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Cubs To Sign Brandon Gomes

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Among the players signing minor league deals with the Cubs was righty Brandon Gomes, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (Twitter links). He’ll join the pen competition with another recently-added righty, Jean Machi.

Gomes, 31, threw 59 frames for the Rays last year, posting a 4.27 ERA with 6.7 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9. He has thrown 167 total innings over the last five years in Tampa Bay, finding some success at times. But Gomes has been limited by a tendency to serve up the long ball.

Among the other arms heading to the Chicago organization this spring are righty Stephen Fife and southpaws Scott Barnes and Luis Cruz. Fife missed all of 2015 with Tommy John surgery but recently had a nice, 13-start showing in Venezuela. Barnes pitched in the Blue Jays organization last year and hasn’t cracked the majors since 2013. And Cruz, 25, lost his 40-man spot with the Astros this fall after throwing 116 innings of 4.27 ERA ball at Triple-A last year, with 7.2 K/9 against 4.0 BB/9.

Finally, the Cubs inked outfielders Juan Perez and Kelly Dugan. Perez has seen action as a reserve with the Giants over the past three years, compiling a .224/.267/.316 slash in 246 total plate appearances. The 25-year-old Dugan had previously spent his entire career in the Phillies organization. He struggled in his first taste of Triple-A last year.

Domonic Brown Elects Free Agency After Outright

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OCTOBER 26: Brown has elected free agency, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports on Twitter. That will bring his tenure in Philadelphia to an end, barring a somewhat surprising reunion.

OCTOBER 19: The Phillies announced today that former top prospect and starting right fielder Domonic Brown has been outrighted off their 40-man roster. As a player with more than three years of big league service time, Brown will have the option to elect free agency rather than accepting an assignment to Triple-A. Also outrighted were catcher/first baseman Tommy Joseph, outfielder Brian Bogusevic and outfielder Kelly Dugan.

Brown, 28, batted just .228/.284/.349 this season — a disappointing season and a near-mirror image of his 2014 batting line: .235/.285/.349. Ranked by Baseball America as the game’s No. 1 overall prospect midway through the 2010 season, many believed Brown to be ticketed for stardom. The former 20th-round pick batted .327/.391/.589 with 20 homers in just 93 games between Double-A and Triple-A in that 2010 campaign, leading to visions of future 30-home runs seasons from the powerful lefty batter.

Brown looked to be delivering on that promise in 2013 when he belted 27 homers and batted a hefty .272/.324/.494 in his age-25 season, but much of that production came in a torrid six-week stretch, and he’s been unable to recreate anything resembling that level of success. He’ll assuredly draw some interest from other clubs with the hope of buying low on his once-potent bat. Brown cleared four years of big league service in 2015, meaning any team that signs him would be able to control him for 2016 and 2017, if he’s productive enough to justify a spot on the roster for that long.

Making this series of moves even more disappointing for the Phillies is that Joseph, too, once ranked among their top prospects. The main piece acquired from the Giants in the trade that sent Hunter Pence to San Francisco, Joseph’s once-promising career has been slowed by injuries — most recently a series of significant concussion issues. Joseph’s first full year in the Phillies organization was marred by injuries, but he looked to have turned a corner in 2014 when he got off to a .282/.345/.551 start in 27 games at Double-A Reading. A left wrist issue that ultimately required surgery cut that season short as well, though, and he hit just .193/.220/.301 in Triple-A this season before moving to first base due to concussion woes.

The 25-year-old Dugan rated 17th among Phillies farmhands last offseason, per Baseball America, but batted just .221/.295/.298 upon reaching Triple-A for the first time this year. Bogusevic, 31, has bounced around the league since debuting with the Astros in 2010. He’s a lifetime .238/.311/.373 hitter in 834 big league plate appearances.

Phillies Sign Top Draft Pick

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According to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, the Phillies have reached a deal with second-round draft pick Kelly Dugan.

Dugan, a switch-hitting high school outfielder from California, was actually the club's first overall selection. Phillies assistant general manager Benny Looper had some nice compliments for the kid on Saturday evening:

"I think several things impressed me," said Looper.  "A lot of it isn't what I saw, but what I know about his character.  His personality.  His work ethic.  What we were able to see was the athleticism and the tools.  The run tool.  The throw tool.  He's a switch-hitter.  He's got a good looking swing."  

Dugan is expected to report to rookie ball later this month.

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