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NL Notes: Cubs, Reds, Pederson, Bourgeois

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The Cubs have struggled to develop homegrown pitchers during Theo Epstein’s regime, though senior VP of player development and amateur scouting Jason McLeod told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that “this is probably the first year I can confidently sit here and feel like we have the guys that can help this team in the major leagues this year, if needed.”  The Cubs are already overloaded with veteran rotation options on the 25-man roster, with Jon Lester, Cole Hamels, Kyle Hendricks, Jose Quintana, Yu Darvish, swingman Mike Montgomery, and Tyler Chatwood all on hand to make starts.  Of course, those seven account for over $100MM in salary next season, as the Cubs have been forced to spend big on starting pitching to account for a lack of help from the farm.

Jen-Ho Tseng and Duane Underwood Jr. are Triple-A arms who cracked the big leagues in 2018, plus a variety of 2016 draft picks (Thomas Hatch, Michael Rucker, Duncan Robinson) could potentially make the MLB level this season, possibly in the bullpen if not the rotation.  The 2016 class is noteworthy, as McLeod said the player development staff has been “more aggressive” with how it brings along its pitchers given the lack of results in earlier years.  “We tried to fit everyone neatly into a box,” McLeod said. “Do these mechanics lead to what we think is going to be long-term health? And has he thrown enough strikes that we think prior performance is going to equal this type of performance going forward? We put so many checks on guys…that probably hamstrung us a little bit.”

More from around the National League…

  • The Reds have been linked to the center field market since parting ways with Billy Hamilton, though Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link) suggests the team could like its internal options enough that “a late-inning defensive specialist” could be acquired.  None of Scott Schebler, Yasiel Puig, or Nick Senzel profile as anything more than an average defender in center, so it makes sense that the Reds could aim for a glove-first bench player that would allow the team to keep those bigger bats in the lineup for the bulk of a game.  A defensive specialist, additionally, would also come at a much lower cost than an everyday-type of center fielder.
  • Reports from earlier today suggested the White Sox had interest in Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson, and The Athletic’s David O’Brien (Twitter link) opines that the Braves also make sense as a Pederson suitor.  Atlanta is in need of an outfielder to line up next to Ronald Acuna and Ender Inciarte, and Pederson offers some power and two years of team control.  The Braves also have right-handed hitting bench options (Charlie Culberson, Adam Duvall, Johan Camargo) to platoon with Pederson, who struggles against left-handed pitching.
  • The Dodgers announced their minor league coaching staffs earlier this week, including the item that former outfielder Jason Bourgeois was joining the staff of the team’s A-ball level Great Lakes Loons.  This would seem to indicate that Bourgeois is calling it a career after 19 professional seasons.  A second-round pick for the Rangers in the 2000 draft, Bourgeois appeared in 317 MLB games with the White Sox, Brewers, Astros, Royals, Rays, and Reds from 2008-15, hitting .253/.300/.326 over 761 career plate appearances.  Since last appearing in the Show, Bourgeois played for the White Sox and Diamondbacks at the Triple-A level, and he spent last season in the Mexican League.  We at MLBTR wish Bourgeois all the best in this next stage of his baseball career.

White Sox, Cory Luebke Agree To Minor League Deal

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The White Sox have agreed to a minor league contract with left-hander Cory Luebke, reports Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). Eddy also notes that the Sox have a minors deal with catcher Carson Blair and have re-signed fleet-footed outfielder Jason Bourgeois.

The 31-year-old Luebke has undergone two Tommy John surgeries in the past half-decade but made his first big league appearance since 2012 this past season. Luebke broke camp with the Pirates after signing a minor league deal with Pittsburgh last winter, though he didn’t fare well in his return to a Major League mound. Luebke tossed just 8 2/3 innings with Pittsburgh and yielded nine runs on 15 hits and 11 walks with nine strikeouts. He did fare better in 24 1/3 minor league innings, tallying a 1.85 ERA and a 35-to-3 K/BB ratio between the Pirates and Marlins organizations.

Luebke once looked like a potential long-term cog in the Padres’ rotation, debuting with the team in 2010 and seemingly blossoming a year later. The southpaw turned in 139 2/3 innings of 3.29 ERA ball with 9.9 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in 2011, which earned him a four-year, $12MM extension. While many such deals are panned when they’re signed, Luebke’s decision to accept that then-modest sum now appears wise in light of his arm troubles.

A return to a starting role doesn’t appear likely for Luebke following a pair of Tommy John operations, but he could get an opportunity to compete for a bullpen gig with the rebuilding ChiSox in 2017. Dan Jennings currently stands as the top lefty option in new manager Rick Renteria’s bullpen, with less-proven southpaw Giovanni Soto (not to be confused with the catcher of the same, albeit differently spelled name) also in line to get a look this spring.

As for Blair, the 27-year-old is a longtime Red Sox farmhand that made his big league debut with the A’s in 2015 after signing a minor league deal there. Blair received just 35 plate appearances and didn’t hit well, but he’s coming off a more productive .250/.339/.372 batting line split between the A’s and Rangers organizations in 2016 (all in the minor leagues). He’s not likely to factor into the Sox’ plans out of Spring Training but could head the minors and serve as a depth piece in either Double-A or Triple-A.

Bourgeois, 35, made his Major League debut with the 2008 White Sox (though he played in just six games) and would go on to appear for five teams over the next seven seasons. He’s a career .253/.300/.326 hitter in the Majors and delivered a solid .292/.333/.385 batting line in 122 Triple-A contests with the Sox and D-backs last year.

White Sox Acquire Jason Bourgeois

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The White Sox have acquired outfielder Jason Bourgeois from the Diamondbacks, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com was among those to report on Twitter. Cash considerations will go back to Arizona in the swap.

Bourgeois, 34, has seen MLB action in each of the last eight campaigns, twice topping 200 plate appearances in a single season. He did that last year for the Reds, slashing just .240/.294/.332 with three home runs and three stolen bases.

With the move, Chicago adds another depth option in the outfield. Bourgeois has spent most of his big league time in center, but has also played both corner positions. While the Sox are off to a nice start, the club has received underwhelming contributions from regular center fielder Austin Jackson and several bench players.

The speedy Bourgeois was off to a sturdy .356/.385/.442 start in his first 109 plate appearances at Triple-A after joining the D-Backs as a minor league free agent. But he was passed over for a promotion when the team recently brought up Michael Bourn.

Diamondbacks To Sign Tim Stauffer, Jason Bourgeois

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The Diamondbacks have agreed to a minor league deal with righty Tim Stauffer and outfielder Jason Bourgeois, as Matt Eddy of Baseball America tweets and the PCL transactions page reflects. Also heading to Arizona on minors pacts are lefty Scott Rice and the previously reported Joaquin Arias.

Stauffer, 33, worked 20 1/3 innings in the majors last year with the Twins and Mets. The results weren’t great, as he surrendered 16 earned runs with a 14:9 strikeout-to-walk ratio. That represented Stauffer’s tenth season with at least some MLB action. He owns a 3.97 ERA overall in just under 600 total frames.

Soon to turn 34, Bourgeois picked up 212 plate appearances with the Reds in 2015 — his most extensive MLB action in some time. He ended the year with a .240/.294/.332 slash. Once a legitimate stolen base threat, Bourgeois also managed only three swipes on the year.

As for Rice, 34, he racked up 39 2/3 innings of sub-2.00 ERA pitching at the Triple-A level last year and nearly reached double-digit strikeouts per nine. But he also carried a troubling 6.4 BB/9 walk rate and failed to crack the majors with the Mets.

Reds Outright Seven Players

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Here are the day’s outright assignments:

  • The Reds have announced that seven players were outrighted off the club’s 40-man roster (h/t to C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer, on Twitter). On the chopping block were pitchers Nate Adcock, Collin Balester, David Holmberg, and Josh Smith, outfielders Brennan Boesch and Jason Bourgeois, and infielder/outfielder Kris Negron. Adcock, Balester, Boesch, and Bourgeois have all seen reasonably frequent MLB action but have bounced around quite a bit in recent years. Negron has appeared in each of the last three seasons in Cincinnati, compiling a .220/.296/.353 batting line over 270 plate appearances. Holmberg was acquired as part of the pre-2014, three-team deal that sent Heath Bell (from the Diamondbacks) and Ryan Hanigan to the Rays. He’s functioned as a depth starter, walking nearly as many batters as he’s retired via strikeout over his 58 1/3 MLB innings with Cincinnati. Smith made his MLB debut last year, allowing 25 earned runs in 32 2/3 innings of work, but found himself squeezed out by Cincinnati’s recent influx of young, upper-level pitches.

Minor Moves: Jacobs, Herndon, LaRoche, Lalli, Bourgeois, Humber

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Today's minor moves can be found right here in this post …

  • Among the many re-signings of players otherwise eligible for minor league free agency reported by Matt Eddy of Baseball America are first baseman Mike Jacobs, who will stay with the Diamondbacks, and reliever David Herndon, who the Yankees have re-signed. Neither saw big league action this year. Jacobs put up a nice .296/.366/.533 line in 514 Triple-A plate appearances in his age-32 season, while Herndon, now 28, was good for a 2.78 ERA in his 35 2/3 innings across the Yanks system.
  • Third bagger Andy LaRoche has signed with the Blue Jays, Eddy reports on Twitter. The 30-year-old younger brother of Nats' first baseman Adam LaRoche played in just one game with Toronto last year, and has not been a regular big league contributor since leaving the Pirates after the 2010 season.
  • Catcher Blake Lalli has caught on with the Diamondbacks, Eddy notes in the same link. Also thirty years of age, Lalli has only forty uneventful MLB plate appearances. Playing at Triple-A for the Brewers last year, he put up a .282/.334/.447 line in 311 plate appearances.
  • The Reds have signed 31-year-old outfielder Jason Bourgeois, Eddy reports on Twitter. Bourgeois saw limited time with the Rays last year. His career big league line stands at .259/.305/.326 in 515 plate appearances over parts of six seasons, including 51 stolen bases.
  • Right-handed starter Philip Humber, 30, has inked a deal with the Athletics, reports Eddy (via Twitter). The once-perfect Humber had his option declined by the Astros early last month.
  • Righty Fabio Martinez signed with the Dodgers, per another Eddy tweet. The longtime Angel farmhand last worked in the Indians system, but has never managed to harness his live arm and posted BB/9 totals of over ten in 2012-13. 
  • Pitcher Trevor Reckling has signed with the Reds out of independent league ball, Eddy tweets. He played six seasons in the Angels' system, reaching Triple-A at age 21 before moving the wrong way down the ladder. Noted as a reclamation project for the White Sox before the 2012 year, Reckling will give it one more go in Cinci.
  • The Rockies re-signed minor league second baseman Angelys Nina in a move designed to keep him from reaching the open market as a minor league free agent, tweets Eddy. Nina managed a .280/.331/.422 line in his second go-round at Tulsa, adding ten home runs and nineteen steals.
  • Outfielder Chris Dickerson and first baseman Dan Johnson, each of whom were outrighted on Thursday, have refused their assignments and elected to become free agents, according to an Orioles press release yesterday. 
  • Remember to check MLBTR's DFA Tracker for updates on players designated for assignment around baseball. Currently, only Tommy Layne is sitting in DFA limbo.

Minor Moves: Rays, Cubs, Purcey, Okajima

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We'll keep track of today's minor moves here..

  • Infielder Ryan Roberts, 1B/OF Shelley Duncan, outfielder Jason Bourgeois and right-hander J.D. Martin have all elected to become free agents, MLBDailyDish.com's Chris Cotillo reports (Twitter links).  All four players were outrighted off the Rays' roster earlier this season.
  • Also from Cotillo (Twitter links), catcher J.C. Boscan and outfielder Darnell McDonald have elected to become free agents.  Both players were outrighted off the Cubs' 40-man roster last week.
  • The White Sox announced they have outrighted David Purcey to Triple-A Charlotte. Purcey, 31, posted a 2.13 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 6.0 BB/9 in 24 relief appearances. The club's 40-man roster is now at 36.  Purcey was one of Chicago's arbitration eligible players this winter.
  • Left-hander Hideki Okajima and right-hander Chris Resop have elected free agency from the Athletics, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (Twitter link).  Okajima, 38 in December, pitched in five big league games for the A's but spent the bulk of the year in Triple-A where he posted a 4.22 ERA with 9.5 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 in 37 appearances.  Resop, 31 in November, also spent the lion's share of the year in Triple-A and had a 6.81 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9.
  • Reds right-hander Jose Arredondo, Angels right-hander Robert Coello, and Marlins third baseman Gil Velazquez have elected free agency under Article XX(D), according to Eddy (via Twitter).  Arredondo struggled at the Triple-A level in 2013, posting a 5.87 ERA with 10.4 K/9 and 6.5 BB/9.  Coello made 16 big league relief appearances in 2013 and put up a 3.71 ERA with 12.2 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9.
  • At Baseball America, Eddy has the full list of the past week's minor league transactions.

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post

Minor Moves: Buckner, Bourgeois

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Here are today's minor moves from around baseball.

  • The Angels have outrighted pitcher Billy Buckner to Triple-A, according to MLB.com's transactions page. The Angels designated Buckner for assignment last Friday when they promoted Cory Rasmus. Buckner has a 4.60 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in Triple-A so far this season.
  • Outfielder Jason Bourgeois has accepted the Rays' outright assignment, and he'll head to Triple-A Durham, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. The Rays designated Bourgeois for assignment on Friday. Bourgeois has spent most of the season with Durham, hitting .291/.336/.371 in 363 plate appearances.
  • More information about players recently designated for assignment can be found at MLBTR's new DFA Tracker.

Rays Designate Jason Bourgeois For Assignment

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The Rays have designated Jason Bourgeois for assignment, accoridng to Roger Mooney of The Tampa Tribune (on Twitter).  The move will create roster space for the newly-acquired David DeJesus.

The outfielder was signed to a minor league deal in January by Tampa Bay.  Bourgeois, 31, saw just nine games of big league actions in 2013 and spent most of the season with the club's Triple-A affiliate.  At Triple-A Durham, Bourgeois hit .291/.336/.371 with two homers in 363 plate appearances.

You can keep track of all DFA'd players and their current status with MLBTR's brand new DFA Tracker.

Minor Moves: Escobar, Rays, Samson, Palmer

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We’ll track the day’s minor moves here…

  • The Brewers announced they have signed right-hander Kelvim Escobar to a minor league deal.  Escobar turns 37 in April and has appeared in just one Major League game since 2007 (a five-inning start with the Angels in 2009) due to various arm injuries but has pitched well in the Venezuelan Winter League this offseason.  Escobar posted a 4.15 ERA in 411 Major League games with the Blue Jays and Angels between 1997 and 2009.
  • The Rays have signed catcher Craig Albernaz, outfielder Jason Bourgeois and right-hander J.D. Martin to minor league contracts with invites to Major League Spring Training camp, the club announced.
  • Nate Samson signed a minor league deal with the Reds, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes has learned. The 25-year-old infielder spent the 2012 season in the upper minors of the Cubs' system, posting a .273/.320/.346 batting line in 283 plate appearances.
  • The Dodgers signed right-hander Matt Palmer to a minor league deal, according to the transactions page at CBSSports.com. Palmer, 33, appeared in three games for the Padres this past season, but spent most of the year at Triple-A, posting a 5.66 ERA in 98 2/3 innings.
  • The NC Dinos are in the final stages of signing right-hander Eric Hacker, the KBO expansion team announced (via Dan Kurtz of myKBO.net). Hacker, who joins a staff including Adam Wilk and Charlie Shirek, appeared in four games for the 2012 Giants and has experience in two other MLB seasons.
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