Minor MLB Transactions: 12/4/15
It’s been a huge day for news, with Zack Greinke and John Lackey agreeing to terms with new teams and the Red Sox officially announcing their signing of David Price. Here are some smaller moves that might have fallen through the cracks.
- The Dodgers have announced that they’ve outrighted righty Brooks Brown, clearing a spot on their 40-man roster. They claimed the 30-year-old from the Rockies in October after he pitched parts of two seasons in the Colorado bullpen, posting a 3.97 ERA, 6.3 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 59 innings.
- The Dodgers are also expected to sign outfielder Donavan Tate, Baseball America’s John Manuel tweets. Tate, now 25, has struggled to establish himself since the Padres drafted him with the third overall pick in 2009. In 2015, he hit .211/.290/.334 for Class A+ Lake Elsinore.
- The Yankees have signed infielder Pete Kozma to a minor league deal, Anthony McCarron of New York Daily News writes. Kozma was the Cardinals’ starting shortstop in 2013, but he failed to establish himself at the position and now has a career .222/.288/.293 line in parts of five big-league seasons. He has just three extra-base hits, all doubles, in his last two seasons, spanning 137 plate appearances. He is, however, solid in the field.
- The Twins have announced that they’ve signed lefty Aaron Thompson, catcher Juan Centeno and outfielder Joe Benson to minor league deals. Thompson pitched in 41 games for the Twins last season, posting a 5.01 ERA, 4.7 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 out of the bullpen. Centeno, a longtime Mets farmhand, served as a depth catcher in the Brewers system in 2015, batting .295/.312/.364 while backing up Nevin Ashley at Triple-A Colorado Springs. The 27-year-old Benson, a Twins second-round pick in 2006, hit .248/.351/.361 last season while playing in the Mets and Braves systems.
- The Royals have signed shortstop Orlando Calixte to a minor league deal, tweets MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan. The Royals non-tendered Calixte earlier this week after the 23-year-old batted .229/.287/.339 for Triple-A Omaha.
- The Royals have also signed outfielder Cody Decker to a minor league deal, Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan tweets. The 28-year-old Decker hit .252/.335/.488 for Triple-A El Paso in the Padres’ system in 2015.
- Righty Paul Clemens has signed a minor league deal with the Marlins that includes a Spring Training invite, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman tweets. Clemens struggled in parts of two seasons pitching for the Astros in 2013 and 2014, then carried those struggles over to the minors in the Phillies and Royals systems 2015. He should provide the Marlins with minor league depth.
Free Agent Notes: Navarro, Madson, Leake, Soria, Flowers
Switch-hitting catcher Dioner Navarro is a “name to keep an eye on” in connection to the White Sox, says Yahoo’s Jeff Passan (links to Twitter). The sense among competitors for Navarro’s services is that something could come together quickly between Navarro and the ChiSox now that Tyler Flowers has been non-tendered, according to Passan, who calls Navarro the “top” offensive catcher on the market. I’d posit that Wilin Rosario certainly gives Navarro a run for his money in that regard, though Navarro probably comes with the better defensive reputation of the two. Regardless, a match between the Sox and Navarro certainly seems plausible.
A few more notes on some various free agents for those who are joining me in the realm of insomnia…
- MLB.com’s Jane Lee reports that the Athletics are interested in right-hander Ryan Madson, with one source telling her that the A’s are a “legitimate suitor” for Madson’s services. Oakland is “square in the mix” for Madson, says Lee’s source. She notes that the former Phillies closer, who enjoyed a brilliant bounceback campaign in Kansas City this past season, is looking for a multi-year deal. While Oakland has already picked up reliever Liam Hendriks from Toronto, Lee writes that the team isn’t shying away from the concept of adding another relief arm. She adds that GM David Forst has stated that payroll won’t be a deterrent in the team’s pursuit of an additional setup arm.
- The Giants still haven’t engaged in talks with right-hander Mike Leake, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. While San Francisco is widely believed to be interested in retaining the right-hander it acquired in late July, Schulman says the belief is that the team’s pursuit of ace Zack Greinke needs to be resolved before a serious effort to re-sign Leake is made. Greinke is reportedly deciding between the Giants and his former club (and San Francisco division rival), the Dodgers.
- The Blue Jays and Royals are among the clubs monitoring the market for right-hander Joakim Soria, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link). The Tigers are out of the mix for Soria after acquiring Francisco Rodriguez, he adds. Both Toronto and K.C. are known to be interested in relief help, though a recent report from Crasnick indicated that the Blue Jays aren’t inclined to pay top dollar for any bullpen arms right now, and Soria is reportedly seeking a $27MM total over a three-year span, which seems to make the two an unlikely match.
- CSN Chicago’s Dan Hayes tweets that the White Sox‘ decision to non-tender Flowers might have been a blessing in disguise for the catcher. One scout texted Hayes shortly after the news of Flowers’ non-tender broke, telling Hayes that Flowers “should thank” the White Sox for cutting him loose, because his belief is that Flowers will get more than his projected $3.5MM arbitration salary in this market. That seems potentially steep to me, considering the fact that Alex Avila and Geovany Soto have both signed for under $3MM, but Flowers did post standout framing numbers last year and does have some pop, so clubs are sure to be interested. If nothing else, he could probably surpass that number by way of incentives in a one-year deal with a new club.
Royals Non-Tender Greg Holland
The Royals announced that they have non-tendered injured closer Greg Holland as well as infielder Orlando Calixte (Twitter link). Holland, who would have been arbitration eligible for the final time this winter and came with a projected $11.3MM price tag, will enter the free-agent pool.
It’s been known for quite some time that the Royals would non-tender Holland, who underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this year and missed the end of the season. Kansas City has expressed interest in working out a two-year contract that would allow the team to retain Holland, who was among the most dominant pitchers in baseball when healthy. Any contract would, of course, backload most of the salary into the second year of the deal, as Holland will almost certainly not take the mound in 2016 as he recovers from the operation.
Though it was a well-known possible outcome, the non-tender is nonetheless notable; due to the fact that the Royals weren’t able to strike up a two-year pact with Holland in advance of tonight’s deadline, he and agent Scott Boras will now have the opportunity to negotiate with all 29 other clubs to see if a more lucrative offer is available on the open market.
Orioles Acquire Francisco Pena From Royals, Designate Paul Janish
The Orioles announced that they have acquired catcher Francisco Pena from the Royals in exchange for cash considerations and designated infielder Paul Janish for assignment in order to clear room on the 40-man roster.
Pena, 26, is the son of former Major League catcher Tony Pena. He picked up seven plate appearances with the Royals this past season — the first seven he’s seen in the big leagues — and collected a single in that brief cup of coffee. Pena spent the bulk of the season at Triple-A Omaha, where he’s played since 2014, and batted .251/.305/.430 with 13 homers. He’ll replace some of the depth that the Orioles lost when they traded Steve Clevenger to the Mariners earlier today.
Janish, 33, is a well-traveled veteran known for outstanding infield defense but a light bat. He hit .286/.278/.381 in 14 games with Baltimore this season and is a career .216/.284/.291 hitter at the Major League level. He can elect free agency upon clearing outright waivers and should draw interest from multiple clubs as an infield depth option due to his veteran status and defensive prowess.
Free Agent Notes: Fowler, Zobrist, Leake, Venable, Relievers
The Mets have some level of interest in Dexter Fowler as a center field option, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney (via Twitter). However, Ben Zobrist remains the team’s top priority in free agency. Recent reports have indicated that the Mets won’t go to four years on Zobrist, and that will probably need to change in order to sign him, as Yahoo’s Jeff Passan said last night the price tag is currently believed to be around $60MM over four years. Should the Mets lose out on Zobrist, they could look to upgrade in center field, where Juan Lagares had a down season in 2015 — the first of a four-year contract extension. Lagares’ contract is affordable enough that he could be moved to a reserve role without it being an overpay.
A few more notes from around the free-agent market…
- ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick delivers a slew of news pertaining to Zobrist (Twitter links 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Per Crasnick, the Nationals, Giants and Dodgers are all in the mix for Zobrist as well. The Cubs and Cardinals like Zobrist but don’t have as many at-bats to offer as the other clubs. The Royals are probably priced out on Zobrist, and while the Angels inquired earlier this offseason, there’s been no recent discussion between the two sides. Additionally, Zobrist’s preference is to play for a contender, making the Braves a tough fit even though they do have some level of interest. Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press hears (Twitter link) that about 11 clubs are in the mix for Zobrist, to some extent, but the Twins aren’t among them (which is no surprise given their glut of outfielders and Brian Dozier‘s presence at second base).
- Crasnick hears the same that Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has recently suggested — that having fallen short on David Price, the Cardinals could turn their attention to Mike Leake on the free agent market. Leake won’t cost near the same amount that the Cardinals were willing to go on Price, but he’d be a strong option to replace the injured Lance Lynn in their rotation in 2016 and would provide value for another four years or so beyond that point.
- Also from Crasnick, both the Indians and Orioles have expressed interest in free-agent outfielder Will Venable. While the 32-year-old Venable is coming off a down season split between San Diego and Texas, he has historically been a productive bat for the Friars and has posted solid numbers away from the spacious Petco Park over the life of his career. Venable is also capable of playing all three outfield positions.
- A pair of notes on relievers: Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald hears that the Red Sox are no longer in the market for right-hander Joakim Soria (Twitter link). Having spent an enormous amount in terms of dollars and prospects to acquire Price and Craig Kimbrel, it’s perhaps logical that the Sox wouldn’t spend so heavily. Additionally, Crasnick spoke to an agent who said that the Blue Jays are looking for an impact (Twitter link), power arm for their bullpen but are trying to land such a piece for “dollar store prices,” suggesting that the team isn’t keen on shelling out a significant multi-year deal.
Non-Tender Notes: Alvarez, Mejia, Holland
The Marlins face a difficult call on whether to tender a contract to injured righty Henderson Alvarez, as Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald explains. He’s one of many interesting names that could end up on the free agent market if they aren’t tendered a contract today. Click here to find a list of possible non-tender candidates.
Here are the latest rumors as decisions begin to be reported, with all arbitration projections via MLB Trade Rumors:
- The Mets are planning to tender volatile reliever Jenrry Mejia a contract, ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin recently reported. Mejia’s talent easily supports his $2.6MM projected salary — which would match his earnings from last year — but he’s now twice been suspended for PEDs. Of course, that also makes it easier to roll the dice from a value perspective, as Mejia will miss a good chunk of 2016 and will be able to be ramped up before returning. In a sense, then, New York could be pre-buying a late-season pen reinforcement at a cut rate, in addition to maintaining its future control rights over a player who won’t be able to accrue enough innings to command a huge arb raise.
- Agent Scott Boras says that he doesn’t expect the Pirates to non-tender Pedro Alvarez, as Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. “Pedro has extraordinary power,” said Boras. “He’s got a history, when he plays every day, of hitting 35 home runs and driving in 90 to 100 runs. And he’s done it in a ballpark (PNC Park) that’s very tough on left-handed hitters. That’s something most teams don’t have.” Of course, the question remains whether that skill set is worth a projected $8.1MM, particularly when Alvarez has struggled so badly in the field. It will certainly be interesting to see how Pittsburgh handles the slugger today.
- While it’s long been clear that the Royals wouldn’t offer a straight tender to Tommy John patient Greg Holland, given that he’s projected at $11.3MM but probably won’t pitch next year, it’s now increasingly apparent that the team won’t reach any other deal with him before tonight’s deadline, Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star tweets. That means that the ace closer will hit the open market, where he’ll be an interesting player to watch. Holland would presumably be a candidate for some kind of multi-year arrangement that would allow him to complete his rehab process and return to MLB action in 2017. Kansas City remains interested in working something out with the former All Star, McCullough adds.
- The Cubs are likely to tender contracts to all eligible players today, ESPNChicago.com’s Jesse Rogers reports. That’s not a big surprise, given the solid list the club has compiled. Chris Coghlan is the only arb-eligible position player, while Jake Arrieta leads a length group of arms which also includes Pedro Strop, Justin Grimm, Clayton Richard, Hector Rondon, Travis Wood, Ryan Cook, and Rex Brothers. (Brothers has already agreed to a deal for 2016.)
Royals Acquire Tony Cruz, Designate Francisco Pena
The Royals have acquired catcher Tony Cruz from the Cardinals in exchange for young infielder Jose Martinez, Kansas City announced. The club designated fellow backstop Francisco Pena for assignment to clear roster space, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan tweets.
Cruz lost his backup job with St. Louis after the team inked free agent Brayan Pena. He is projected by MLBTR to earn $1MM in his second season of arbitration eligibility. That’s just $100K shy of the projection for incumbent Kansas City backup receiver Drew Butera, who could now be displaced by the new addition.
The 29-year-old Cruz owns a meager .220/.262/.310 slash line in 633 plate appearances over the last five years. That’s poor, even for a catcher, though it does rate above Butera’s own lifetime production. Obviously, though, Kansas City isn’t looking for much out of a reserve catcher. Just like Yadier Molina in St. Louis, Royals backstop Salvador Perez handles the vast majority of the duty.
Free Agent Notes: Davis, Heyward, Zobrist, Asdrubal, Young, Cotts
Slugger Chris Davis is not the “top priority” for Cardinals GM John Mozeliak, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports on Twitter. A source tells Crasnick that St. Louis’s reported interest in the free agent is “overblown.” Of course, it remains tricky to find a perfect fit for the slugger, whose market still seems to be developing. From an analytical perspective, though, he appears to be a fairly solid match with the Cards. Indeed, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes picked the former Oriole to land there.
Here’s the latest from the rest of the free agent market:
- Top free agent outfielder Jason Heyward looks more like a “secondary option” for the Cubs, Buster Olney of ESPN.com tweets. In other words, Chicago is pursuing other opportunities, but could pivot to chase Heyward if those other possibilities don’t come to fruition.
- The Mets‘ interest in Ben Zobrist is real, but that doesn’t mean the team will promise him four years to get a deal done, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports. New York’s pursuit of Zobrist is part of a flexible offseason plan, writes Rubin, in which various types of additions could be considered at the second base position — and elsewhere — as the market dictates.
- Three teams are “in the mix” for free agent middle infielder Asdrubal Cabrera, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. He’s expected to ink a deal “within the next week or so,” per Cotillo, which would seem to suggest that the veteran could find his next team by the time the Winter Meetings are wrapped up.
- The Royals have had “encouraging talks” with free agent righty Chris Young about a return, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reports. Both the 36-year-old and the team have expressed interest in a continued relationship, though it remains to be seen whether other clubs will make a push for his services — and, if so, whether Kansas City will be willing and able to meet or beat the market.
- Similarly, the Twins have real interest in bringing back lefty reliever Neal Cotts, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports. Minnesota added Cotts in an August waiver trade. Fellow free agent southpaw Brian Duensing, meanwhile, tells Berardino that he hasn’t heard anything yet from the only professional organization he’s ever played for.
Royals Avoid Arbitration With Tim Collins
The Royals have agreed to contract terms with lefty Tim Collins to avoid arbitration, the club announced. Collins will earn $1.475MM for the 2016 season, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports on Twitter.
That’s exactly what he made last year and what MLBTR predicted for the coming campaign. The reason: Collins, 26, missed all of 2015 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in March.
Truth be told, it’s now been some time since Collins has been at his best. He also dealt with forearm and elbow issues in 2014, throwing only 21 big league frames while watching his strikeout rate plummet to a personal low of 6.4 batters per nine. (Collins did get about twice as much work in Triple-A that season, putting up much better numbers there.)
Obviously, though, the Royals believe in his arm. While he’s small in stature, Collins still delivers his average fastball in the 92 to 93 mph range. And between 2012 and 2013, he logged 123 innings of 3.44 ERA ball with 10.6 K/9 against 4.5 BB/9. Most importantly, perhaps, Collins has actually been slightly better against right-handed batters.
With age still on his side, there’s still plenty of potential value there for the defending World Series champs, who haven’t shied from taking injury risks on relievers in recent years. It’s not entirely clear when Collins will be ready for full action, but Kansas City will probably be looking for other southpaw pen additions regardless of when that’s expected. The club’s only two southpaws to top twenty innings out of the pen last year — Franklin Morales and Brandon Finnegan — have been lost to free agency (at least for the time being) and trade, respectively.
AL Central Notes: Fuenmayor, Victorino, Zimmermann, Park
Royals first base prospect Balbino Fuenmayor — one of the more intriguing candidates to be selected in the upcoming Rule 5 Draft — is progressing very well in his recovery from a torn ACL this past summer, as recently noted by his agents at True Gravity Sports. Fuenmayor underwent surgery to repair the ligament on Aug. 3 but is running multiple times per week at present and is on track to begin baseball activities in early January. Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper recently listed Fuenmayor as one of the most plausible Rule 5 targets. The slugger, who was out of affiliated baseball at the age of 23 after receiving a huge bonus from the Blue Jays as a 16-year-old, reestablished himself on the independent circuit and returned to minor league ball in dominant fashion this past season, hitting .358/.384/.589 with 17 homers in 89 games before suffering his injury.
A few more items pertaining to the AL Central…
- The Indians are currently showing the most interest in outfielder Shane Victorino, sources tell Rob Bradford of WEEI.com (Twitter link). Cleveland was known to be on the hunt for outfielders even before Michael Brantley underwent shoulder surgery that will sideline him into next season, but that injury likely increased the team’s urgency to add some outfield help. Cleveland, as Bradford points out, had interest in Victorino before he signed in Boston and even offered him a four-year contract. Victorino, though, took three years to head to the Red Sox instead.
- The trades to acquire Francisco Rodriguez and Cameron Maybin earlier this month allowed the Tigers to sign Jordan Zimmermann, writes MLive.com’s James Schmehl. Filling a pair of holes without making lavish financial commitments allowed the Tigers to spend a more considerable sum than most had anticipated on a free-agent starter. Zimmermann said at today’s press conference that he was the second or third choice for a number of teams to whom he and agent Mark Pieper of Relativity Sports spoke, but the Tigers had him atop their list and wanted to sign quickly, which appealed to him (via Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post, on Twitter).
- Byung-ho Park arrived in Minneapolis today, reports Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and his agent, Alan Nero of Octagon, is expected to arrive in the next day or so to finalize a contract with the Twins. Park said he’s spoken to countrymen Shin-Soo Choo and Hyun-jin Ryu as well as close friend Jung Ho Kang about the transition to Major League Baseball, with each encouraging him that he will adapt to the new league well. Park told Miller, via interpreter, that his goal is to remain in Major League Baseball for the rest of his career. Miller notes that Park does speak some English and is working on learning more as he prepares for the next phase of his career.