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Quick Hits: Hoyer, Morrow, Hawkins, Angels

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A strong young pitching arm has long been the most valuable commodity in baseball, but as ESPN’s Buster Olney writes in his latest Insider-only column, some executives are beginning to put a greater premium on young hitters.  Position players may rate higher due to defensive value, not to mention that big bats are becoming a rarer commodity as scoring declines around the game.

Here are some news and notes from around the baseball world…

  • The Cubs are widely expected to be sellers at the trade deadline but GM Jed Hoyer told reporters (including CSN Chicago’s Patrick Mooney) that trade talks are currently “non-existent” and things won’t get serious for at least a few more weeks.  “I certainly talk to a lot of GMs on a daily or weekly basis,” Hoyer said. “But having a GM call about a specific player? I’m not even sure I fielded one of those yet. Really, that trade talk always dies right at the end of spring training.”
  • The Blue Jays have shifted Brandon Morrow to the 60-day disabled list, the team announced to reporters, including MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm (Twitter links).  The right index finger injury that put Morrow on the 15-day DL earlier today was revealed to be a torn tendon sheath, and if the injury isn’t healed by July, Morrow will have to undergo season-ending surgery.  This looks to be the third time in as many years that Morrow has suffered an injury that cost him at least two months of the season.
  • LaTroy Hawkins’ presence could’ve greatly helped solve the Mets’ bullpen issues, which is why Andy Martino of the New York Daily News opines that the team isn’t serious about contending.  Hawkins signed a one-year, $2.5MM deal with the Rockies, a modest contact that Martino feels the Mets should’ve and could’ve easily topped in order to shore up their bullpen’s questionable depth.
  • The Angels’ struggling bullpen could get a boost from the farm system very soon, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times writes.  GM Jerry Dipoto said that Double-A right-handers R.J. Alvarez and Cam Bedrosian could both be “a phone call away. They’re doing it against high-level professional hitters. I feel like both can help sooner rather than later.”
  • Indians catcher George Kottaras is likely to be designated for assignment once Yan Gomes returns from the paternity list, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.  Kottaras was just called up today by the Tribe to take Gomes’ place, but he is out of options.  The 30-year-old catcher signed a minor league deal with the Tribe in late March.
  • In an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com, Mike Petriello identifies three early weaknesses plaguing the Cardinals, Dodgers and Tigers in 2014.
  • Ten well-known names ranging from Major League veterans to retired NBA star Tracy McGrady are active in the independent leagues, Zachary Levine writes for FOXSports.com in a brief review of these ten players’ career situations.
  • Giving minor league starting prospects Major League experience as relievers and eventually working them into the rotation is a strategy popularized by Earl Weaver’s Orioles in the 1970’s, and this idea has been one of the cornerstones of the Cardinals’ success over the last decade, Peter Gammons writes in his latest column for GammonsDaily.com.

Dodgers Designate Nick Buss For Assignment

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The Dodgers announced that they’ve designated outfielder Nick Buss for assignment and selected the contract of right-hander Red Patterson, who will make his Major League debut and start the second game of today’s double-header against the Twins.

The 27-year-old Buss made a brief cameo with the big league club in 2013 but has spent the vast majority of his career in the minor leagues since being an eighth-round pick of the Dodgers back in 2008. Buss is a career .296/.358/.503 hitter in 157 games at the Triple-A level, though he’s never ranked among the organization’s top 30 prospects (per Baseball America).

Patterson, 26, has a 4.15 ERA through his first four starts this season but excelled at Triple-A as a 25-year-old in 2013, posting a 3.03 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 107 innings (he split the season between the rotation and bullpen). Patterson will be the 26th man on the roster for today’s twin bill and likely head back to the minor leagues following his start.

Dodgers Notes: Olivo, Outfield, League

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The Dodgers today announced that they’ve selected the contract of catcher Miguel Olivo and promoted him to the big league club, optioning Tim Federowicz to Triple-A to clear room on the 25-man roster. To make room on the 40-man roster, Chad Billinglsey was placed on the 60-day DL. Olivo hit well in a very small sample at Triple-A after signing a minor league deal with the Dodgers this offseason, slashing .390/.438/.661 in 64 PAs. Here are a couple more Dodgers notes as the team hopes to squeeze in a three-game set with the Twins despite some poor weather in Minneapolis…

  • In an ESPN Insider piece, Jim Bowden writes the Dodgers must trade one of their outfielders prior to the trade deadline and another in the offseason to clear room for Joc Pederson, who is ready for big league action. Bowden goes through each player’s contract before concluding that he’d first look to move Andre Ethier and then Carl Crawford, noting that a trade of either would require the Dodgers to eat significant amounts of salary. Pederson is batting .393/.491/.628 through his first 114 plate appearances.
  • Though he’s been a whipping boy for the better part of the past year, Brandon League has started off the season very well, writes Steve Dilbeck of the L.A. Times. The immediate disaster of League’s $22.5MM contract made him the subject of plenty of ire, but Dilbeck points out that Juan Uribe also went from a perceived sunk cost to a surprising value for Dodgers recently. League has a 2.84 ERA in his first 12 2/3 innings on the young season.

NL Notes: Byrd, Towers, Ramirez

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Marlon Byrd is glad the Mets gave him a chance last season, ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin reports. The Mets signed Byrd to a minor-league deal, and he had an improbable age-35 breakout season that resulted in a trade to the Pirates, followed by a two-year, $16MM deal with the Phillies. “They let me go out there and play my game. They gave me a chance to make a team,” says Byrd. “Hopefully I helped them out a little bit, me and Bucky bringing Vic Black back [in the trade] — a strong arm, a closer for the future. Hopefully we helped each other out.” Here are more notes from the National League.

  • GM Kevin Towers is hopeful that the Diamondbacks will continue to back him despite the team’s poor start, Jack Magruder of FOX Sports Arizona reports (Twitter links). “I feel we have their support but I would imagine that they’re evaluating things as we’re evaluating things,” Towers says. “Hopefully we have their continued support and they are patient enough with this club to where … we turn it around.” There has been plenty of speculation about the futures of both Towers and manager Kirk Gibson. Whatever the team itself might be thinking about, though, it seems somewhat unlikely it would fire Towers just weeks before the June draft.
  • The Dodgers have announced that they’ve promoted reliever Paco Rodriguez to the big leagues and optioned infielder Carlos Triunfel to Triple-A Albuquerque. As Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times points out, the Triunfel move signals that the Dodgers are comfortable that infielder Hanley Ramirez is ready to play regularly. Ramirez had been suffering from a thumb injury.

NL West Notes: Williamson, Rockies, Gordon, D’Backs

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There have already been a pair of headlines coming out of the NL West tonight, with the Padres outrighting Alex Castellanos and the Diamondbacks acquiring Lucas Harrell from the Astros. Here’s a look at some more happenings from that division…

  • The Giants will lose one of their top prospects to Tommy John surgery, but it’s not a pitcher; Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that top hitting prospect Mac Williamson will undergo Tommy John surgery tomorrow and miss the 2014 season. Baseball America ranked Williamson as San Francisco’s No. 5 prospect heading into the year, and MLB.com ranked him ninth. The 23-year-old hit .292/.375/.504 with 25 homers at Class-A Advanced last season.
  • The latest notes column from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports highlights multiple storylines within the NL West but leads by discussing the dividends Colorado is already seeing from the offseason’s trade of Dexter Fowler. Not only are Jordan Lyles and Brandon Barnes both contributing nicely to this point, the trade paved the way for regular playing time for Charlie Blackmon. While Blackmon, of course, is due for some regression, he’s also shedding the “tweener” label that some had applied to him, Rosenthal writes.
  • Rosenthal also discusses Dee Gordon’s progress at second base, writing that the infielder worked hard on learning the position this winter after a “reality check” conversation with GM Ned Colletti last fall. Colletti told Gordon that Hanley Ramirez was going to be the club’s everyday shortstop, and the team hadn’t received any trade offers for Gordon that he felt made sense.
  • While a lot has been made about Archie Bradley, Rosenthal points out the top prospect’s 8.76 ERA over his past three starts — none of which has been more than five innings long. The D’Backs have drawn some ire for not promoting Bradley despite the team’s pitching needs, but GM Kevin Towers has maintained it’s strictly due to developmental reasons, and Bradley’s recent skid could speak to that.
  • Harrell spoke with MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart and said: “I kind of got what I deserved because you don’t pitch well you don’t get an opportunity to stay.” Harrell thanked the Houston fans and said he is looking forward to a new start with Arizona.

Free Agent Notes: Hanrahan, Carbonell, Penny, Braddock

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Free agent reliever Joel Hanrahan has fielded “a few” offers from clubs, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com. He is not close to signing, however, adds Cotillo. Hanrahan reportedly drew a large showing to his recent showcase, and looked good as he works to return from Tommy John surgery. Since then we’ve heard that multiple teams are already discussing a contract with him, but the Mets have yet to decide whether they’ll make an offer.

Here are a few more notes on some free agents from around the league…

  • Cuban outfielder Daniel Carbonell has been declared a free agent, reports FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (Twitter links). There is very little public information floating around on the 23-year-old outfielder, though ObstructedView.net rounds up some information suggesting that speed is his calling card. Last October, El Diario De Cuba reported that Carbonell and fellow Serie Nacional  player Orlando Perez had defected from the island. Carbonell has enough experience to be considered a professional and therefore wouldn’t count against a team’s international bonus pool as long as he signs by July 2 of this year.
  • Brad Penny’s agents at Millennium tell Cotillo that Penny will throw for multiple clubs in Kansas City this week (Twitter link). Penny requested his release from the Royals early in Spring Training after the club told him that he wasn’t likely to make the team. Penny, 35, last appeared in the Majors in 2012 with the Giants and has a 4.26 ERA in 1899 career innings at the big league level.
  • Cotillo also reports (via Twitter) that former Brewers left-hander Zach Braddock worked out for the Dodgers yesterday. Baseball America ranked the control-challenged strikeout artist 13th or higher on Milwaukee’s list of Top 30 prospects each year from 2007-09. Braddock has a career 3.80 ERA in the minors and has averaged a whopping 12 strikeouts per nine innings, but he’s also averaged nearly five walks per nine frames. That same profile has held true in the Majors, where he has a 4.41 ERA with 10.4 K/9 and 5.3 BB/9 in 51 innings. Braddock underwent shoulder surgery to repair his left labrum midway through the 2012 season.

Jeff Todd contributed to this post.

Minor Moves: Buckner, Martinez, Edlefsen, Carter, Ramirez, Hauser, Scammell

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The Padres have sold the contract of Triple-A right-hander Anthony Carter to the Nippon Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball, MLB.com’s Corey Brock reports (via Twitter). The 28-year-old Carter appeared in just three games for Triple-A El Paso this season, allowing a pair of runs in three innings of work. The former 26th-round draft pick (White Sox) has punched out more than a batter per inning in his minor league career and owns a 4.93 ERA with a 2.51 K/BB ratio in 680 1/3 innings. In addition to the Sox and Padres, he spent the 2013 season — arguably his best year — with the Red Sox’ Triple-A affiliate. In Pawtucket, he posted a 3.47 ERA with 11.4 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 62 1/3 innings. Here are the rest of today’s minor moves from around the league…

  • The Padres have inked righty Billy Buckner to a minor league deal, tweets Corey Brock of MLB.com. Buckner, 30, has tossed 155 2/3 MLB innings in parts of five MLB seasons, splitting his appearances about evenly between starting and relieving. His lifetime ERA stands at 6.07, and he has averaged 6.4 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 with a 44.7% ground-ball rate.
  • Two former big leaguers decided to hang up their spikes rather than continue on at the Triple-A level, according to the PCL transactions page. Joe Martinez of the Angels and Steve Edlefsen of the Dodgers both retired today. The right-handed relievers had both seen relatively minimal MLB action over their professional careers, and were off to rough starts in the season’s early going.
  • The Reds have signed right-hander Elvin Ramirez, per Cincinnati’s official transactions page. The 26-year-old struggled in 61 innings with the Angels’ minor league affiliates last season but had a strong 2.13 ERA in 55 innings with the Double-A and Triple-A affiliates for the Mets in 2012. In 422 2/3 career innings in the minors, the Dominican native has a 4.02 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9.
  • Right-hander Matt Hauser has signed a minor league deal with the Orioles, according to the team’s transactions page. A former seventh-round pick of the Twins (2010), Hauser enjoyed strong minor league numbers until posting a 5.09 ERA between Double-A and Class-A Advanced last year. The 25-year-old has a career 2.95 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9.
  • The Royals have inked outfielder Cory Scammell to a minor league contract (also via the club’s transactions page). The 20-year-old Canadian was a 35th-round pick of the Mariners in the 2011 draft and spent two seasons with the team’s Rookie-level affiliate, slashing a solid .274/.349/.355 in 358 plate appearances.

California Notes: Ramirez, Billingsley, Puig, Athletics

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Here's the latest MLB news from the west coast:

  • The Dodgers averted a potentially devastating injury last night when x-rays revealed that star shortstop Hanley Ramirez did not suffer a break in his hand on a hit-by-pitch, Alanna Rizzo of SportsNet LA reported on Twitter. The club's middle infield decisionmaking — in particular, declining Mark Ellis's reasonable option — drew some questions in the offseason, though Dee Gordon has been a revelation thus far and Alex Guerrero is off to a fast start in Triple-A. The Dodgers also got good news recently on rehabbing starter Chad Billingsley, who underwent an MRI that showed no damage to his elbow after experiencing discomfort in a throwing session, as MLB.com's Ken Gurnick reports.
  • As we noted a few days ago, the emerging story of Yasiel Puig's defection from Cuba has led to increased focus to the travails of players seeking to reach the bigs from the neighboring island. In another piece on the incredible tale, ESPN The Magazine's Scott Eden describes the underground system that brought Puig (and others) to the majors. 
  • The Athletics have compiled what Fangraphs' Tony Blengino calls a "low-risk, reasonably high-reward" staff. Oakland's rotation — in particular, Dan Straily, Scott Kazmir, and the surprising Jesse Chavez — has both generated a promising batted-ball mix (low line-drive, high ground-ball, and high pop-up rates) and logged strong K:BB ratios early on in 2014. When you add youngster Sonny Gray to that mix, and consider the reasonable pay rates of all the arms, Blengino says that the A's have done an excellent job of constructing their rotation. Indeed, despite injuries to Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin, Oakland's starters lead the league in fWAR and are second in ERA.
  • Of course, much of the offseason focus on Oakland revolved around the team's surprising buying spree of expensive relievers, as MLBTR's Steve Adams recently documented. Though the pen has had some hiccups at the back end to start the year, it still ranks 6th in ERA as a unit. With Jim Johnson already having been removed from the classic closer role, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wonders whether the team could stick with a closer-by-committee approach — more out of opportunity than need. 

Quick Hits: Puig, Yankees, Lester, Tigers, Blackouts

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For some players, just getting the chance to play is the biggest hurdle. That certainly holds true for Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, whose journey out of Cuba and into Major League Baseball is perhaps more astounding than anyone realized. Jesse Katz of Los Angeles Magazine provides a narrative of Puig's unbelievable tale. 

Here are a few notes from around the game:

  • The Yankees come in at a surprising second in the early-season defensive shift count, writes ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider subscription required). As Olney notes, that kind of decision requires organizational commitment on every level, and two offseason infield acquisitions — Kelly Johnson and Brian Roberts — played an important part in the first discussions involving players.
  • Red Sox players view hurler Jon Lester as worthy of the kind of huge payday that the club's front office seems somewhat unwilling to give him, Olney adds. The view from the clubhouse is obviously not likely to drive a decision, but Olney notes that players are keeping a keen eye on how the team's ace is treated.
  • For Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski, the big issue facing the club is health, George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press reports. He said that the team's bullpen depth at the minor league level is a strength, that the righty-heavy lineup was driven by having good options that happen to hit from that side of the plate, and that he was comfortable with the team's shortstop options — especially with Eugenio Suarez and Hernan Perez available in the minors.
  • The MLB blackout policy is harmful to the game's long-term development, opines Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. Passan traces the league's determined fight to maintain territorial blackouts and its connection to the local TV money that has had such a substantial impact on the MLB player market.

Minor Moves: Brendan Harris, Blake Forsythe

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Here are today's minor moves from around baseball.

  • The Dodgers have released infielder Brendan Harris, Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish tweets. Harris made 117 plate appearances for the Angels in 2013, posting a line of .206/.252/.355. It had been his first appearance to the Majors since 2010. Previously, he had played for the Cubs, Expos/Nationals, Reds, Rays, and Twins.
  • The Mets have announced that they've traded catcher Blake Forsythe to the Athletics for future considerations. Forsythe, 24, hit .192/.271/.362 for Double-A Binghamton in 2013. He was a third-round pick in the 2010 draft out of the University of Tennessee.
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