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Roster Notes: Tigers, Marlins, Mets, Braves, Padres, Indians

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Here are a few roster moves from around the game:

  • The Tigers announced that, after Friday’s game, they optioned righty William Cuevas to Triple-A Toledo and promoted righty Warwick Saupold to take his place. Cuevas made his 2017 big-league debut Friday and didn’t make a good impression, giving up four runs over just a third of an inning. Saupold was off to a good start for Toledo, allowing just two runs and three walks while striking out nine over 10 2/3 innings.
  • After a 16-inning ballgame depleted the Marlins bullpen, the club has called up southpaw Jarlin Garcia, as Tim Healey of the Sun Sentinel reported. Righty Nick Wittgren was sent back down to Triple-A on optional assignment in a corresponding move.
  • Miami’s opponent in that marathon game, the Mets, also dipped into their farm for an arm. New York announced that Sean Gilmartin will take a spot in the pen. Utilityman T.J. Rivera will be optioned for the time being, though he seems likely to return once the pitching staff gets back on its feet.
  • Braves outfielder Matt Kemp, meanwhile, is slated to return on Wednesday from a hamstring issue, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets, meaning he’d only miss the ten-day minimum. Meanwhile, Atlanta has called up righty Luke Jackson for his first stint with the club. Fellow right-hander Jason Hursh was optioned to create an opening.
  • The Padres have also done some roster tweaking, activating catcher Hector Sanchez from the 7-day concussion DL and also calling back righty Kevin Quackenbush. The club also announced that Jabari Blash and Jake Esch were optioned to make way on the active roster. While Blash has been outrighted off the 40-man in the past, and was only recently re-added when he was recalled, he’ll hold onto his spot for the time being while reporting to Triple-A.
  • The Indians have swapped a pair of righties, with the club announcing that Nick Goody will come up and Shawn Armstrong will head down. The move gave the team a fresh arm after Armstrong threw 49 pitches Thursday. Goody pitched two scoreless innings in his 2017 big-league debut last night.

NL West Notes: Kazmir, Arroyo, Rockies, Blash

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Dodgers left-hander Scott Kazmir threw a five-inning simulated game today and told reporters after the outing that he felt better (Twitter links via Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times). However, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts expressed concern over Kazmir’s velocity to the L.A. media, noting that the southpaw’s fastball was sitting between 82 and 84 mph. Roberts adds that Kazmir is healthy (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick) but now needs to build up sufficient arm strength to restore his velocity. The 33-year-old Kazmir has been slowed this spring by hip tightness that has limited his mobility and hindered his mechanics. He’s vying for a spot at the back of the Dodgers’ rotation and is owed a combined $32MM over the final two seasons of a three-year, $48MM contract (although some of that money is deferred).

More from the division…

  • With Eduardo Nunez entering his final season before free agency, Christian Arroyo could be just one year from serving as the Giants’ primary third baseman, writes John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco GM Bobby Evans wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Arroyo reaching the Majors at some point in 2017, in fact, when asked by Shea. Evans, though, did stress that the emphasis is on first succeeding in Triple-A. Evans noted that from a defensive standpoint, he feels Arroyo is capable of playing any of third base, shortstop or second base, though the Giants obviously have long-term options at both middle infield slots in the form of Brandon Crawford and Joe Panik. Arroyo hit .274/.316/.373 in 119 games as a 21-year-old in the Double-A Eastern League last year.
  • Rockies manager Bud Black said today that a best-case scenario for injured first baseman Ian Desmond and injured catcher Tom Murphy would be for each to return in mid-April (via Thomas Harding of MLB.com). While initial reports suggested that Desmond could be out six weeks, Dr. Donald Sheridan, who performed the surgery on Desmond’s fractured finger, said the operation went so well that the team is now projecting a recovery of four to six weeks. Mark Reynolds, in camp on a minor league deal, figures to make the team and handle first base early in the year in lieu of Desmond.
  • The injury to Padres outfielder Alex Dickerson opens a door for slugger Jabari Blash to get another crack in the Majors, manager Andy Green told reporters on Thursday (including Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune). “Obviously it opens an opportunity for Jabari,” said Green. “We might start entertaining the idea of hitting fly balls to (second/third baseman) Cory Spangenberg to check his versatility level at this point in time, try to give ourselves as many options as possible going into the start of the season.” The 27-year-old Blash was a Rule 5 pick out of the Mariners’ system last year, but the Padres struck a trade to retain his rights and optioned him to the minors before outrighting him off the 40-man roster this past January. Blash struggled in the Majors last year but hit .260/.415/.514 in 229 Triple-A plate appearances.

Outrighted: Anthony Gose, Zach Neal, Jabari Blash

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • The Tigers announced that center fielder Anthony Gose has been outrighted after clearing waivers, per a team announcement. He won’t have an opportunity to reject the assignment, as it’s his first time being outrighted and he hasn’t yet reached three years of major league service. Still just 26, Gose lost his role on the Tigers last year and struggled upon his demotion to the upper minors (in addition to being suspended after a dugout spat with then-Triple-A skipper Lloyd McClendon). He could yet play a role in Detroit’s outfield mix, but will surely need to earn his way back. In 1,252 plate appearances over parts of five seasons in the majors, Gose owns a .240/.309/.348 batting line with 57 steals.
  • Also outrighted following a DFA was Athletics righty Zach Neal. The 28-year-old appeared in the majors for the first time in 2016, posting a 4.24 ERA over 70 innings. Reflecting his long history as a low-strikeout, low-walk hurler, Neal retired just 27 opposing batters via strikes but also put only six on base via the free pass. Having cleared waivers, and lacking the ability to reject an assignment, he’ll provide the A’s with some upper-level pitching depth in 2017.
  • The same fate awaits outfielder Jabari Blash, who’ll stay with the Padres after clearing outright waivers. The 27-year-old didn’t produce at the MLB level and faced a tough path to playing time with numerous others deserving of opportunities in San Diego. But he has been awfully impressive at Triple-A over the last few years, posting a cumulative .246/.364/.550 slash with 45 long balls over 646 total plate appearances.

Padres Designate Jabari Blash

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The Padres have designated outfielder Jabari Blash for assignment, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports (Twitter links). His roster spot will go to righty Trevor Cahill, whose previously reported signing is now official.

Blash, 27, has long been an intriguing talent. He struggled in limited MLB opportunities last year, though he has continued to thrive in the upper minors. In 646 total plate appearances at the Triple-A level, he owns a .246/.364/.550 batting line with 45 home runs.

San Diego had taken Blash in the Rule 5 draft, but couldn’t hold him on the major league roster after his tepid start to the year. The club ultimately acquired his rights permanently via trade, but evidently doesn’t see him as a likely part of the 2017 outfield mix. The Friars have a host of other interesting, largely inexperienced players set to vie for playing time this spring.

[RELATED: Updated Padres Depth Chart]

As for Cahill, you can read more about his deal here. It’s for $1.75MM, and Lin notes that there are also incentives. The particular bonuses available depend upon whether he is utilized as a starter or a reliever, which will presumably be sorted out this spring (and as the season progresses).

Rule 5 Roundup

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We’re just a few months away from this winter’s Rule 5 draft, so it makes sense to take a look back and see how things shook out from the 2015 selections. Several organizations found useful players, even if the most recent class didn’t include an Odubel Herrera-esque breakout sensation. Some of the most recent draftees have probably locked up MLB jobs again for 2017, though others who stuck on a major league roster all year may head back to the minors for further development. (Once a player’s permanent control rights have been secured, his new organization is free to utilize optional assignments as usual for future years.)

Here’s a roundup of the 2015 draft class with the 2016 season in the books:

Keepers

  • Tyler Goeddel, OF, kept by Phillies from Rays: The 23-year-old struggled with the aggressive move to the big leagues, carrying a .192/.258/.291 batting line in 234 trips to the plate, but showed enough for the rebuilding Phillies to hold onto him all year long.
  • Luis Perdomo, RHP, kept by Padres (via Rockies) from Cardinals: It didn’t look good early for Perdomo, but he showed better after moving to the rotation and ended with a rather promising 4.85 ERA over twenty starts. Though he struggled to contain the long ball, and only struck out 6.4 per nine, Perdomo sported a nifty 59.0% groundball rate on the year.
  • Joey Rickard, OF, kept by Orioles from Rays: After opening the year with a bang, Rickard faded to a .268/.319/.377 batting line on the year but held his roster spot in Baltimore. He ended the season on the DL with a thumb injury, though, and may end up at Triple-A for some added seasoning.
  • Joe Biagini, RHP, kept by Blue Jays from Giants: The only Rule 5 pick to appear in the postseason, Biagini was a great find for Toronto. He ended with 67 2/3 innings of 3.06 ERA pitching, with 8.2 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9, and now looks like a potential fixture in the Jays’ relief corps.
  • Matthew Bowman, RHP, kept by Cardinals from Mets: Bowman rounds out a trio of impressive relievers. He contributed 67 2/3 innings with a 3.46 ERA and 6.9 BB/9 against 2.7 BB/9 to go with a monster 61.7% groundball rate.

Retained By Other Means

  • Deolis Guerra, RHP, re-signed by Angels (who selected him from Pirates) after being outrighted: Guerra was in an unusual spot since he had previously been outrighted off of the Bucs’ 40-man roster when he was selected, meaning he didn’t need to be offered back. Los Angeles removed him from the major league roster and then brought him back on a minor league deal, ultimately selecting his contract. Though he was later designated and outrighted by the Halos, Guerra again returned and largely thrived at the major league level, contributing 53 1/3 much-needed pen frames with a 3.21 ERA on the back of 6.1 K/9 against just 1.2 BB/9.
  • Jabari Blash, OF, acquired by Padres (who acquired Rule 5 rights from Athletics) from Mariners: Blash’s intriguing tools weren’t quite ready for the majors, but San Diego struck a deal to hold onto him and was surely impressed with his showing at Triple-A. In his 229 plate appearances there, Blash swatted 11 home runs but — more importantly — carried a .415 OBP with a much-improved 66:41 K/BB ratio.
  • Ji-Man Choi, 1B, outrighted by Angels after Orioles declined return: The 25-year-old scuffled in the bigs but was rather impressive at the highest level of the minors, where he walked nearly as often as he struck out and put up a .346/.434/.527 slash with five home runs in 227 plate appearances.

Returned

  • Jake Cave, OF, returned from Reds to Yankees: After failing to crack Cinci’s roster out of camp, Cave impressed at Double-A but slowed at the highest level of the minors (.261/.323/.401 in 354 plate appearances) upon his return to the New York organization.
  • Evan Rutckyj, LHP, returned from Braves to Yankees: Sent back late in camp, the 24-year-old struggled in limited action on the Yanks’ farm after missing most of the season with elbow issues.
  • Josh Martin, RHP, returned from Padres to Indians: In his first attempt at Triple-A, Martin posted 66 frames of 3.55 ERA pitching with 8.2 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9.
  • Daniel Stumpf, LHP, returned from Phillies to Royals: Slowed by a PED suspension, Stumpf was bombed in a brief MLB stint with the Phils but dominated at Double-A upon his return to K.C., posting a 2.11 ERA with 11.0 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 21 1/3 innings.
  • Chris O’Grady, LHP, returned from Reds to Angels: Sent back in late March, O’Grady compiled a 3.48 ERA over 95 2/3 innings in the upper minors, though he performed much better as a Double-A starter than he did as a Triple-A reliever.
  • Zack Jones, RHP, returned from Brewers to Twins: The 25-year-old was out with a shoulder injury for most of the year, and ended up being sent back to Minnesota in late June, but has shown swing-and-miss stuff when healthy.
  • Blake Smith, RHP, returned from Padres to White Sox: Smith ended up making a brief MLB debut upon his return to Chicago, but spend most of the year pitching well at Triple-A Charlotte, where he ran up a 3.53 ERA in 71 1/3 innings with 9.5 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9.
  • Colin Walsh, INF, returned from Brewers to Athletics: After struggling badly in his major league stint with the Brewers, Walsh went to Oakland’s Triple-A affiliate and put up a .259/.384/.388 bating line over 245 plate appearances.

Padres Acquire Jabari Blash From Mariners

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3:47pm: Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune tweets that the Mariners will receive cash instead of a PTBNL in the deal.

3:06pm: The Padres have struck a deal to acquire outfielder Jabari Blash from the Mariners, per an announcement from Seattle. A player to be named later or cash will return to the M’s in the deal.

Blash, of course, has spent much of the year playing at the major league level for the Friars after being selected in the winter’s Rule 5 draft. San Diego designated him for assignment recently, and Blash evidently cleared waivers and was offered back to his original organization — the Mariners, who had declined to protect him in the offseason by adding him to their 40-man.

Clearly, the Padres are more enamored of Blash’s future prospects than is his former team. The 26-year-old will head to Triple-A to attempt to refine his hitting, which wasn’t possible when San Diego controlled his Rule 5 rights.

Blash struggled to a .120/.241/.160 batting line with 13 strikeouts in his first 29 trips to the plate in the majors. But he showed some promise last year in the upper minors compiling a .271/.370/.576 slash in 476 plate appearances in the upper minors.

Padres To Designate Jabari Blash

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The Padres will designate Rule 5 pick Jabari Blash for assignment, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports on Twitter.

He’ll ultimately be exposed to waivers, where other teams will have a chance to step into San Diego’s Rule 5 rights. If he clears, then he’ll be offered back to the Mariners.

Blash, 26, has only received 29 plate appearances on the year, but he’s largely been overmatched in his first run at the majors. The big outfielder has registered just three hits and four walks to go with 13 strikeouts.

San Diego surely always knew it was uncertain whether Blash would be able to stick at this point; after all, that’s why he was left off of the Seattle 40-man in the first place. He has shown some interesting skills in the minors, though. Last year, he ran up a composite .271/.370/.576 slash with 32 long balls in 476 plate appearances in the upper minors.

NL Notes: Epstein, Blash, Perdomo, Martin, Pollock, Gray

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Cubs owner Tom Ricketts said that there’s been progress in extension talks with president of baseball operations Theo Epstein, Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com reports on Twitter. While the sides aren’t setting any expectations for when a deal could be finalized, Ricketts gave the impression that one could be close. As has been widely expected for some time, Epstein is in line to overtake the Dodgers’ Andrew Friedman as the game’s highest-paid executive, Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com adds on Twitter.

Here’s more from the National League …

  • The Padres are hoping that Rule 5 picks Jabari Blash and Luis Perdomo can justify their roster spots not only with their long-term upside, but also their immediate contributions, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com writes. Blash looks to be the more MLB-ready of the two, notes Cassavell, with the 22-year-old Perdomo showing plenty of talent but also a lack of polish. It looks like it’ll be an uphill battle for the young righty to stick all year after a tough spring and rough handling by the Dodgers late in today’s blowout loss.
  • Padres GM A.J. Preller says he’s hoping to find a way to keep Rule 5 righty Josh Martin even after designating him for assignment yesterday, Cassavell tweets. By waiting to put him in DFA limbo, rather than utilizing outright waivers, San Diego has ten days to work out a deal with the Indians to retain Martin’s rights — assuming he isn’t ultimately claimed by another organization.
  • Losing A.J. Pollock for what could be a huge chunk of the 2016 season puts the Diamondbacks in a significant hole, Jeff Sullivan of Fangraphs explains. What had been a promising outfield mix, led by Pollock, now appears to have significant issues up the middle and in left, as Socrates Brito and Chris Owings — along with, perhaps, some outside help — figure to share time in center while putting even more pressure on Yasmany Tomas. It’s obviously always rough for a team to lose a player who’s expected to be a major contributor, but Sullivan explains that Arizona was already a mostly-borderline contender before losing one of the game’s best outfielders.
  • The Rockies have received positive returns on Jon Gray’s efforts to work through an ab injury, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding reports. After a lengthy live-BP session, Gray appears ready to make a minor league rehab appearance and also feels he may have discovered an important mechanical adjustment. Colorado is hoping for big things from the 24-year-old, and it is certainly good news that it seems he’ll soon be ready to join the MLB staff.

Roster Notes: Brewers, Weeks, Abad, Phillies, Ramos, Pena

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Here’s a roundup of today’s notable roster decisions….

  • The Brewers announced that the contracts of right-hander Blaine Boyer and left-hander Chris Capuano have been selected.  Both pitchers were told they had made the team earlier this week, and the moves are now official that Milwaukee has created some corresponding roster space.  Sean Nolin and Yhonathan Barrios were both moved to the 60-day DL, while Will Smith was placed on the 15-day DL.
  • The Diamondbacks selected Rickie Weeks’ contract, the team announced.  Weeks, looking to rebound from a disastrous 2015 season, signed a minors contract with Arizona last month.  The D’Backs placed A.J. Pollock and Josh Collmenter on the 15-day DL in corresponding moves.
  • The Twins selected the contract of Fernando Abad, the team announced.  The southpaw signed a minor league deal with Minnesota in December after the A’s non-tendered him.  Abad posted a 4.15 ERA last season, with some unfriendly advanced metrics and uncharacteristically poor results against left-handed hitters.
  • The Phillies finalized their 25-man roster, announcing that they have selected the contracts of lefty James Russell, infielder Emmanuel Burriss and outfielder Cedric Hunter.  In corresponding moves, Cody Asche and Michael Mariot were put on the 15-day DL retroactive to March 25, and Matt Harrison, Aaron Altherr and Mario Hollands were each placed on the 60-day DL.
  • Left-hander Cesar Ramos has accepted an assignment to the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate to begin the season, Rangers executive VP of communications John Blake tweeted.  Ramos signed a minor league deal with Texas in January after being somewhat surprisingly non-tendered by the Angels.
  • Cardinals backup catcher Brayan Pena will begin the season on the DL and will require surgery to remove a body from his left knee, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch writes (Twitter links). That means the Cardinals will add minor-league signee Eric Fryer to their roster to serve as their backup catcher until Pena can return, which should take two to four weeks. The 30-year-old Fryer played most of last season with Triple-A Rochester in the Twins system, batting .293/.367/.360. He’s appeared in bits of five big-league seasons with the Pirates and Twins.
  • Outfielder Jabari Blash, a Rule 5 pick from the Mariners, has made the Padres’ Opening Day roster, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com tweets. The 26-year-old Blash batted an impressive .271/.370/.576 and 32 homers in a 2015 season split between Double-A Jackson and Triple-A Tacoma, then followed that with a decent spring in which he hit .204 but with four homers and eight walks in 59 plate appearances. The Padres also announced that fellow outfielder Travis Jankowski has made the team.
  • The Rays have selected the contract of lefty Dana Eveland and optioned righty Andrew Bellatti and outfielder Mikie Mahtook, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes (Twitter links). The moves also mean righty Danny Farquhar has made the team. The 32-year-old Eveland pitched only briefly in the Majors last season, but got good results for three different Triple-A teams, posting a 1.95 ERA, 7.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 55 1/3 innings.
  • The Braves have announced their Opening Day roster. The Braves were already in MLBTR’s pages today as they designated Michael Bourn and Emilio Bonifacio for assignment and selected the contracts of Drew Stubbs and Alexi Ogando. In addition, they reassigned Jhoulys Chacin to Triple-A Gwinnett. The idea, via David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter), is that he’ll make one start there and then join the Braves when they need a fifth starter, which should be April 12. Notable names who made the team include righty Dan Winkler, a 2014 Rule 5 pick, along with rookie righties Jose Ramirez and John Gant.

NL West Notes: D-Backs, Padres, Inciarte, Lincecum, Blash, Reyes

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Diamondbacks executives Tony La Russa and Dave Stewart tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that their winter wasn’t just about near-term contention. The club has also picked up some younger assets since the front office turned over, and was careful to protect its most prized younger assets — Jake Lamb, Brandon Drury, Archie Bradley — who La Russa deemed “too dear” to be dealt. That being said, there’s no question that the haul given up for Shelby Miller — along with other decisions to give up controllable talent to free up money and add other pieces — was about maximizing the club’s chances now, with several key players in their primes and Zack Greinke joining the fold. As Stewart puts it, “you trade the unknown for the known.”

  • Interestingly, Stewart added that the Padres had “big interest” in center fielder Ender Inciarte before he was shipped to Atlanta in the Miller deal. But San Diego wasn’t willing to deal away Tyson Ross or Andrew Cashner to get him, according to the D-Backs GM. That’s certainly a bit surprising to hear in regard to Cashner, who — despite his established ceiling — is coming off of an uninspiring 2015 season and is destined for free agency after the season.
  • The Padres have been “very active” in pursuing free agent righty Tim Lincecum, agent Rick Thurman said in an appearance on The Mighty 1090 (via Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune). Teams are waiting for the former Cy Young winner to put on a showcase, which Thurman now says will take place within the next two weeks. He explains that Lincecum preferred to work his way back to form on his own before signing, with the plan being to “build[] up his arm strength so that when he actually goes and does a showcase he’s going to be game-ready.”
  • Meanwhile, Lin has an interesting piece on Padres hopeful Jabari Blash, who says he’s come a long way since he was a laid back teenager in his native U.S. Virgin Islands. The towering 26-year-old is still raw, of course, which is why he was available in the Rule 5 draft. San Diego will give him every opportunity to make good on his talent and earn a spot this spring, writes Lin.
  • Commissioner Rob Manfred says that he’ll be prepared to move quickly on disciplining Rockies shortstop Jose Reyes once his legal proceedings are completed, Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports. Manfred explained that he doesn’t rush a decision, only to learn something new thereafter. “My expectation is, once that process plays out, we’ll be in position to act quickly,” he said. “We’ll have access to all the facts.”
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