Dodgers Sign Louis Coleman
The Dodgers have signed veteran righty Louis Coleman to a one-year deal, his representatives at Frontline Athlete Management announced. He’ll receive $750K in the MLB contract, per Devan Fink (via Twitter).
Set to turn 30 on Opening Day, Coleman has spent his entire career to this point with the Royals, but was designated and eventually released earlier this winter to clear the way for Ian Kennedy. He had agreed to a $725K arbitration contract, meaning that Kansas City will remain on the hook for thirty days of salary (or a shade less than $119K). Los Angeles will also have the chance to control him for two more years via arbitration.
Coleman appeared in only four big league games last year and struggled in 2014 as well. But he posted strong results at Triple-A, with a 1.69 ERA and 8.9 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 over 64 frames, and has put up some interesting results in the past.
Over a three-year run from 2011-13, Coleman was rather quietly excellent. He tallied 140 1/3 innings of 2.69 ERA pitching, racking up 10.3 K/9 vs. 3.7 BB/9 while surrendering less than seven hits per regulation game. Though his fastball sits in the 89 to 90 mph range and he otherwise relies heavily on just one offspeed pitch (a slider), Coleman has been able to generate huge swing and miss numbers at times.
Royals Sign Barmes, Duensing, Ohlendorf To Minor League Deals
2:39pm: Duensing would receive a $2MM base salary upon making the club, tweets Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
1:35pm: The Royals announced that they have signed infielder Clint Barmes, left-hander Brian Duensing and right-hander Ross Ohlendorf to minor league contracts with invitations to Major League Spring Training.
Barmes, 37 in March, will compete for a job as a backup infielder in Kansas City. The 13-year veteran spent the 2015 season with the Padres and struggled at the plate, batting just .232/.281/.353 in 224 plate appearances. Barmes has never been too much of a threat with the bat, as his .231/.285/.340 slash over the past five seasons indicates, but he has an excellent defensive reputation and can serve as a backup at either shortstop or second base if necessary. Omar Infante and his contract are entrenched at second base, while Alcides Escobar is slated to man shortstop and Christian Colon figures to be the primary utility option, but Barmes could play his way onto the roster with a solid spring showing.
Duensing, 33 this weekend, is an Omaha native and former college roommate of Royals icon Alex Gordon from the pair’s days at the University of Nebraska. He’s spent his entire career with the Twins since being selected in the third round of the 2005 draft. After struggling as a starter early on, Duensing carved out a spot as a lefty reliever and put up solid bottom-line numbers with Minnesota in 2013-14, logging a 3.67 ERA with 6.9 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9. However, he slipped to a 4.25 ERA last season and averaged just 4.4 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9 in 48 2/3 innings with the Twins. If Duensing lands with the Royals out of camp, it’ll likely be due to his ability to control left-handed hitters; opposing southpaws have managed just a .238/.289/.325 batting line against him throughout his career, although the flipside of that is that righties have roughed him up at a .292/.352/.462 clip. Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN reports (on Twitter) that Duensing’s contract can max out at $2.6MM if he’s in the Majors all season, though the specifics of his base salary aren’t known.
The 33-year-old Ohlendorf spent the 2015 season with the Rangers, posting a 3.72 ERA in 19 1/3 innings out of the Texas bullpen to go along with a 4.17 ERA in 36 2/3 innings for Triple-A Round Rock. Ohlendorf spent a pair of seasons in the Pirates’ rotation from 2009-10 but struggled with the Bucs in 2011 and continued to struggle with the Padres in 2012. He’s enjoyed reasonable success as a swingman in his past two big league stints — 3.39 ERA in 79 2/3 innings between the Nats and Rangers — and will look to land a similar job with the defending World Series champs in 2016.
Royals Extend Ned Yost, Dayton Moore
The Royals announced on Thursday that they have extended the contracts of manager Ned Yost and GM Dayton Moore. Yost will receive a two-year extension through the 2018 season, while the length of Moore’s contract was not disclosed.
Both Yost and Moore had been entering the final seasons of their respective contracts, with Yost having signed a one-year extension prior to the 2015 season and Moore having inked a two-year deal spanning the 2015-16 campaigns. Fresh off a World Series victory in 2015, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to see ownership lock up its top baseball operations decision-maker and on-field leader.
Yost, 61, is entering his sixth full season as manager of the Royals and also managed the club for about three quarters of the 2010 season as well. In his time with Kansas City, he’s compiled a 468-469 record, although the team has clearly taken a turn for the better in the past two seasons, as evidenced by a pair of World Series appearances (and their 2015 victory in that regard). Yost has drawn his share of criticism for his bullpen management and penchant for bunting, though his supporters will be quick to point out that the on-field results speak far louder than the critics. Yost is beloved among his players, as many of them explained to the New York Times’ Bruce Schoenfeld at the end of the regular season in 2015, and he’ll now be presented with the opportunity to guide the Royals back to the postseason for at least three more seasons.
As for Moore, he’s been the club’s general manager since the 2006 season. Moore made a name for himself as an executive with the Braves and was thought to be a GM-in-waiting. With Moore atop Kansas City’s baseball ops hierarchy, the team has drafted the likes of Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas, traded for Lorenzo Cain, James Shields and Wade Davis, and signed free agents such as Kendrys Morales, Edinson Volquez and Jason Vargas. Of course, like any GM, Moore has had his misses (Jose Guillen, Omar Infante and a number of others would all be fair game to point out), but the Royals appear poised for a sustained run as contenders thanks in large part to their now-signature brand of baseball — defense, speed, contact and elite relief pitching — that is largely attributable to the two men whose contracts were extended today.
Minor MLB Transactions: 2-15-16
We’ll kick off the week with today’s roundup of outright assignments and minor signings from around the league…
- Right-hander Chad Jenkins, whom the Blue Jays designated for assignment upon signing Gavin Floyd to a one-year deal, has been outrighted to Triple-A Buffalo, according to the Jays’ transactions page at MLB.com. The 28-year-old posted a 3.25 ERA with the Blue Jays in 97 innings from 2012-14 but saw just 3 2/3 innings in the big league bullpen last season. Jenkins, the 20th overall pick in 2009, instead spent the bulk of the season in Buffalo, where he logged a 2.98 ERA with a 60-to-26 K/BB ratio in 93 2/3 innings (11 starts, 30 relief appearances).
- The Rockies have signed a familiar face, per Baseball America’s Matt Eddy; infielder Chris Nelson is back with the club on a minor league deal. Nelson, now 30, spent 10 seasons in the Rockies organization after being selected ninth overall in the 2004 draft. He batted .279/.322/.416 in 212 big league games with the Rox from 2010-13 but went on to struggle away from the hitter-friendly Coors Field in stints with the Padres, Angels and Yankees.
- Right-hander Clayton Mortensen, 31 in April, is back with the Royals on a minor league deal for the second consecutive season, according to Eddy. Another former top pick (36th overall in 2007), Mortensen was one of the players sent from the Cardinals to the A’s in the 2009 Matt Holliday trade. Mortensen posted solid big league numbers (3.59 ERA in 100 1/3 innings) from 2011-12 with the Rockies and Red Sox but hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2013. He’s worked to a 5.12 ERA in 184 2/3 innings for Kansas City’s Triple-A affiliate across the past two seasons.
- The Rangers signed shortstop Doug Bernier to a minors deal last week, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter). Bernier, 35, won’t receive an invite to Major League camp, but the veteran infielder will provide some up-the-middle depth for Texas’ Triple-A affiliate in Round Rock. Bernier spent the past three seasons in the Twins organization and was a feel-good story for the 2013 team, as he reached the Majors that year for the first time a brief two-game appearance with the 2008 Rockies (at the time, his only prior MLB experience). Bernier appeared in 44 games with Minnesota from 2013-15 and tallied 79 plate appearances, hitting .231/.351/.292. He’s a career .255/.346/.345 hitter in nine seasons at Triple-A and is known for his solid glove at shortstop, second base and third base.
Royals Reach Two-Year Extension With Mike Moustakas
The Royals are closing in on a two-year deal with third baseman Mike Moustakas, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reports (Twitter links), with Jon Heyman tweeting that it’s a done deal. He is expected to be guaranteed $14.3MM in the contract, per Flanagan, with $5.6MM coming in 2016 and $8.7MM for the following year.
With the move, Kansas City has avoided an arbitration hearing with the 27-year-old and precluded any need for future arb negotiations. Moustakas could still partake in long-term talks, of course, but this agreement buys up all of his remaining arbitration eligibility without adding any team control.
In that regard, Moustakas joins teammate Lorenzo Cain in locking in a raise but failing to reach a lengthier accommodation with the reigning World Series champs. Josh Donaldson, J.D. Martinez, and A.J. Pollock are other prominent players who have landed two-year, arb-only pacts as a way to help bridge 2016 salary disputes.
The $5.6MM price point set for the coming season represents the exact midpoint between the sides’ $7MM and $4.2MM filing figures. And it lands just a shade below the $5.7MM salary that MLBTR projected earlier in the winter. Moustakas, a client of the Boras Corporation, had earned $2.64MM in his first turn at the arb process last year.
Moustakas was long considered a significant prospect, but largely disappointed in his first four years in the majors. But a late surge for the surprising 2014 Royals raised hopes that he’d found his groove, and his 2015 campaign suggests he did. Moustakas not only turned in another strong defensive campaign, but surged to a .284/.348/.470 slash and career-high 22 home runs in a performance that dwarfed anything he’d done previously.
With age and glovework on his side, a repeat of that strong effort won’t be needed for K.C. to make out on this new contract. But there’s every hope that Moustakas has matured at the plate and established a new performance baseline, having decreased his reliance on pulling the ball and found success against left-handed pitching.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Royals Release Louis Coleman
The Royals announced today that they have requested unconditional release waivers for right-hander Louis Coleman, who had previously been designated for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for fellow right-hander Ian Kennedy (Twitter link).
Coleman, who will turn 30 on April 4, tossed just three innings for the Royals in 2015 but had been a regular member of the bullpen in the four seasons prior, pitching to a combined 3.25 ERA with 9.6 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9 in 174 1/3 innings. However, Coleman’s production tailed off badly in 2014, when he recorded a 5.56 ERA in 34 big league innings. While he rebounded with an outstanding 2015 season in Triple-A (1.69 ERA, 8.9 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 in 64 innings), the Royals possess one of the game’s deeper bullpens and have a number of options on the depth chart even with the removal of Coleman from the 40-man roster.
Coleman had been arbitration eligible this offseason and, in fact, already agreed to a one-year deal worth $725K. However, arbitration contracts are not fully guaranteed, so the Royals are only on the hook for 30 days of his prorated salary — just under $119K. This isn’t the first time that the Royals have designated a player after agreeing to an arbitration salary; two years ago, the team designated Emilio Bonifacio for assignment after having agreed to a considerably more significant $3.5MM salary. Bonifacio was ultimately released (and went on to sign a minor league deal with the Cubs), leaving Kansas City responsible for about $575K of his salary.
As for Coleman, he’s now free to pursue a contract with any team and sign for any amount. While a minor league deal is a possibility, Coleman would be controllable for two more years beyond the 2016 season were he to land on a big league roster and spend the bulk of the season in the Majors. He could also be controllable for three years, if he only spends a portion of the year in the Majors; with three years, 18 days of service, Coleman would need 154 days in the Majors or on the Major League DL in order to reach four full years of service and qualify for free agency after 2018 season.
AL Central Notes: Twins, Davis, Fowler, Sox, Moustakas
Twins manager Paul Molitor sat down with Darren Wolfson of KSTP and 1500 ESPN over the weekend for a 12-minute interview (video link) and discussed a number of topics, including the decision to play Miguel Sano in right field over left field, the possibility of Byron Buxton making the Opening Day roster and the team’s expected rotation. Molitor says it’s very likely that Ervin Santana, Kyle Gibson and Phil Hughes will be in the Opening Day rotation (assuming good health for each), and Tyler Duffey “has a really good chance” on the heels of a strong rookie showing, though Duffey’s inclusion is not considered a sure thing. Tommy Milone, Ricky Nolasco and Trevor May are all candidates for the fifth spot, though Molitor hinted by suggesting that May will “get a look, at least early in camp, to see how it goes, to see if that’s a better fit for him than in the bullpen,” that May’s chances might be a bit lesser. May opened last season as a starter and pitched reasonably well before turning in a very strong 2.87 ERA with 10.6 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 in 31 1/3 reliever.
More from the AL Central…
- Manager Terry Francona is happy to see Rajai Davis wearing an Indians uniform heading into the 2016 season, writes Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal. Cleveland’s manager tells Lewis that he joked with Davis recently that he “hated him” for the past few seasons, “because he’s been a thorn in our side.” Davis’ stolen base totals have declined in each of the past two seasons, though the fleet-footed outfielder said that part of the reason for that was hitting in front of Miguel Cabrera and not wanting to run the risk of getting caught with one of the game’s most potent bats at the plate. Francona tells Lewis that the team has similar hopes for Davis that it did following the signing of Michael Bourn. “…[I]f you can get a guy that can get on base and kind of disturb the game a little bit, that really helps a lot.”
- The White Sox and Rangers are both looking at Dexter Fowler, tweets David Kaplan of CSN Chicago. Sox GM Rick Hahn spoke over the weekend about the value of the No. 28 overall selection, which the club would have to forfeit in order to sign Fowler, however. I’d imagine that if Fowler’s asking price dipped enough, the Sox might be comfortable enough with the immediate value they’re obtaining to part with the potential longer-term value of the draft pick. The Sox do seem like a good fit for Fowler, as Jeff Todd and I recently discussed on the MLBTR Podcast. The Rangers, too, were mentioned in that discussion, and they could certainly make some sense, pushing Josh Hamilton to more of a part-time role that could possibly keep him healthier while creating more outfield depth in Texas.
- Whether or not a move is ultimately made, MLB.com’s Scott Merkin feels that the one of the takeaways from this weekend’s SoxFest event was that the White Sox are definitely still trying to get something done, be it a trade or free-agent signing (links to Twitter). “It was more than just general SoxFest talk,” says Merkin of the team’s desire to continue adding to the roster.
- MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan adds some more context to his recent report that the Royals and third baseman Mike Moustakas have discussed a two-year deal to buy out his remaining arbitration years. “There’s been a couple talks about a multiyear deal, a two-year deal, also a one-year deal,” said Moustakas of talks between the Royals and his agent, Scott Boras. “We’re just trying to figure out what the best fit is for everything. They’ve been talking back and forth and trying to figure it all out. They give me the information and I go, ‘Yeah, that’s all right.’ But I try to stay out of it because I love Scott and I love the Royals.” Moustakas said that a two-year deal is appealing, if possible, because he’d like to avoid “the stress of another arbitration year.” Boras and the Royals worked out a similar deal for first baseman Eric Hosmer last winter, though Hosmer will still have one more year of arbitration following the completion of that two-year deal.
AL Central Links: Chernoff, Holaday, Twins, Danks, Royals
Frank Thomas is rejoining the White Sox as a special consultant of business operations, the Hall-of-Famer told reporters (including CSN Chicago’s Dan Hayes). Thomas had been working in an ambassador role with the Sox but took some time off to join Fox’s baseball broadcasts as an analyst; the Big Hurt will still continue his TV work in addition to working for the team. Here’s some more from around the AL Central…
- The Indians may not be done making lineup additions, GM Mike Chernoff said in an interview today with Jim Duquette and Jeff Joyce of MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter links). Giving up a draft pick for a signing wouldn’t be out of the question, Chernoff said, if the value balances out with the team’s long-term goals. Ian Desmond and Dexter Fowler are the only two everyday players remaining with draft pick compensation attached via the qualifying offer, and Cleveland would have to surrender their first-rounder (the 15th overall selection) to sign either, a substantial loss for a smaller-market club. I would guess that the Tribe would only sign Desmond or Fowler if either agreed to a low-cost one-year contract, so they could rebuild their free agent stock for the 2016-17 offseason and the Indians could then try to recoup a draft pick via their own qualifying offer.
- With James McCann and Jarrod Saltalamacchia ahead of him on the Tigers‘ catching depth chart, Bryan Holaday could be a spring trade candidate, Chris McCosky of the Detroit News writes. Holaday has seen limited action over his four Major League seasons, with 108 games and 282 plate appearances to his name since debuting in 2012. While the Tigers would undoubtedly like to keep Holaday as depth, he’s also out of options and likely couldn’t be kept at Triple-A without another team taking him on waivers.
- During the TwinsFest fan event this weekend, Twins GM Terry Ryan answered questions about Joe Mauer, the team’s young players and the team’s ability to sign major long-term contracts, La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
- John Danks is approaching the 2016 season with an eye towards extending his career, MLB.com’s Scott Merkin writes. “I would say I’m more focused on this year, and my feeling is if I can put up a good year, then it won’t be my last year,” Danks said. “So I don’t want it to be my last year. I don’t want to plant that seed or anything. I’m a realist and understand that teams have to want me and for a team to want me, I’ve got to be good.” Since signing a five-year, $65MM extension with the White Sox following the 2011 season, Danks has battled injuries and struggled to the tune of a 4.82 ERA and 5.9 K/9 over 563 1/3 innings. The southpaw has at least been a durable innings-eater over the last two years, recording 371 1/3 IP since the start of the 2014 campaign. Even if Danks struggles in 2016, he’s only 30 years old, so I suspect he’d find a minor league deal next winter to continue his career.
- The Royals internally project to lose money in 2016 unless they manage another deep playoff run, Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star writes. The team is willing to spend outside its comfort zone in order to take another shot at a World Series, with Mellinger noting that baseball’s shared TV contracts and revenue-sharing policies have allowed the small-market Royals to get into a position to contend in the first place.
Royals Sign Travis Snider To Minor League Deal
The Royals have announced that they’ve signed corner outfielder Travis Snider to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite. Snider is a client of CAA Sports.
Snider, who will turn 28 this week, batted .232/.313/.350 in 265 plate appearances split between the Orioles and Pirates in 2015. The Orioles sent two pitching prospects to Pittsburgh for Snider he performed well in a part-time role in 2014, but he was a disappointment in Baltimore and was ultimately released. He re-signed with the Bucs and rejoined the team when rosters expanded in September.
Snider, the 14th overall pick in the 2006 draft, was once a top prospect in the Blue Jays organization but has struggled to string together productive seasons in the Majors. He has, however, done just enough with the bat (with a career .244/.311/.399 line) to potentially provide an organization with a good left-handed bench option. Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan tweets that Snider is one of the higher-upside players to sign a minor league deal this offseason, and given Snider’s youth and pedigree, it’s hard to argue that point. It’s worth noting, however, that there will be limited time for the Royals to realize that upside, since Snider can become a free agent again with about a half a season more service time.
AL Notes: Bullpens, Perez, Rays
The Yankees and Red Sox are among the seven teams this offseason that kept their closer but also added another team’s closer, ESPN’s Jayson Stark writes. “It’s been the wave. Let’s face it,” says Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, who made a huge trade for Craig Kimbrel in November. “A lot of clubs have improved the depth in their bullpen. And it has paid off.” Of course, the most recent template for this kind of bullpen stockpiling came from the Royals, who rode a weak rotation and a dominant bunch of late-inning relievers to a World Series win last season. But Royals assistant GM J.J. Picollo points out that the Reds’ “Nasty Boys” bullpen of a quarter-century ago was similarly potent. “We didn’t invent this,” he says. “[W]e just stumbled upon it.” Here’s more from the American League.
- Royals catcher Salvador Perez confirms that he and his team have been working on an extension, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com writes. Jon Heyman reported earlier this week that the two sides were working on a new deal. “I got my agents they are talking to. We’ll see,” says Perez. “We have to wait for it. I’m happy either way. I’m happy no matter what. I’m here to play the game.” Perez, of course, is signed to one of baseball’s most team-friendly contracts — he’s set to make just $2MM next season and then has three club options after that, none of them exceeding $6MM.
- The Rays‘ offseason moves have focused on fixing an offense that finished 14th in the AL in runs scored last season, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. The team’s recent additions of Corey Dickerson and Steve Pearce (to go along with Brad Miller and Logan Morrison, who they’d previously acquired) give the Rays a wider variety of offensive options. It remains to be seen, however, how they’ll deploy them. As Topkin points out, one victim of all the Rays’ additions could be first baseman James Loney. With Desmond Jennings, Kevin Kiermaier and Steven Souza in the outfield, Dickerson could play DH while Pearce and Morrison share first base.