NL Central Notes: Wong, Nova, Brewers, Reds
Cardinals GM John Mozeliak and manager Mike Matheny have both heaped praise onto second baseman Kolten Wong this winter, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, further suggesting that the 26-year-old isn’t likely to be traded. Wong’s name surfaced in rumors earlier this winter and has come up in speculation that has been linked to St. Louis’ reported interest in Twins second baseman Brian Dozier, but Mozeliak speaks highly of the former first-round pick. “I don’t make lineups but you have to have the understanding of patience,” said Mozeliak. “He’s such a talented defender and when your team is built around groundball pitching it’s nice to have that behind you.” Mozeliak and Matheny have both called Wong a “Gold Glove-caliber everyday second baseman,” Goold notes. Wong tells Goold that he’s trying his best to put a poor 2016 season behind him and has been working out with former teammate Jon Jay, focusing specifically on speed and explosiveness rather than adding muscle. Wong has $24.25MM remaining on the five-year, $25.5MM extension he inked last March.
More from the NL Central…
- Ivan Nova called the decision to return to the Pirates “an easy choice” at today’s conference call announcing his signing, as Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. Nova said that his preference all along was to return to Pittsburgh after enjoying his two-month stint there to close out the season and expressed excitement over the opportunity to return. GM Neal Huntington told the media that Nova has long been a target of the Pirates’ front office. “There are reasons we tried to acquire him in past offseasons, in past trade deadlines,” said Huntington. “…our hope was that this could turn into a prolonged relationship and a situation where he’d want to stay here. For us, thankfully, he did.” Huntington added that he’s still open to improving the rotation if it makes sense “in the big picture as well as the short-term” — the Pirates are rumored to have interest in White Sox ace Jose Quintana — but retaining Nova does give the Bucs some stability. Brink notes that Chad Kuhl appears to have an inside track on the fourth spot behind Nova, Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon, though there’ll be a sizable competition for the final two rotation spots.
- Speaking of competition, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy breaks down the Brewers‘ upcoming closer battle, listing right-handers Corey Knebel, Carlos Torres and Jacob Barnes as internal options to pitch in the ninth inning. As McCalvy notes, the Brewers have seen Jeremy Jeffress, Will Smith and Tyler Thornburg — all traded in the past six months — emerge as late-inning arms that were acquired by means other than lucrative free-agent deals. The Brewers have been in contact with the representatives for seasoned free-agent closers, but there’s no guarantee they’ll sign any of the remaining available options (e.g. Santiago Casilla, Sergio Romo, Greg Holland).
- The Reds are monitoring the market for veteran catchers, writes Mark Sheldon of MLB.com in his latest Reds Inbox. Devin Mesoraco and Tucker Barnhart project to split time behind the dish in Cincinnati next year, but health has been a major factor for Mesoraco, who caught just 18 games from 2015-16 due largely to hip surgery. Rule 5 pick Stuart Turner (out of the Twins organization) is also an option, Sheldon notes, though he’s behind both Mesoraco and Barnhart. Sheldon also notes that he asked newly minted president of baseball ops Dick Williams about the possibility of signing Greg Holland recently, and while Williams sidestepped a specific comment on Holland, he said the team is looking to add relievers on potential value deals. “A lot of times it comes from a guy who has missed time from an injury or had a bad year,” said Williams. Certainly, Holland would fit that bill after missing the 2016 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Sheldon also tackles questions about playing time for Jose Peraza and notes that he considers trades of Anthony DeSclafani and/or Dan Straily unlikely.
Angels Claim Blake Parker From Brewers
The Angels on Friday announced that they’ve claimed right-hander Blake Parker off waivers from the Brewers, marking the second time that the Halos have won a waiver claim on Parker since the regular season ended. Anaheim also claimed Parker from the Yankees back on Oct. 5, but designated him for assignment in late November when clearing spots on the 40-man roster in advance of the Rule 5 Draft. The Brewers scooped Parker up on waivers shortly thereafter, but his stay in the Milwaukee organization will ultimately last just one month.
The 31-year-old Parker split the 2016 season between the Mariners and Yankees, and wound up pitching 17 1/3 innings in the Majors. During that brief stint, he turned in a 4.67 ERA ball with 15 strikeouts against eight unintentional walks. Parker actually averaged a career-best 92.2 mph on his fastball in 2016 and comes with a 3.67 career ERA in 90 1/3 innings at the Major League level. He’s an extreme fly-ball pitcher and has averaged 10.5 K/9 in parts of nine seasons at Triple-A but has also averaged 4.2 walks per nine innings there.
Trade/FA Rumblings: Wieters, Nats, Mets, Rays, Braun, EE, Tribe
There’s “rampant” speculation across the industry that free agent catcher Matt Wieters will sign with the Nationals, according to ESPN’s Buster Olney (Insider required and recommended). The Nationals traded for ex-Padres starting catcher Derek Norris earlier this month, but Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com then noted that they could sign Wieters and flip Norris elsewhere. Of course, it’s worth pointing out that Wieters’ agent, Scott Boras, is close with Nats owner Ted Lerner and president/general manager Mike Rizzo. The 30-year-old Wieters has spent his entire career in nearby Baltimore, but it may have replaced him Friday with the signing of Welington Castillo.
More offseason rumblings:
- The Mets checked in with the Rays on closer Alex Colome, though talks didn’t go far because Tampa Bay asked for either outfielder Michael Conforto or elite shortstop prospect Amed Rosario as a starting point, per Peter Gammons (via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times). While the effective and cheap Colome would have helped shore up a Mets bullpen that will likely be without soon-to-be suspended closer Jeurys Familia for at least 30 games next season, it’s no surprise that they balked at the Rays’ asking price. Although Conforto took steps backward in 2016 after a great rookie campaign, the Mets regard the 23-year-old as nearly untouchable. The club feels similarly about Rosario, whom MLB.com ranks as the sport’s 11th-best prospect.
- After the Brewers nearly dealt outfielder Ryan Braun to the Dodgers in August, there was a report that the two teams would revisit talks during the winter. There hasn’t been much offseason chatter regarding Braun, though, and one team executive told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that clubs are wary of his past performance-enhancing drug use. “When a guy with that contract has been busted once, it’s hard to commit those dollars and those player resources because if he gets busted again, you lose all of your guys and you lose Braun,” the exec said. “Nobody is saying he’d do it again, but while he’s a very good impact player, it’s just a tough one.” Braun served a 65-game suspension for PEDs in 2013 and later admitted to using them during his NL MVP-winning season in 2011. He returned from the suspension in 2014 to post so-so numbers (by his standards), but the 33-year-old has gone back to being a high-end offensive performer since. Braun is owed $76MM over the next half-decade, including a $4MM buyout in 2021.
- Free agent designated hitter/first baseman Edwin Encarnacion‘s agent, Paul Kinzer, is discussing a long-term deal with “several teams,” relays Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com. That probably doesn’t bode well for the Indians, observes Hoynes, who writes that the Tribe would rather ink the soon-to-be 34-year-old to a short-term contract. Encarnacion rejected the Blue Jays’ qualifying offer, which means signing him would cost a first-round draft choice. FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal suggested earlier this week that the Indians would be hesitant to sacrifice a top pick for a stopgap. Between that and Hoynes’ report, it seems Cleveland is a long shot to land Encarnacion.
Minor MLB Transactions: 12/16/16
Here are the latest minor moves from around the league:
- The Rays added catcher Michael McKenry on a minor-league contract, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets. Heyman further adds that McKenry will receive $900K if he’s in the Majors, plus a possible $475K in incentives. He has opt-outs on March 30 and June 1. With Wilson Ramos not expected to be ready to take over behind the plate for at least the first month or two of the year, there’s a need for depth. McKenry will presumably battle with pre-existing options Luke Maile and Curt Casali for a roster spot to open the season.
- Outfielder Brandon Barnes is headed to the Marlins on a minors pact, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. The deal includes a Spring Training invite. Barnes, 30, figures to function as a depth piece after seeing time in the majors over parts of the last five seasons. He struggled to a .220/.250/.320 batting line in just 109 MLB plate appearances last year.
- Lefty Jeff Beliveau is headed to the Blue Jays on a minors deal with a spring invite, per a club announcement. The 29-year-old has thrown 45 MLB frames spread over four years, with an even 4.00 ERA and 9.4 K/9 against 4.2 BB/9. Last year, he didn’t pitch above the Double-A level in the Orioles system, but provided 49 2/3 innings of 2.54 ERA pitching with a dozen K/9 to go with a sub-optimal 5.3 BB/9.
- Righty Erik Johnson is back with the Padres on a minor-league arrangement, Heyman tweets. Johnson will continue to work back from Tommy John surgery with San Diego, which had recently non-tendered him.
- The Orioles announced a series of minors signings. Among those not previously covered at MLBTR, the club will bring back outfielder Chris Dickerson and take a shot on Tomo Ohka. Dickerson joined Beliveau at Double-A in the Baltimore organization last year, hitting well in brief action there, but hasn’t seen the bigs since 2014. Ohka, 40, is a much more speculative addition; he’s trying to return to the majors for the first time since 2009 by turning himself into a knuckleballer.
- Anther pitcher seeking to make it back after a long run away from the majors is lefty Andy Oliver, who’ll try things out with the Brewers, per Heyman (via Twitter). Heyman adds that can opt out of his deal on June 15 if he’s not on the big-league roster, and Oliver also receives a foreign team inquiry clause. Oliver blitzed through the Tigers system after being taken in the 2nd round of the 2009 draft. He cracked the bigs briefly in 2010-11, but has plied his trade at Triple-A ever since. Oliver moved back to the rotation for half of his appearances last year with the Orioles’ top affiliate, which may have helped as he finally quelled some of his control issues. Oliver ended 2016 with a 3.43 ERA over 86 2/3 frames and 8.7 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9 (his lowest walk rate since his debut year in full-season professional ball).
- The Tigers added third baseman Zack Cox on a minor-league arrangement, the indy ball Wichita Wingnuts announced. Once a highly regarded prospect, Cox never earned a major league call-up during his time in the Cardinals and Marlins systems, but hit .290/.348/.452 last year in 460 plate appearances for Wichita.
- Five players are returning to the Rangers organization on minor-league pacts, per Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter links). Utilityman Alex Burg will join right-handed hurlers Dario Beltre, Austin Bibens-Dirkx, Anthony Carter, and David Perez in returning to Texas. There’s a new farmhand coming in, too, as the Rangers added righty James Dykstra from the White Sox in a cash deal. Dykstra, 26, reached Double-A last year, throwing 102 1/3 innings of 4.93 ERA ball with 5.8 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9.
- Two previously designated players — catcher Justin O’Conner (Rays) and lefty Williams Jerez (Red Sox) — have been outrighted by their organizations, per club announcements.
Brewers Sign Eric Sogard, Andy Oliver, Hiram Burgos To Minors Deals
The Brewers announced on Thursday that they’ve signed infielder Eric Sogard, left-hander Andy Oliver and right-hander Hiram Burgos to minor league contracts with invites to Major League Spring Training.
[Related: Updated Milwaukee Brewers Depth Chart]
Sogard, 30, comes with the most big league experience of the bunch. The longtime Athletics infielder missed the 2016 season due to knee surgery but was a staple in the Oakland infield from 2013-15, during which time he batted .247/.305/.315. Suffice it to say, Sogard isn’t known for his bat, but he’s an excellent defensive second baseman that is also capable of playing both shortstop and third base. Sogard also brings some speed to the table, as he swiped 27 bases over those three years despite a limited role. Fangraphs rated his baserunning in both 2014 and 2015 to be especially valuable. The Brewers figure to have an infield consisting of Eric Thames (first base), Jonathan Villar (second base), Orlando Arcia (shortstop) and Travis Shaw (third base) on most days, but Sogard offers more defensive versatility than Scooter Gennett, who currently projects as a reserve in Milwaukee, so perhaps he could push Gennett for a roster spot this spring.
Oliver, 29, was once one of the top-regarded arms in the Tigers’ farm system, but it’s been five full seasons since he pitched at the Major League level. He turned in a very solid season with the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate in 2016, however, pitching to a 3.43 ERA with 84 strikeouts against 36 walks in 86 2/3 innings of work between the Norfolk rotation and bullpen. The 14 starts he logged in 2016 were the most he’s made since 2013 (as a member of the Pirates organization), and the bullpen seemingly provides a better path back to the Majors in Milwaukee than the rotation, where the Brewers have seven rotation options on the 40-man roster (Junior Guerra, Matt Garza, Chase Anderson, Zach Davies, Wily Peralta, Jimmy Nelson and the newly signed Tommy Milone).
Burgos, also 29, is actually a re-signing, as he’s spent his entire professional career with the Brewers since they made him their sixth-round pick back in 2009. The Puerto Rican right-hander was dominant in the minors in 2012 and made his MLB debut with the Brewers a season later in 2013, but shoulder troubles have derailed his once fairly promising career. He’s topped 140 innings in each of the past two Triple-A campaigns, though, pitching to an even 4.00 ERA with respectable strikeout and walk rates. He could be a depth option for Milwaukee this year in the event that injuries and/or trade create some vacancies on the pitching staff.
Brewers Sign Tommy Milone
DEC. 15: Milone will receive a $1.25MM base salary plus incentives, on his non-guaranteed deal, tweets ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. He can earn up to $2MM if he maxes out the incentives package, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets.
DEC. 14: The Brewers announced on Wednesday that they’ve signed left-hander Tommy Milone to a one-year, Major League contract. His addition gives the team a full 40-man roster, though Milone did not receive a fully guaranteed contract, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
[Related: Updated Milwaukee Brewers Depth Chart]
Milone, 30 in February, was arbitration eligible this offseason but was outrighted by the Twins back in mid-October, thus sending him to the free-agent market earlier than had been forecast. He had been projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to take home $4.9MM in arbitration — a slight raise on last year’s $4.5MM salary.
A soft-tossing lefty (~87.5 mph average fastball), Milone posted solid numbers with the Nats, A’s and Twins through the first four-plus seasons of his career, delivering a 3.97 ERA with 6.5 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9 in 619 innings (106 starts, four relief appearances). However, he limped to a 5.71 ERA in 69 1/3 innings with Minnesota last year. Milone’s strikeout and walk rates remained similar to his previous marks, and he actually posted a career-best 45.7 percent ground-ball rate last year, but he also became enormously homer-prone. More than 21 percent of the balls put in the air against Milone turned into home runs, and his hard-contact rate skyrocketed while his infield-fly rate dipped from 15 percent to five percent.
Milone joins an already crowded Brewers rotation picture that currently features Junior Guerra, Matt Garza, Wily Peralta, Chase Anderson, Zach Davies and Jimmy Nelson. It’s possible, of course, that one of those names is ultimately moved this offseason — Guerra has drawn trade interest, and the Brewers would undoubtedly love to shed some of Garza’s remaining contract — though the addition of Milone at what figures to be a low-cost rate doesn’t exactly guarantee that such a move is forthcoming.
Milone did spend time in both the bullpen and the rotation with the Twins last season, so perhaps the Brewers simply envision him occupying a swingman role and functioning as somewhat of a safety net if the team either incurs an injury or does find a taker for one of its current rotation options. He also gives the team a left-handed option in the rotation that wasn’t otherwise present, as each of the six aforementioned starters throws right-handed. Brewers general manager David Stearns told reporters, including MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy (Twitter link), that Milone will compete for a rotation spot in Spring Training.
With four years and 113 days of Major League service time under his belt, Milone also gives the Brewers an arm that can be controlled beyond the 2017 campaign. In the event of a rebound, Milone would still fall a good bit shy of reaching six total years of service time, meaning the Brewers can control him through the 2018 season by way of arbitration should he prove worthy of such a commitment with a bounceback campaign next year.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Brewers Acquire Jett Bandy
3:38pm: The Brewers have announced the trade.
3:07pm: Righty Drew Gagnon is the other piece of the deal, Hudson Belinsky of Baseball America tweets. The 26-year-old spent most of 2016 at the Triple-A level with Milwaukee, converting mostly relief work after spending most of his prior professional career as a starter. He worked to a 5.56 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 over 55 innings at Colorado Springs.
2:53pm: The Brewers have agreed to a trade with the Angels to acquire catcher Jett Bandy, per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Heading back in return are fellow catcher Martin Maldonado and a minor-league pitcher, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets.
The 26-year-old Bandy has just one full season in the majors under his belt. He slashed .234/.281/.392 with eight long balls last year for the Halos over 231 plate appearances. Stat Corner rated him as an average framer, while Baseball Prospectus (subscription required) was slightly more bearish — though it gave him better marks as he came up through the system.
Maldonado, 30, is in his second year of arb eligibility. MLBTR and contributor Matt Swartz project him to earn $1.6MM. Functioning mostly in a reserve capacity behind former Milwaukee backstop Jonathan Lucroy, Maldonado has posted a .217/.299/.342 batting line in 1,094 plate appearances over the last six seasons.
Though he is somewhat limited with the bat, Maldonado has high-quality framing metrics. He’s mostly average in other areas of catching defense (per BP, subscription required), but certainly comes with a quality overall reputation behind the dish.
Minor MLB Transactions: 12/13/16
Here are the latest minor moves:
- Righty Ryan Webb has joined the Brewers on a minor-league deal, the team announced. He’ll come to MLB camp next spring in hopes of earning a spot in the Milwaukee pen. The 30-year-old allowed 10 earned runs on 27 hits in his 18 appearances last year with the Rays, but otherwise maintained the same sort of peripherals that have allowed him to compile nearly 400 innings of 3.43 ERA ball as a big leaguer.
Earlier Updates
- The Red Sox have added third baseman Matt Dominguez on a minor-league deal, 1500ESPN’s Darren Wolfson reports on Twitter. Dominguez receives an invitation to MLB camp next spring. Still just 27, Dominguez had a short return to the majors last year with the Blue Jays but hasn’t seen substantial time at the game’s highest level since a disappointing 2014 campaign with the Astros. He posted a .269/.315/.421 batting line with 18 long balls at Triple-A last year with the Toronto organization.
- Infielder Emmanuel Burriss is heading to the Nationals on a minors pact, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets. He, too, gets a spring invite, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post adds on Twitter. The 31-year-old is a D.C. native who spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons with the Nats organization, only briefly cracking the majors. He struggled in brief time in the bigs last year with the Phillies, and hit .263/.296/.309 over his 187 plate appearances at Triple-A.
- Japan’s Orix Buffaloes have added three former major league hurlers, per Yahoo Japan (h/t NPB on Reddit, on Twitter). Lefty Phil Coke will join righties Matt West and Gonzalez Germen in Nippon Professional Baseball. West has the least major league experience of the bunch, but put up a 2.33 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 over 46 1/3 innings last year and only just turned 28. Coke, 34, is a hard-throwing southpaw who has spent a fair bit of time in the majors — and on the pages of MLBTR. He threw ten major league frames last year, continuing a streak of appearing in nine-straight MLB campaigns. The 29-year-old Germen had posted solid results upon arriving with the Rockies in the middle of the 2015 season, though his peripherals did not support the 3.86 ERA. He came back to earth in his 40 2/3 innings in 2016, posting a 5.31 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 5.5 BB/9.
Brewers To Sign Ivan De Jesus
The Brewers have agreed to a minor-league deal with infielder Ivan De Jesus Jr., according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (via Twitter). The 29-year-old, a right-handed hitter, could conceivably battle for a utility role in cam.
After bouncing around the league, De Jesus found a home in Cincinnati in 2015. Over the past two years there, he has taken 465 plate appearances — by far his most extensive big league work. De Jesus also spent time in the majors briefly with the Dodgers and Red Sox in 2011-12. Though he played in over one hundred games last year with the Reds, and remained controllable at the league-minimum salary, Cinci bounced him from its 40-man roster and De Jesus took his free agency.
Despite his lengthy look, De Jesus hasn’t exactly impressed with the bat at the game’s highest level. In his pair of seasons with the Reds, he hit just .249/.311/.341 with five home runs — which is about 25% worse than a league-average hitter. Of course, De Jesus is valued much more for his defensive versatility. He spent time at short, second, third, and even first base and the corner outfield in Cincinnati.
Quick Hits: Lagares, Giants, Lopez, Romo, Holland, Cole
No-trade protection (whether in the form of contract clauses or 10-and-5 rights) have long been a factor in deal-making. MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince chronicles some famous instances throughout baseball history of players blocking trades, and some current players mentioned on the rumor mill whose ability to be moved is complicated by their own full or partial no-trade clauses. Here’s more from around baseball…
- Mets center fielder Juan Lagares suffered an injury while making a diving catch for his Dominican winter league team, ESPN’s Adam Rubin reports. X-rays were negative, though Lagares will return to New York to be examined by team doctors. Lagares has himself received some trade attention this offseason but New York wants to keep the slick-fielding but light-hitting outfielder in a backup role.
- It doesn’t look like the Giants will be re-signing free agents Gregor Blanco, Santiago Casilla, Javier Lopez, Angel Pagan, Jake Peavy or Sergio Romo, CSNBayArea.com’s Alex Pavlovic writes. Romo has received “at least a couple of offers” from other clubs, according to Giants sources. Lopez is likely to retire unless he gets “a great offer” from an East Coast team so he can stay close to his home in Georgia.
- GM David Stearns declined to say whether or not the Brewers were one of the teams Greg Holland personally met with at the Winter Meetings, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy reports. The Brewers did scout Holland’s showcase last month, however, so the Crew can be added to the long list of teams that have some degree of interest in Holland after his return from Tommy John surgery. The Cubs, Dodgers, Yankees, Giants, Red Sox, Indians, Rays, Mariners, Nationals, Padres, Twins, Mets, Phillies, Tigers, Blue Jays and Royals are all known to have sent scouts to the showcase or have other been linked to Holland this winter.
- Gerrit Cole tells MLB.com’s Adam Berry that he has yet to talk to the Pirates about his 2017 contract. MLB Trade Rumors projects Cole to earn $4.2MM in his first time through the arbitration process following a season that saw him post a 3.88 ERA, 2.72 K/BB rate and 7.6 K/9 over 116 innings. While the numbers are solid, they were also Cole’s worst in his four big league seasons, as he suffered through an injury-plagued year. This performance dip and rather checkered health history could be reasons why the Pirates aren’t planning to discuss an extension with Cole and agent Scott Boras over the winter, though Cole said he is healthy and will begin his offseason throwing program on Monday.