. Nunez went unclaimed on waivers even though he’d likely have earned under $4MM in arbitration, and there’s been little in the way of reported interest in him since the Orioles ultimately released him.

Several years ago, Nunez likely would’ve been tendered or at least traded — and had he hit the open market at that time, there’d surely have been stronger interest. Generally speaking, though, clubs have moved away from spending on defensively limited sluggers who carry OBP questions of this magnitude.

Should Nunez and the Tigers come to terms on a deal, he’d presumably head to minor league camp to compete with Jeimer Candelario at first base and as a possible bench bat to give incoming skipper AJ Hinch some pop off the bench. He’s technically controllable through the 2024 season via arbitration, but he’ll need to work on his on-base abilities or considerably improve his glovework to avoid being a non-tender candidate again next winter even if he does make the roster.

Tigers, Greg Garcia Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Tigers and infielder Greg Garcia are in agreement on a minor league pact, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. The Meister Sports client will be invited to Major League Spring Training and compete for a roster spot.

Garcia, 31, has spent the bulk of his career as a utility player with the Cardinals, though he was with the Padres in 2020. That pairing didn’t pan out for either party, as Garcia stumbled with a .200/.279/.250 batting line in 71 plate appearances over the course of 35 games. A year prior, however, he logged a career-high 372 plate appearances and batted .248/.364/.354 with St. Louis.

The left-handed-hitting Garcia carries a career .245/.354/.339 batting line in 1303 plate appearances, and while his OBP has perhaps benefited at times from batting eighth in front of a pitcher in the National League, it’s worth noting that he boasts a strong walk rate at virtually every lineup position in which he’s been placed (including a 13.7 percent mark in 327 plate appearances as a leadoff man). Garcia has experience at second base, shortstop and third base, in addition to brief cameos at first and in left field.

The Tigers re-signed Jonathan Schoop to a one-year deal over the weekend, adding him to an infield mix that also includes Willi Castro, Niko Goodrum and Isaac Paredes. Garcia will compete for a backup spot in camp, but Goodrum’s versatility and the youthful pairing of Paredes and Castro could impede his chances.

Tigers Designate Travis Demeritte

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The Tigers announced that they have designated outfielder Travis Demeritte for assignment. His 40-man roster spot will go to second baseman Jonathan Schoop, whom the team agreed to re-sign Friday.

Demeritte was a first-round pick (No. 3o) of the Rangers in 2013 who became a member of the Braves organization in 2016. The Braves wound up trading Demeritte to the Tigers in a 2019 deal centering on reliever Shane Greene, though Demeritte never made much of a mark in the Motor City. Between 2019-20, Demeritte batted just .217/.284/.323 with three home runs in 219 plate appearances.

Despite his issues in the bigs, Demeritte may appeal to other teams. Still just 26 years old, Demeritte has slashed .286/.387/.558 in 399 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level. He also has two minor league options remaining.

Tigers To Re-Sign Jonathan Schoop

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The Tigers are re-signing second baseman Jonathan Schoop to a one-year, $4.5MM contract, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. Schoop is a client of VC Sports Group.

A member of the Orioles, Brewers and Twins earlier in his career, Schoop signed a $6.1MM deal with the Tigers heading into last season. At his best, Schoop slashed .293/.338/.503 with 32 home runs in 675 plate appearances as an Oriole in 2017. Schoop has never been that effective in any other season, but he did do a nice job last year as a member of the Tigers, with whom he batted .278/.324/.475 with eight homers over 177 trips to the plate. However, the 29-year-old did have a difficult season by Statcast’s standards, ranking way below average in most important categories, including exit velocity, hard-hit rate and expected weighted on-base average.

The Tigers, though, aren’t necessarily pushing for a star at the keystone right now. For the most part, as a rebuilding team that doesn’t figure to fight for a playoff spot in the near future, Detroit wants veteran Band-Aids to fit positions not occupied by younger players. Keeping the 29-year-old Schoop seems to make sense for the Tigers, then, considering they’re only guaranteeing him one more season on their roster. Meanwhile, free agency has lost yet another capable starter at second.

Cubs Claim Sergio Alcantara

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The Cubs have claimed infielder Sergio Alcantara off waivers from the Tigers, per announcements from both clubs. Detroit designated him for assignment last week to make roster space for Wilson Ramos. Chicago’s 40-man roster is up to 38 players.

Alcantara, 24, made his big league debut with the Tigers last season and had three hits, including a homer, in 23 trips to the plate. The long ball was a bit surprising, as Alcantara has shown virtually no power in seven minor league seasons (nine home runs in 2611 plate appearances).

Lack of pop notwithstanding, Alcantara is regarded as a slick-fielding option at shortstop and can handle second and third base as well. He’s yet to play in Triple-A, thanks to the lack of a minor league season in 2020, but is a .261/.340/.317 hitter in parts of two Double-A campaigns. Alcantara is out of minor league options, so he’ll need to either break camp on the Cubs’ Opening Day roster as a defensive-minded utility piece, or else again be exposed to waivers (or traded).

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