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Dodgers Sign Adam Kolarek, James Jones To Minor League Deals

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The Dodgers brought back left-hander Adam Kolarek on a minor league contract earlier this month, as noted by Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America. Los Angeles has also added southpaw James Jones on a non-roster pact.

Kolarek spent parts of the 2019-20 campaigns in L.A. Acquired from the Rays at the 2019 trade deadline, he’d spend the next year and a half with the Dodgers. The sidewinder was a quietly excellent bullpen piece, posting a 0.88 ERA through 30 2/3 innings. There’s some amount of good luck in any ERA that low, of course, but he held opponents to a .182/.222/.255 line as a situational matchup nightmare for left-handed hitters.

After the 2020 campaign, the Dodgers dealt Kolarek to Oakland as part of a four-player swap. That didn’t pan out as Oakland had hoped, with the Maryland product struggling over parts of two seasons. He allowed a 5.74 ERA in 26 2/3 innings in green and gold, with opponents teeing off at a .313/.403/.455 clip. After posting a 4.58 ERA through 15 outings this past season, he was designated for assignment in late June.

Kolarek finished the year with Oakland’s top affiliate in Las Vegas upon clearing waivers. He allowed a 6.10 ERA across 41 1/3 innings with the Aviators, a disappointing mark even after accounting for the extreme hitter-friendly nature of the Pacific Coast League. The 33-year-old continued to induce grounders at an elite clip, though, and he held left-handed batters to a .234/.311/.319 line in Triple-A. The Dodgers will take a low-risk flier to see if he can recapture some of his previous success and eventually reclaim a situational role in the relief corps.

Jones may be better known for his time as an outfielder with the Mariners from 2014-15. An elite runner, he didn’t hit well enough to hold an MLB spot despite stealing 27 bases in 108 games as a rookie. After a rough season in Triple-A in 2016, Jones converted to pitching. He spent a few years pitching in the Rangers farm system, the last couple mostly at Triple-A.

Now 34, Jones continues to work in hopes of getting back to the majors. He has not yet cracked the highest level as a pitcher, thanks largely to scattershot command. The Brooklyn native struck out an above-average 28.8% of the batters he faced through 16 Triple-A appearances this year, but that came with an untenable 19.7% walk rate. The Dodgers were nevertheless intrigued enough by his raw arsenal to give him another minor league opportunity.

Rangers’ James Jones Out Until 2021 Due To Torn Patellar Tendon

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Rangers lefty James Jones sustained a torn patellar tendon in his right knee Monday, tweets TR Sullivan of MLB.com. The injury occurred when Jones tripped over one of his son’s toys at home, Sullivan adds. He’s expected to be sidelined until Spring Training 2021 after undergoing surgery to repair the tendon.

Jones, 31, reached the Majors in 2014-15 with the Mariners as an outfielder and hit .238/.268/.296 in a total of 359 plate appearances. His struggles at the plate were obvious, but he did possess well above-average speed and baserunning prowess, evidenced by a 28-for-30 record in stolen base attempts across 136 MLB games.

Unlike others who have attempted to work their way to the big leagues as a two-way player, Jones is now focused solely on mound work. He began exploring the possibility of pitching in 2016 and by 2018 had converted to a relief pitcher on a full-time basis. Jones’ 2018 season was ugly, to say the least (7.34 ERA in 30 2/3 innings), but in 2019 he proved that the experiment could be worthwhile.

In 64 innings between Double-A and Triple-A last year, Jones pitched to an excellent 2.67 ERA with a 71-to-30 K/BB ratio while allowing only six home runs. Over his final 31 appearances (45 innings), he turned in an even more eye-catching 1.40 ERA. Lefties were utterly helpless against him (.163/.267/.283), and right-handed hitters didn’t fare particularly well themselves (.218/.333/.338).

It’s a brutal injury for a player who appeared to have a legitimate chance at returning to the big leagues after spending three years overhauling his skill set and reinventing himself as a player. His strong showing in 2019 should earn him another look down the road — be it with Texas or another organization.

Rangers Sign Luis Garcia, James Jones To Minors Contracts

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The Rangers announced a series of pitching-related moves today, including the signings of right-hander Luis Garcia and southpaw James Jones to minor league contracts.  Garcia and Jones will be invited to the club’s Major League Spring Training camp.  In addition, recently-designated righty Jimmy Herget has been outrighted to Triple-A Nashville after clearing waivers, and right-hander Reed Garrett has been released so he can pursue a deal with Japan’s Seibu Lions.

Garcia, the most experienced member of the quartet, tossed 62 innings out of the Angels bullpen last season before opting for free agency rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A in October.  Garcia posted a 4.35 ERA, 8.3 K/9, and 1.73 K/BB rate, while taking a lot of damage from the home run ball, allowing 13 homers over his 62 frames of work.  Garcia also posted a career-low 47.2% grounder rate; still a respectable total, though a step down for a pitcher who never dropped below the 54.7% mark with the Phillies from 2013-17.  Garcia also posted a 48.4% grounder rate in 2018, so his days as a truly elite grounder specialist could be over.

Overall, Garcia has a 4.17 ERA, 8.2 K/9, and 1.77 K/BB rate over 306 2/3 innings over the last seven seasons.  He has held right-handed batters to a .238/.329/.370 slash line in that time, so he offers a bit of specialist value and durability to the Rangers should he win a job in their bullpen.

Jones will return for his fifth season in the Rangers organization as he continues the transition from outfielder to pitcher (yes, this is the same James Jones who saw action in center field for the Mariners in 2014-15).  This work was interrupted by a Tommy John surgery that cost him the entire 2017 season, though more recent results have shown promise.  Jones had a 2.67 ERA, 10.0 K/9, and 2.37 K/BB rate over 64 innings in 2019, split between Double-A (56 1/3 IP) and Triple-A (7 2/3 IP).  Jones seems likely to continue at Triple-A this year, as continues to slowly but surely take an unlikely path back to the majors.

Herget was designated when Texas acquired Adolis Garcia from the Cardinals almost three weeks ago, though Herget’s extended stay in DFA limbo was due to league offices being closed over the holiday season.  A sixth-round pick for the Reds in the 2015 draft, Herget made his Major League debut in the form of 6 1/3 relief innings for Cincinnati last season, before the Rangers claimed him off waivers in early December.

Garrett also got his first taste of MLB action in 2019, with an 8.22 ERA over 15 1/3 innings with the Tigers.  Garrett had some strong numbers in the minors in 2018, which prompted Detroit to select him in the Rule 5 Draft.  The righty’s lack of immediate success, however, prompted the Tigers to send Garrett back to the Rangers last May.  Garrett will now become the latest in an increasingly large number of players with MLB or high-minors experience (or, the proverbial “Quadruple-A” types) to head to Japan or South Korea in search of a larger salary or a more prominent role.

West Notes: Angels, Valencia, Padres, Jones

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The Angels have removed amateur scouting director Ric Wilson from his post, ESPN.com’s Keith Law tweets, though he may stay with the organization in another role. GM Billy Eppler tells Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times that the team hopes Wilson will stick around. He has been with the organization for quite some time, assuming his most recent position in 2011. Though the draft results since that time haven’t been terribly well-regarded, as DiGiovanna notes, the Halos have generally not provided him with advantageous draft positions from which to work and have traded away several of the more promising prospects brought in under Wilson.

Here’s more from out west to round out the evening:

  • Even with Josh Reddick out of the picture, the Athletics continue to use Danny Valencia somewhat sporadically, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. Manager Bob Melvin says the reason is that the organization needs to look to “see what our future is.” While Valencia isn’t a long-term piece, he is controllable for another season and has been highly productive at the plate. It was somewhat surprising he wasn’t dealt at the deadline, but he could be moved in August or over the winter as well.
  • Though he has received quite a lot of criticism (and before that, praise) since taking over as the Padres’ general manager, A.J. Preller has overseen a swift rebuilding of the team’s farm of late, MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell writes. The work has been accomplished through a variety of methods, as Cassavell explains in a long look at the club’s action since the start of 2016. Preller says that the initial investment in veteran assets when he took the helm occurred due to an “opportunity in the short term to try to take a chance to put a competitive team on the field.” But there was also a back-up plan, he suggests: “There was also understanding at the time that we were going to acquire assets that potentially could be valuable to other teams. … As a baseball group, you’re always talking about: ’Here’s the best possible scenario, but also here’s other scenarios.'”
  • The Rangers have moved James Jones from the outfield to the mound, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets. A hurler in college, the 27-year-old (who is a southpaw) has reached the majors as a position player and has had success at the plate in the upper minors. He struggled to a .232/.297/.330 batting line this year at Triple-A after being acquired (and then outrighted and re-signed) over the winter by Texas.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12-11-15

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The 2015 Winter Meetings are officially in the books. As the baseball world winds back down, here are some of the recent minor transactions from around the game…

  • The Rangers announced a pair of minor moves yesterday: the re-signing of outfielder James Jones to a minor league deal and the trade of left-hander Will Lamb to the White Sox in exchange for right-hander Myles Jaye. Texas somewhat surprisingly non-tendered Jones earlier this month not long after acquiring him as part of the Leonys Martin trade, but he’ll return to the Rangers, who freed up a 40-man roster spot with the sequence. Jones, a fleet-footed 27-year-old center fielder, saw quite a bit of action with the 2014 Mariners but just 31 plate appearances in 2015. He’s a career .238/.268/.296 hitter in 359 plate appearances, though he boasts an impressive 28 steals (in 30 tries) in that small sample of PAs. Jones is a .278/.358/.390 hitter in an even 500 Triple-A plate appearances.
  • As for the trade, the Rangers pick up a soon-to-be 24-year-old in Jaye, who started 26 games for Chicago’s Double-A affiliate in 2015 and posted a 3.29 ERA with a 104-to-47 K/BB ratio in 147 2/3 innings. He rated as Chicago’s No. 23 prospect following the 2013 season, per Baseball America, but fell shy of their Top 30 last winter. In exchange, they’ll part with a 24-year-old lefty, Lamb, that pitched to a 4.42 ERA with 8.1 K/9 against 4.1 BB/9 in 57 innings of relief work between Double-A and Triple-A last season. Lamb held lefties to a .210/.319/.247 batting line in the minors last year.
  • MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez tweets that the Angels have inked outfielder Nick Buss to a minor league deal. The 28-year-old Buss batted .296/.352/.408 in 322 plate appearances with the D-backs’ Triple-A affiliate in 2015. Buss received a brief big league look with the A’s in 2013 but hasn’t returned to the Majors since.
  • Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reported a slew of minor moves on Twitter yesterday, including the White Sox’ signings of left-hander/former top prospect Matt Purke and shortstop Andy Parrino; the Padres’ signings of veteran right-hander Phil Humber and lefty reliever Ryan Buchter; and the re-signings of Rosell Herrera and Frank Garces by the Rockies, and Padres, respectively.

2015-16 American League Non-Tenders

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Major League clubs have until 11pm CT tonight to tender contracts to players for the 2016 season. Remember that you can track all of the action using MLBTR’s Non-Tender tracker, and we offer a full list of non-tender candidates (in the estimation of MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes). Also important for reference is the set of arbitration salary projections from MLBTR and contributor Matt Swartz.

We’ll run down the list of American League non-tenders here, and update it as reports come in.

  • According to a club announcement this morning, the Yankees non-tendered righty Domingo German last night. By parting with the pre-arb-eligible hurler, New York cleared one open spot on its 40-man.
  • The Rangers announced that they won’t tender contracts to righty Nick Tepesch or outfielder James Jones. Neither player was arbitration eligible, but the decisions clear two 40-man roster spots. Tepesch missed the 2015 season battling shoulder injuries. Jones was recently acquired in a trade with the Mariners, though the main component of that deal for the Rangers was probably right-hander Tom Wilhelmsen. Texas hopes to retain both on minor league contracts, tweets the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Jeff Wilson.
  • The Blue Jays have non-tendered backup catcher Josh Thole and tendered the rest of their players, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet (via Twitter). Thole has served primarily as R.A. Dickey’s personal catcher due to his familiarity with the knuckleball for much of his time with the Blue Jays.
  • Outfielder David Lough has also been non-tendered by the Orioles, the club announced. Lough hit just .201/.241/.313 with the Orioles in 144 plate appearances this season but has a reputation as a good defensive outfielder in the corners and traditionally hit righties well prior to this season.
  • The White Sox have non-tendered Tyler Flowers and Jacob Turner. More on that decision here.
  • The Orioles will non-tender infielder Paul Janish, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. The defensively gifted journeyman was projected to earn a modest $600K in arbitration next season.

Earlier Updates

  • Righty Al Alburquerque will be non-tendered by the Tigers, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press tweets. The 29-year-old was projected to earn only $2.1MM, and Detroit could use pen depth, but it appears that the club decided to move on after watching the veteran contribute 62 innings of 4.21 ERA ball with 8.4 K/9 against 4.8 BB/9 last year.
  • The Athletics have announced that first baseman Ike Davis will not be tendered a contract, meaning he’ll become a free agent. The veteran was entering his final year of control at a $3.8MM projected salary. His non-tender was widely expected after a tough 2015 season, but became assured when the club swung a deal earlier today for his replacement.
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