Brewers Rumors

Quick Hits: Otani, Red Sox, Brewers, Phillies

By Connor Byrne | December 10, 2016 at 10:40pm CDT

The new collective bargaining agreement will significantly damage Japanese superstar Shohei Otani’s earning power if the 22-year-old immigrates to the majors before he turns 25, but that might not prevent him from coming to the big leagues prior to 2019. Hideki Kuriyama, Otani’s manager with the Nippon-Ham Fighters, said Thursday that he expects the right-handed ace/left-handed hitter to head to the majors next offseason (Twitter link via Jim Allen of Kyodo News). Otani will have to take a minor league deal if he signs with a major league team before he turns 25. That means he’d need to accrue six years of service time before becoming a major league free agent and having a real chance to cash in via the open market. As of last weekend, the Fighters were planning on posting Otani a year from now.

A couple more notes from around baseball:

The Red Sox and Brewers set the wheels in motion for Tuesday’s Travis Shaw/Tyler Thornburg trade at the general managers meetings in early November, writes Alex Speier of the Boston Globe in a highly detailed piece that’s worth a full read. Milwaukee GM David Stearns told Red Sox president Dave Dombrowski that the Brewers would want Shaw and more in return. “’I said, ‘Well, it would be something we’d be interested in talking about,'” Dombrowski recalled. Talks went dormant as the two sides awaited a new CBA, which Major League Baseball and the players’ union reached Nov. 30. Then, less than a week later at the winter meetings, the Red Sox agreed to send Shaw and two minor leaguers – shortstop Mauricio Dubon and right-hander Josh Pennington – to the Brewers for Thornburg.
The rebuilding Phillies might have another lean year or two ahead, but GM Matt Klentak expects their ever-growing core of young talent and the franchise’s spending ability to form a lethal mix soon. “One of the advantages that we have as a big market club is that we’ve been able to take advantage of the past couple of years to trade some key assets to get younger,” Klentak told Ryan Lawrence of PhillyVoice. “Another huge advantage we have is that we have a very dedicated ownership that we know will spend when the time is right.” That time might be two winters away, when free agency could feature such superstars as Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Clayton Kershaw and Josh Donaldson.

Central Notes: Burton, Moncada, Brewers

By charliewilmoth | December 10, 2016 at 1:14pm CDT

Former Twins and Reds reliever Jared Burton is attempting a comeback, LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune tweets. Burton last pitched in the Majors in 2014 and pitched 16 innings in the minors in 2015 before being suspended for 50 games to start the 2016 season after testing positive for the second time for a drug of abuse. He’s now 35. The righty has pitched parts of eight seasons in the big leagues, with a 3.44 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9. Here’s more from the Central divisions.

Both the White Sox and Red Sox organizations believe new top prospect Yoan Moncada can be an impact player, Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune writes. He’ll still have work to do, however, as his first taste of big-league action late last year (during which he struck out 12 times in 20 plate appearances) showed. “They were coming down, finishing him off underneath the hands down and in,” says White Sox manager Rick Renteria. “He’s a 21-year-old man who has not seen that type of bite coming from pitchers, and it’s probably changing the lane in which he’s looking for that particular type of slider, where he has to get it out and away.” Kane also reports that after learning the White Sox had acquired Moncada, Jose Abreu sent Moncada a congratulatory text message. The two played together in Cuba with Cienfuegos in 2012, when Moncada was 17.
The Brewers lost Miguel Diaz as the top overall pick in the Rule 5 Draft on Thursday, as Minnesota selected Diaz and then traded him to San Diego. Diaz appeared to be a good prospect, but GM David Stearns says the organization left him unprotected because of his lack of experience, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes. The 22-year-old Diaz had elbow surgery in 2015 and only pitched his first full minor-league season in 2016, when he posted a 3.71 ERA, 8.7 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 94 2/3 innings for Class A Wisconsin. “He’s never pitched above the Midwest League. It’s very unusual for guys to be able to make that jump,” says Stearns. “We have to be prepared for that but it would be the exception to the norm if someone is able to make that jump successfully and contribute at the Major League level.” Of course, a Rule 5 pick doesn’t have to succeed for his original team to lose him. Before Stearns joined the Brewers organization, the team selected Wei-Chung Wang, a pitcher who had even less minor-league experience than Diaz now does, in the 2013 Rule 5 Draft. Wang pitched poorly in the Majors in 2014 and hasn’t yet returned to the big leagues, but the Brewers did manage to keep him.

Phil Bickford Receives 50-Game Suspension For Drug Of Abuse

By Jeff Todd | December 9, 2016 at 4:17pm CDT

Brewers righty Phil Bickford has been hit with a 50-game suspension after testing positive for a drug of abuse for the second time, as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Bickford reportedly tested positive for marijuana before being drafted in 2015. Players on 40-man rosters are not at risk of suspension for marijuana use, but Bickford is not on Milwaukee’s big-league roster.

Bickford, 21, has long been seen as a high-quality pitching prospect. He has maintained double-digit strikeout-per-nine tallies throughout his minor league career since heading to the Giants with the 18th overall selection. (Bickford was also previously taken tenth overall by the Blue Jays in 2013, but did not sign at the time.)

The suspension won’t have an impact on Milwaukee’s immediate plans, as Bickford has yet to reach the upper minors. But it will have at least some impact on his developmental timeline, which certainly rates as a disappointment for the organization. The Brewers added Bickford from the Giants along with catcher Andrew Susac in the trade that sent lefty Will Smith to San Francisco at the trade deadline.

Bickford delivers a big four-seam fastball, diving two-seamer, promising slider, and developing change, MLB.com’s prospect team explained in ranking him the fifth-best talent on the Brewers farm. There are still some who think he’ll end up in a major league pen, but regardless the expectation remains that he’ll make an impact. Last year, working at the Class A and High-A level, Bickford threw 120 innings of 2.92 ERA ball with 10.1 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9.

Padres To Acquire Rule 5 Picks Miguel Diaz, Luis Torrens

By charliewilmoth | December 9, 2016 at 3:08pm CDT

TODAY: Cincinnati will pick up infielder Josh VanMeter from the Padres in the trade for Torrens, per club announcements. The 21-year-old struggled after a promotion to Double-A last year, but earned that bump up with a strong .267/.355/.443 batting line over 401 High-A plate appearances. Notably, he ended up hitting 14 total home runs in 2016 — a rather significant tally for a player who had hit just three total long balls as a professional coming into the year.

YESTERDAY: The Padres will acquire the top two Rule 5 Draft picks, righty Miguel Diaz (in a trade with the Twins) and catcher Luis Torrens (in a trade with the Reds), MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo writes (Twitter links). (Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper tweeted that the Reds would trade Torrens to San Diego.) The Padres already had the third Rule 5 pick and used it to select infielder Allen Cordoba, so it appears they’ve ended up with the first three Rule 5 picks.

The Reds will receive a player to be named and cash from the Padres. The Twins will receive a player to be named or cash, LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune tweets, and they’ll also get Rule 5 pick Justin Haley, who the Padres had previously acquired from the Angels. Diaz and Torrens were previously with the Brewers and Yankees, respectively. Haley had been with the Red Sox.

That’s all incredibly confusing, so here’s a different way of representing where each player went this morning:

Diaz: Brewers –> Twins –> Padres
Torrens: Yankees –> Reds –> Padres
Haley: Red Sox –> Angels –> Padres –> Twins

The 22-year-old Diaz ranked 21st on MLB.com’s list of the Brewers’ top prospects. He throws in the mid-90s from a three-quarters arm slot, and he has the makings of a good slider, according to MLB.com. He’s a bit small, at 6’1″ and 175 pounds, and he’s had elbow trouble in the past. He fared well for Class A Wisconsin in 2016, however, with a 3.71 ERA, 8.7 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 94 2/3 innings.

Torrens, 20, ranked as the Yankees’ 17th-best prospect. The Yankees signed him out of Venezuela for $1.3MM in 2012. He hasn’t hit much, batting .250/.350/.337 in the lower levels in 2016, and his experience is limited, due to shoulder troubles that cost him much of 2014 and all of 2015, but MLB.com praises his work behind the plate. He seems hard-pressed to stick in the Majors all season, but perhaps it’s not out of the question he could make the Padres out of Spring Training as Austin Hedges’ backup.

From Miller To Fenway: Tyler Thornburg Chats With Burke Badenhop

By Burke Badenhop | December 8, 2016 at 5:28pm CDT

Burke Badenhop has thrown over 500 major league innings over eight seasons. He has been traded four times, signed as a free agent, and called more than a dozen Major League and minor league clubhouses home. We are thrilled to have Burke bring some of that unique perspective to MLB Trade Rumors.

This post is a part of MLBTR Player’s Perspective Series.

The Red Sox were the talk of the Winter Meetings yesterday after swinging a deal for superstar Chris Sale. Quickly lost in the shuffle, however, was a shrewd deal that Dave Dombrowski and Co. made earlier that morning to acquire righty Tyler Thornburg from the Brewers.

I know Tyler pretty well. We were Brewers teammates in 2013, share the same agents, and have even been off-season catch partners. To top it all off, the last reliever to have been traded from Milwaukee to Boston was … me! I caught up with Tyler a day after the trade to talk about his old club, his new club and a variety of things in-between.

BB: Obviously big news with Boston yesterday … can you believe they traded for Chris Sale?!

TT: [Laughing] No, I think I had actually maybe just gotten off the phone with some of the Boston media and happened to look at Twitter and see that. And then later on in the day, Mitch Moreland. It was definitely a pretty interesting day for them.

Did you have any notion that a trade was a possibility, being on a Brewers club that’s kind of rebuilding? Did you think this might happen, and how’d you find out?

I was definitely pretty surprised. I always felt like there was a chance that if the right offer came along, they would definitely pull the trigger. But I slept in, ended up rolling over, grabbing my phone, and had a ton of missed calls and texts, and kind of figured something had happened. So I just opened up my phone and saw a couple of messages saying “Red Sox,” and kind of figured it out from there.

Who was the first official person you heard from?

Honestly, all the text messages. And then I had a text message from David Stearns telling me to call him when I got this, so I made that my first call. But the first incoming was Dave Dombrowski and John Farrell.

As someone who has been traded four times before, and the most recent reliever prior to you to be traded from Milwaukee to Boston … it’s kind of an interesting call to get, right?

It really is. Especially going from such a small-market team to a pretty big one. So it’s definitely a huge jump in that regard.

What year were you drafted, Thorny?

’10

So Milwaukee’s all you’ve ever known … what did it feel like when you realized that Boston was the place you ended up going?

It’s definitely going to be weird with Boston as far as [being] used to the Arizona Spring Training and things in Milwaukee. I knew how everything worked, knew exactly what to expect. …

I actually thought about if I were to get traded a couple times, and there weren’t many teams that I was actually relatively excited about going to. Nobody really wants to get traded too much, especially when they’re comfortable where they are. But I’d definitely say the Red Sox were pretty high up on that list as far as being excited to go to that team.

You’ve played in Fenway before.

Yeah, we played there 2014 Opening Day.

You excited?

Yeah. The Opening Day there that I had was probably one of the best baseball experiences I’ve had. It was one of the coolest things as far as the ring ceremony, followed by just the coolest Opening Day ever.

Yeah they had the Dropkick Murphys and the chopper. So you got a pretty good idea of what Red Sox Nation’s about I guess. So what’s more exciting now, your first trip through arbitration — getting off the minimum salary — or first trade?

I’d definitely say the trade part was a little bit more exciting. Obviously it’s kinda fun and awesome going through the whole arbitration thing, making more money, all that kinda stuff. But I was thinking that would be the only stressful thing in my life this offseason.

I don’t really know how to feel about the trade just yet. Obviously I’m excited about the opportunity and really excited to see the town of Boston a little more. I enjoyed it the couple of days that I was there in ’14. But yesterday was such a whirlwind of calls and all that kind of stuff. I’m sure over the next couple days I’ll start thinking about things and truly getting actually excited about the opportunity.

So now your first trip through arbitration is right after your first trade. so now one of the first things that needs to get done as you meet your new team is the money question. Have you thought about that?

A little bit. I’d say it’s a little bit weird. Just hopefully there’s no issues there. But I don’t think that should be a huge deal at all.

So which city’s further north geographically, Milwaukee or Boston?

[Pause] That’s a very good question. [Pause]

Don’t cheat, don’t be looking through your phone right now! Off the top of your head, which one’s further north, Milwaukee or Boston?

Dang it! Milwaukee?

Correct! Milwaukee’s about one degree further north.

They’re literally like even.

Yeah they’re pretty close. But you do realize that Milwaukee plays in the friendly confines of a dome and you’ll be outside at Fenway Park.

I know, I’m gonna really miss that dome.

So it’ll be cold, but whatever man. So who do you think’s taller, Scooter Gennett or Dustin Pedroia?

Scooter.

No, I’d say Pedey’s taller.

Dang it, really?

Obviously, Craig Kimbrel is the Red Sox closer. You were closing in Milwaukee. That probably won’t be your role moving forward with Boston. Thoughts on that?

I definitely enjoyed setting up last year. With me, I don’t really care — the closing, the setting up. I’d definitely say, closing in Milwaukee and setting up in Boston, I feel like, is about the same as far as adrenaline levels and things like that. So I’m definitely excited to be doing that. Hopefully get some save opportunities here and there. Hopefully Craig ends up throwing a ton and racks up the saves.

So if you got somebody with a thick Wisconsin accent versus a thick Boston accent, who’s tougher to understand?

I’d say Boston, ’cause I’m not used to it.

Yeah. I’m gonna spell a word for you, and you tell me how you would pronounce it. W-O-R-C-E-S-T-E-R.

“Worshester”?

That is “Wooster,” Massachusetts my friend. That’s a little bit of what you’ve got in store for you. You’ll figure it out. Your thoughts on going from the NL Central, which is still a pretty tough division in recent years, to the high-profile AL East?

It’s definitely gonna be a lot different. I know over the past few years, with the rise of the Cubs, our division got pretty tough. But the AL East, historically, has just been the toughest division — pretty much year in, year out.

Who’s the Red Sox’ biggest celebrity fan?

Oh gosh … I have no idea. I got nothing. I don’t even know who their celebrity fans are.

Well, you’ll see ’em around. The top three would probably be Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and a Mark Wahlberg or maybe a Jimmy Fallon. There’s lots of ’em.

I got you.

So as you kinda made the jump last year, what made the biggest difference for you? You were a fairly high-round draft pick, big prospect, and then finally seemed like it all clicked for you last year, and that kind of led to this trade. So what was the biggest difference for you?

There was honestly a number of things. Number one is them telling me that hey, you’re gonna be a reliever, we’re not gonna move you around — starting, relieving. So you could have the same routine, you know how to prepare mentally, physically, everything like that. That helped a ton.

And then just the confidence to feel like I know what to do and not just — every fastball has to be down in the zone, every curveball has to be this. Just having the confidence that if I believe in a cetain pitch and that pitch will work, that I can actually throw that pitch rather than take the safe route.

One of the things I had seen was your velo went up a little bit you’ve always been kind of a reverse split guy. Are you aware of that reverse split and would you like to see the Red Sox maybe take advantage of that more?

I am aware of the fact that I do have reverse splits typically. And one thing that I do like about that is the fact that I feel like I’m a guy who hopefully doesn’t need a lefty to come get lefties out. Hopefully just be good against both sides.

I’d say you’re great against lefties, though. Definitely a weapon that way. It’s not like you’re okay, I’d say you’re really good.

Well, it’s weird, because I’ve always done well against lefties. And then against righties there was a time late in the year last year where I had retired like thirty-something righties in a row. So that was kinda weird and I didn’t hear about that until pretty much after it was over. But typically I always find that I give up a couple hits to righties rather than lefties.

That’s only ten innings perfect against righties, that’s not bad, right?

I mean, that’ll work.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Brewers Trade Caleb Smith To Cubs

By charliewilmoth | December 8, 2016 at 8:56am CDT

The Brewers have traded Rule 5 Draft pick and left-handed pitcher Caleb Smith to the Cubs, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes (Twitter links). The Brewers will receive a player to be named or cash.

The Brewers had selected the 25-year-old Smith out of the Yankees system. He pitched 63 2/3 innings for Double-A Trenton in 2016, making seven starts and 20 relief appearances, and posted a 3.96 ERA, 9.9 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9. The Yankees selected him in the 14th round of the 2013 draft. He seems unlikely to stick on a stacked Cubs roster, but the Cubs had been looking for left-handed relief help.

Quick Hits: Int’l Pools, Verlander, Tigers, Brewers, Rule 5, Victorino

By Mark Polishuk | December 7, 2016 at 4:21am CDT

The details of the new bonus pool system for the 2017-18 July 2 class of international prospects has been reported by Baseball America’s Ben Badler, who provides a recap of how the July 2 market has been altered under the new collective bargaining agreement. All teams have been assigned bonus pools of either $5.75MM, $5.25MM or $4.75MM, based on their revenues and market size. Here’s more from around the game as news continues to pour in from the Winter Meetings…

Tigers GM Al Avila doesn’t expect Chris Sale’s departure from the trade market to have any impact on Justin Verlander’s status, he told reporters including MLB.com’s Jason Beck. “I would assume there will be a domino effect, because that’s one more guy that gets taken up and maybe some teams now move on. But I don’t believe it’s going to affect our situation at all,” Avila said. While the Tigers are looking to be more cost-effective than usual this winter and are open to discussing deals of Verlander and other high-salaried players, the ace’s salary and no-trade protection are obstacles to a deal, not to mention the fact that Verlander is a necessary component since Detroit obviously still wants to compete in 2017.
Along those same lines, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus told Beck and other reporters that he doesn’t “think there’s going to be a ton of change” to his team’s roster give the difficulty involved in trading the high-priced stars. “It’s so much easier to talk about trading people, and a lot [tougher] to actually trade them, especially when you’re talking about guys that have some sizable contracts….Quite frankly, even talking about being more responsible fiscally, we don’t want to trade,” Ausmus said. “We like them, especially some of the names mentioned earlier in the season. Miguel [Cabrera], Justin, I don’t want those guys traded. Are you kidding me? That’s the last thing I want. I just think it’s easy to talk about and harder to do.” Ausmus believes his team can contend if they get better health next year, and he said he wouldn’t be surprised if the Tigers bring in an external candidate for their vacancy in center field.
With Tyler Thornburg off to the Red Sox, Brewers GM David Stearns told media (including MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy) that the team could possibly have a need in the bullpen. Stearns said he has had preliminary discussions with the agents of various free agent relievers.
The minor league portion of this Thursday’s Rule 5 Draft will no longer have a distinction between Triple-A and Double-A levels, Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper writes. The change probably won’t have impact on how the draft operates, as Cooper notes that the distinction between the two minor league phases “has been archaic for years.”
Veteran outfielder Shane Victorino is working out in Las Vegas in case he decides to pursue a comeback in 2017, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. Victorino said in October that he could still consider returning to the sport. His 2016 season was limited to just nine games for the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate, as Chicago released Victorino from their minor league contract in May and the “Flyin’ Hawaiian” turned down minor league offers from other teams later in the season.

Red Sox Acquire Tyler Thornburg

By Steve Adams | December 6, 2016 at 10:00am CDT

10:00am: The teams have announced the trade. The Brewers will also receive a player to be named later or cash from the Red Sox.

8:20am: Tuesday morning at the Winter Meetings kicked off with some action, as the Red Sox reportedly agreed to a trade that will net them right-handed setup man Tyler Thornburg from the Brewers in exchange for third baseman Travis Shaw, minor league shortstop Mauricio Dubon and minor league right-hander Josh Pennington.

Thornburg, 28, gives the Red Sox not only an imposing late-inning force but one that is under club control for the next three seasons, as he won’t be eligible for free agency until after the 2019 season. The former starter had a breakout season in the Milwaukee bullpen last year, pitching to a 2.15 ERA with 12.1 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 32.4 percent ground-ball rate in 67 innings. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a $2.2MM salary for Thornburg in his first trip through the arbitration process.

Late-inning relief help has been a priority for the Red Sox, who saw Koji Uehara, Brad Ziegler and Junichi Tazawa all hit free agency at season’s end and also went without 2015 trade acquistion Carson Smith in 2016 due to Tommy John surgery. Thornburg will give manager John Farrell an intriguing setup option to closer Craig Kimbrel. Thornburg figures to slot in alongside converted starter Joe Kelly and Matt Barnes as right-handed options for the time being, though there’s certainly room for Boston president of baseball ops Dave Dombrowski to add another relief arm to the mix.

The Brewers have now traded their three top relief arms in the past five months, sending Jeremy Jeffress to the Rangers, Will Smith to the Giants and Thornburg to Boston. As it stands, right-hander Corey Knebel could be in line to see save opportunities in Milwaukee, though the team could host an open competition there. Alternatively, Milwaukee could lure a second- or third-tier arm to their rebuilding club on an affordable deal with the promise of offering an opportunity to close out games. In addition to providing the Brewers with some needed veteran stability in the ’pen, that tactic could also yield yet another midseason trade chip if he ultimately performs well in a high-leverage role.

The package that the Red Sox are giving up will be headlined by Shaw, who should slot in as the primary third baseman for his new organization. Shaw struggles against left-handed pitching and may well require a platoon partner, but he’s a controllable addition for Milwaukee GM David Stearns. Shaw hit .257/.325/.437 against right-handed pitching last year and showed potential 20-homer pop by hitting 16 homers in 530 plate appearances. He hit just .187/.235/.364 in 115 PAs against lefties, but he stands out as a solid if not well-above-average defender at the hot corner, depending on one’s preferred metric (+1.1 UZR, +10 DRS).

Most important, when it comes to Shaw, is that he’s controllable for another five years and won’t even be eligible for arbitration until after the 2018 season, making him an eminently affordable long-term piece. His inclusion in the deal opens a number of doors for both teams. In Milwaukee, it seems as though his acquisition definitively pushes Jonathan Villar off third base and over to second base, as has been suggested, thereby making Scooter Gennett either a bench piece or trade fodder himself. The Red Sox, meanwhile, could use Brock Holt and/or Pablo Sandoval at third base until Yoan Moncada proves ready to inherit the position on an everyday basis. Boston could also realistically look to pursue a different upgrade at third base, either via free agency or trade, as they look to field the best Opening Day roster possible in a season where they once again plan to push for a deep postseason run.

Dubon, 22, was a 26th-round pick by Boston back in 2013 but has risen to the point where he’s regarded as one of the organization’s top overall prospects. Baseball America rated him seventh (subscription required and recommended) among Boston farmhands earlier this offseason, writing that he doesn’t have one plus tool but has very good bat-to-ball skills and enough defensive ability to play an average or better shortstop. He’s also plenty versatile, having spent time at second base and in center field, making him a potential utility option in the Majors at the very least. He could open 2017 in either Double-A or Triple-A, depending on how aggressive the Brewers want to be with him. Dubon split the 2016 season between Class-A Advanced and Double-A, where he batted a combined .323/.379/.461 with six homers and 30 steals.

The 21-year-old Pennington was Boston’s 29th-round pick in 2014. While he didn’t crack the top 10 recently penned by BA, he did rank 22nd on MLB.com’s midseason list of Boston’s top 30 prospects. Per their report (via Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis), Pennington boasts a 70-grade fastball (on the 20-80 scale) but doesn’t get great movement on the pitch or command it especially well. They also note that he has the makings of an above-average curveball as well as a work-in-progress changeup. He’s a starter for now but could move to a short-relief role if that doesn’t pan out, and one can envision his velocity ticking upward further if that plays out. Pennington spent 2016, his age-20 season, with Boston’s short-season Class-A affiliate, pitching to a 2.86 ERA with 7.8 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9 in 56 2/3 innings.

Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald first reported that the two teams had agreed to a trade that would send relief help to Boston and Dubon to Milwaukee (Twitter links). Baseball America’s Josh Norris tweeted that Pennington was in the deal, and Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reported (on Twitter) that Shaw was expected to be included. FOX’s Ken Rosenthal first tweeted that Thornburg was going to Boston.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/3/16

By Jeff Todd | December 3, 2016 at 7:22pm CDT

Here are the day’s minor moves:

Free agent right-hander Parker Markel has agreed to terms with a team in Asia, reports Zach Links of Pro Football Rumors and MLBTR (Twitter link). The 26-year-old performed well in 2016 with a 2.52 ERA, 6.97 K/9 and 3.56 BB/9 in 60 2/3 innings as a member of the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate in Durham. Between going to the Rays in the 39th round of the 2010 draft and heading to Asia, Markel posted a 3.99 ERA, 7.3 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 across 197 minor league appearances (54 starts) and 466 1/3 frames.
The Angels have added lefty John Lamb and catcher Tony Sanchez on minor-league deals, per Matt Eddy of Baseball America (via Twitter). A top prospect not long ago, Lamb has changed hands a few times this winter as he has continued to deal with injury issues. Sanchez also has quite a prospect pedigree, but has failed to gain traction in the upper minors.
Recently acquired righty Ryan Weber was outrighted to Triple-A by the Mariners, per a club announcement. Added through a waiver claim from the Braves, the 26-year-old lost his 40-man spot when Seattle acquired two other former Atlanta hurlers. Weber’s quality upper-minors numbers have yet to translate to the majors, where he owns a 5.15 ERA over 64 2/3 innings over the past two seasons.
The Brewers outrighted righties Steve Geltz and David Goforth, the team announced. Geltz had just been claimed off waivers, so perhaps Milwaukee will hope he clears and can be stashed. The 29-year-old struggled to a 5.74 ERA in his 26 2/3 major league frames in 2016, but was much better in prior years and also showed well at Triple-A. While Goforth had a solid debut year in 2015, he scuffled in both the majors and at Triple-A in his most recent campaign.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: Friday

By Steve Adams and Jeff Todd | December 2, 2016 at 8:30pm CDT

With the non-tender deadline set for tonight at 8pm ET, expect to see quite a few players avoid arbitration today — specifically those who stood out as possible non-tender candidates. You can check out the full list of projected arbitration salaries from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz here, and we’ll run down the list of players to duck arbitration in this post…

Infielder Ehire Adrianza gets $600K in the majors and $300K in the minors with the Giants, per another Heyman tweet. He had projected for only the league minimum after receiving action in just forty major league contests.
Lefty Paco Rodriguez avoided arbitration with the Braves for $637,500, Heyman tweets. It seems likely he’d have been non-tendered had he not taken that contract, per David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter), which helps explain why he took less than his projected $900K.
The Brewers have agreed to a contract with second baseman Scooter Gennett for 2017, per Heyman (via Twitter). He receives $2.525MM, a fair sight shy of his projection of $3.0MM. Given his limited ability to face left-handed pitching, Gennett may not have fared better on the open market.
Righty Cory Gearrin will be paid $1.05MM by the Giants, Heyman tweets. That’s right in line with his $1.1MM projected arb value.
Infielder Brett Lawrie will earn $3.5MM next year for the White Sox, per Heyman (on Twitter). That’s well shy of MLBTR’s $5.1MM projection — which was predicated upon Lawrie’s $4.125MM salary from a season ago. It’s highly unusual for players to receive pay cuts in arbitration, least of all when they are coming off of seasons in which they play a reasonable amount (384 plate appearances, in his case) and put up non-trivial numbers at the plate (a roughly league-average .248/.310/.413 batting line with a dozen home runs). But in some cases, players feel they’re better off taking the money on the table, and the opportunity at hand, rather than testing the market. It’s certainly possible that was the case here.
The Twins have agreed to a $2.6MM price tag with infielder Eduardo Escobar, according to Heyman (via Twitter). He had projected at $2.9MM in his second season of eligibility. The 27-year-old had posted two consecutive seasons of above-average production, but limped to a .236/.280/.338 slash over 377 plate appearances last year.
Lefty Jake McGee picks up a $5.9MM salary from the Rockies, also via Heyman (on Twitter). That’s just shy of his $6.1MM projection. Though the high price tag (driven by prior years’ save tallies) had made McGee at least a hypothetical non-tender candidate, it’s not surprising to see him return. Colorado will hope that he can restore some velocity and improve upon the 4.73 ERA and 7.5 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 that he posted in his first year with the Rox.
The Braves agreed to a $800K figure with catcher Anthony Recker, Heyman tweets. The veteran receiver had projected at $1MM, but will settle for less to take his place in a still-uncertain catching mix. Atlanta also recently acquired and tendered Tuffy Gosewisch, and also has Tyler Flowers under contract. Recker hit a surprising .278/.394/.433 last year, albeit over just 112 plate appearances. While he lands a bit shy of his projected number, Recker won’t have to settle for a split arrangement; instead, he’ll receive a full big league deal.
White Sox outfielder Avisail Garcia received a $3MM deal from the club, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). A Super Two player last winter, Garcia turned in another subpar year at the plate and in the field, but managed to hold onto his roster spot in Chicago. The 25-year-old was projected at $3.4MM.
The Athletics have avoided arbitration with first baseman Yonder Alonso by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $4MM, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). Alonso looked like a non-tender candidate after an underwhelming season at the plate that saw him bat .253/.316/.367 with seven homers and 34 doubles across 532 plate appearances. Once one of the game’s top all-around prospects, Alonso has never materialized into the offensive force he was supposed to become and is a lifetime .269/.334/.387 hitter.

Earlier Updates

Lefty Wade LeBlanc and the Pirates have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $800K, according to FanRag’s Jon Heyman (on Twitter). Leblanc will make $750K in 2017, and his contract contains an option for the 2018 season that is valued at $1.25MM and comes with a $50K buyout. The veteran southpaw logged a 4.50 ERA in 50 innings for the Mariners last year before being traded to the Buccos, where he allowed one run in 12 innings of work with a 10-to-2 K/BB ratio. The 62 innings Leblanc logged last year were the most he’s pitched in a big league season since 2012. He’s controllable through the 2019 season and would be arbitration-eligible once more if the Pirates exercise their 2018 option on him.
The Mets and catcher Rene Rivera agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.75MM, Heyman tweets. The 33-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Mets last summer and eventually found his way onto the big league roster due to a combination of injuries and struggles from backstops Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki. While Rivera didn’t hit much — .222/.291/.341 in 207 plate appearances — he’s a strong defensive backstop and gives the Mets a glove-first option to back up either d’Arnaud or Plawecki (presumably the former, who has been the team’s starter when healthy in recent years).
Outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis and the Brewers settled on a split contract that pays the veteran $900K in the Majors and $257K in the minors (Heyman again, on Twitter). The 29-year-old picked up 392 plate appearances in 125 games with Milwaukee, batting just .209 but logging a .324 OBP and slugging .385. The 13 homers Nieuwenhuis hit were far and away a career-best — he entered the year with just 17 home runs in 693 PAs — and he contributed solid defense across all three outfield spots.

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