Minor Moves: Sands, Mills, Fontenot, Patterson
Here are today's minor moves from around the league…
- Scout.com's Kiley McDaniel reports that Jerry Sands has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Durham by the Rays (Twitter link). The 26-year-old Sands was designated for assignment earlier in the week when the club claimed Pedro Figueroa.
- The Brewers and lefty Brad Mills have agreed to a minor league contract, according to MLB Daily Dish's Chris Cotillo (on Twitter). Mills, 29 in March, posted a 3.87 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 97 2/3 innings for Triple-A Round Rock in the Rangers' organization in 2013. He requested his release midseason to sign with Nippon Professional Baseball's Orix Buffaloes. Mills has a 7.76 ERA in 53 1/3 career big league innings.
- Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reports that the Nationals have signed Mike Fontenot to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training (Twitter link). Last year marked the first season since 2006 in which Fontenot didn't appear at the Major League level. He spent the duration of the campaign with the Rays' Triple-A affiliate, batting .264/.335/.379 in 120 games.
- The White Sox have signed infielder/outfielder Eric Patterson to a minor league contract, tweets Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune. The 30-year-old began last season with the Atlantic League's York Revolution, batting .275/.342/.527 with 13 homers in 294 plate appearances. That production led to him getting picked up by the Brewers, but he slashed just .204/.291/.235 in 111 plate appearances at Double-A Huntsville. Patterson has not appeared in the Majors since 2011.
Minor Moves: Gamboa, Clark, Bucci, Portillo
Here are today's minor moves and outright assignments from around the league…
- Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports that the Rockies have agreed to a minor league deal with right-hander Richard Castillo. A former Cardinals prospect, the 24-year-old Castillo split 2013 between St. Louis' Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, posting a combined 4.08 ERA with 5.3 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 147 2/3 innings. Baseball America twice ranked him among the Cardinals' Top 30 prospects, but he has not cracked that list for the past four years.
- The Orioles announced that they've signed right-handed knuckleballers Eddie Gamboa and Zach Clark to minor league deals. Gamboa received an invitation to Major League Spring Training. The 29-year-old posted a 4.43 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 142 1/3 innings between Baltimore's Double-A and Triple-A affiliates in 2013. Clark, 30, made his big league debut in 2013, allowing three runs in 1 2/3 innings. He had a 7.84 ERA in 111 1/3 innings across four minor league levels last season.
- The Brewers released right-hander Nick Bucci, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (on Twitter). Formerly one of Milwaukee's top prospects, Bucci dealt with a shoulder injury this season and pitched just two-thirds of an inning this season. The injury-plagued 23-year-old has pitched just 43 1/3 innings over the past two seasons.
- The Padres have outrighted right-hander Adys Portillo to Double-A San Antonio, according to the team's transactions page. The 22-year-old was designated for assignment over the weekend to clear a 40-man roster spot for Joaquin Benoit. Portillo received a $2MM signing bonus in 2008 but has yet to provide the Friars with much of a return on that investment.
Doug Melvin On Free Agency, Relievers, Mets
Brewers general manager Doug Melvin spoke to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy about the team's relatively quiet offseason thus far and some other hot stove items…
- The Brewers are the only team who has yet to sign a free agent to a Major League contract, as MLBTR's Tim Dierkes recently examined. Melvin said the Brewers haven't delved into the free agent market is due to both the team's plan to "go with our young guys" and an overall lack of suitable fits for Milwaukee's payroll. “If you look at a lot of the teams that got involved in free agency in the past few years, it hasn’t been that successful for them — and then there are the players whose price range isn’t even close to what we could consider. We’re putting a lot of faith into our system," Melvin said. “We weren’t going to get [Shin-Soo] Choo. We weren’t going to get Robinson Cano,” Melvin said. “We can look at $5-$6MM, but if we think our guys are better or as good at $500K, why would we make a move just to make a move?”
- Melvin is open to adding a veteran reliever to the young arms in the Milwaukee bullpen, implying that such an addition would come in a trade. "Our bullpen is an area that we’ve talked about maybe whether we would add an experienced piece or not," the GM said.
- The Mets have discussed Ike Davis in trade talks with the Brewers (as well as the Pirates and Orioles) and Melvin confirmed that some talks had taken place. "First base, I’ve had ongoing discussions with Sandy Alderson, but we haven’t gotten to anything where we’re comfortable with the deal from our side, and he’s not been comfortable with the deal from his side.”
- While Melvin declined to say whether he found the Mets' asking price too high, Melvin did say that “I think we’ve pretty well stood by — the one thing we’ve done is we do not want to give up pitching.” The Mets reportedly asked for promising young right-hander Tyler Thornburg in exchange for Davis last month.
Rosenthal on Angels, Qualifying Offers, Drew, Jays, Putz
The Angels are likely to eclipse the $189MM luxury-tax threshold eventually, despite their efforts to avoid doing so this offseason, Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal writes. Sources tell the columnist that the Angels have between $13MM and $15MM of space left beneath the cap, figures that are much lower than what will be required to sign Masahiro Tanaka. However, extending Mike Trout at, say, $300MM over 10 years would make it difficult to avoid surpassing the threshold anyway, so the Angels may as well do so now, Rosenthal surmises. Here's more from his new column:
- This offseason's big contracts for less-than-durable stars like Jacoby Ellsbury, Curtis Granderson and Brian McCann show that position players can earn more as free agents than they would with club-friendly, long-term deals. Meanwhile, clubs appear increasingly willing to move players who resist extensions. For example, sources tell Rosenthal that rival teams have asked about Astros catcher Jason Castro, who could be moved if Houston is unable to ink him long-term.
- Qualifying offers appear to have suppressed the market for players such as Nelson Cruz and Kendrys Morales, frustrating player representatives. Potential fixes to the system include guaranteeing that free agents receive a qualifying offer only once, or ensuring that teams signing free agents who received qualifying offers lose only draft picks and not their associated bonus-pool amounts. The current system will remain in place for another two offseasons, Rosenthal notes.
- Stephen Drew appears to be a fit for the Mets, rival executives say, despite the club's insistence that it will consider Ruben Tejada for its starting shortstop job.
- The Blue Jays remain among the favorites to sign either Ervin Santana or Ubaldo Jimenez, despite their quiet offseason thus far. The Jays could acquire as many as two starters before the offseason is over, Rosenthal reports. In addition to upgrading through free agency, the club has also discussed trades for the Cubs' Jeff Samardzija and other starters.
- The Diamondbacks could trade J.J. Putz after acquiring Addison Reed from the White Sox. Swapping the righty for Yankees outfielder Ichiro Suzuki is one potential deal, or Putz could be packaged with other players in a deal for a starter such as Yovani Gallardo of the Brewers.
Examining The Brewers’ Avoidance Of Free Agency
It's January 3rd, and the Brewers are the only team that has yet to sign a free agent to a Major League deal. How normal is this free agent inactivity for them? Here's a look at the team's past five offseasons in free agency.
2012-13
- Kyle Lohse: three years, $33MM (signed 3-25-13)
- Tom Gorzelanny: two years, $5.7MM (12-21-12)
- Mike Gonzalez: one year, $2.25MM (1-7-13)
- Alex Gonzalez: one year, $1.45MM (2-6-13)
- Yuniesky Betancourt: one year, $900K (3-26-13)
- Total: $43.3MM
2011-12
- Aramis Ramirez: three years, $36MM (12-12-11)
- Francisco Rodriguez: one year, $8MM (accepted arbitration 12-7-11)
- Alex Gonzalez: one year, $4.25MM (12-8-11)
- Norichika Aoki: two years, $2.5MM (1-17-12)
- Total: $50.75MM
2010-11
- Takashi Saito: one year, $1.75MM (12-27-10)
- Craig Counsell: one year, $1.4MM (12-20-10)
- Sean Green: one year, $875K (12-22-10)
- Mark Kotsay: one year, $800K (2-3-11)
- Wil Nieves: one year, $775K (12-8-10)
- Total: $5.6MM
2009-10
- Randy Wolf: three years, $29.75MM (12-9-09)
- LaTroy Hawkins: two years, $7.5MM (12-9-09)
- Doug Davis: one year, $5.25MM (1-22-10)
- Gregg Zaun: one year, $2.15MM (12-4-09)
- Craig Counsell: one year, $2.1MM (12-14-09)
- Claudio Vargas: one year, $900K (12-14-09)
- Total: $47.65MM
2008-09
- Trevor Hoffman: one year, $6MM (1-8-09)
- Braden Looper: one year, $5.5MM (2-12-09)
- Craig Counsell: one year, $1MM (1-23-09)
- Jorge Julio: one year, $950K (12-4-08)
- R.J. Swindle: one year, $400K (11-25-08)
- Total: $13.85MM
My first thought upon examining these Brewers free agent forays is that it's no surprise Craig Counsell joined their front office. Second, GM Doug Melvin did have a fairly recent offseason in which he only dipped his toe into free agency, when he committed $5.6MM on five one-year deals in 2010-11.
Another observation is that Melvin is comfortable signing free agents in the latter part of an offseason. In the last five offseasons, he's signed 10 free agent deals in January or later: Lohse, Mike Gonzalez, Alex Gonzalez, Betancourt, Aoki, Kotsay, Davis, Hoffman, Looper, and Counsell. That accounts for 40% of the free agents the Brewers signed during that time, and Melvin did at least one late deal every offseason (and four of five last winter). He did late deals north of $5MM for Lohse, Davis, Looper, and Hoffman.
In Ed Creech's Brewers offseason outlook for MLBTR in October, he noted the team's needs at first base and potentially in the rotation and bullpen. Since then the team made four moves: a waiver claim of utility man Elian Herrera, the trade of Burke Badenhop for a pitching prospect, the selection of southpaw Wei-Chung Wang in the Rule 5 draft, and the trade of outfielder Aoki for lefty Will Smith. Of Smith, Melvin told MLB.com's Adam McCalvy in December, "He'll come to camp and we'll look at him as a starter, but we know he can go to the bullpen."
It seems Melvin will make acquisitions to improve at first base and in the bullpen prior to Opening Day, and also perhaps trade Rickie Weeks if he can find a taker. For first base, the Brewers have been linked to the Mets' Ike Davis and free agent Michael Young, and there's been speculation on names like Justin Smoak, Mitch Moreland, Adam Lind, and Mike Carp.
Last March, Melvin and agent Scott Boras struck a very late, relatively team-friendly deal for starting pitcher Kyle Lohse that required the Brewers to forfeit the 17th overall draft pick. This year, I imagine Boras feels a potential match exists with the Brewers and free agent Kendrys Morales. The problem: the Brewers would have to forfeit the twelfth overall pick in the June draft to sign him. While in theory the Brewers should consider giving up the pick if offered a big enough discount on Morales, it's extremely difficult to picture in reality. With the draft scheduled for June 5th, the Brewers are better off surviving with Juan Francisco and others at first base for about two months and then signing Morales if they're in contention, free of the draft pick cost. As we said last year with Lohse, if there's one agent willing to try this, it's Boras.
In the bullpen, Jim Henderson, Brandon Kintzler, and Gorzelanny are locked into spots, and Melvin has plenty of options for bargains in free agency. While 2013-14 might be the Brewers' quietest free agent period in recent history, they have a GM known for doing contracts later in the offseason and he's not done yet.
Quick Hits: Brewers, Twins, Mulder, Angels, Red Sox
It wouldn't make sense for the Brewers to move Rickie Weeks or Ryan Braun to first base, MLB.com's Adam McCalvy writes. The Brewers have been connected to Corey Hart, Ike Davis and other first basemen this winter, but they haven't landed any of them. Scooter Gennett figures to be the Brewers' second baseman next season, leaving no obvious spot for Weeks. Weeks doesn't have an ideal bat for first base, and the Brewers could try to trade him, if they can find a taker. Milwaukee sees Braun as a long-term fix in right field, McCalvy notes. (Also, we might add that Braun's performance at third base in 2007 very persuasively suggests that he stay in the outfield.) Here are more notes from around the Majors.
- McCalvy also notes that Rule 5 pick Wei-Chung Wang's chances of sticking with the Brewers are "very slim," noting that the Brewers haven't kept a Rule 5 pick for an entire season since 2004 with reliever Jeff Bennett (who, like Wang, was selected out of the Pirates organization). Wang has also never pitched above the Gulf Coast League. McCalvy does point out, however, that there will be chances to stick in the Brewers' bullpen, particularly if they use lefty Will Smith as a starter.
- The Angels want to keep their first-round pick in this year's draft, MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez writes. They're still looking for pitching, though, and if they don't want to surrender their pick, then signing Ervin Santana or Ubaldo Jimenez, who each rejected qualifying offers, won't be possible for them. That limits them to Masahiro Tanaka, Matt Garza, and Bronson Arroyo, followed by less-desirable options like Paul Maholm, Jason Hammel and Chris Capuano.
- The Twins had "some interest" in Mark Mulder, 1500ESPN.com's Darren Wolfson tweets. Mulder was not interested in signing with Minnesota, however, and he ended up heading to the Angels instead.
- Mulder says he's open to pitching in the minors if he feels like he's on a path back to the big leagues, but he doesn't want to stay in the minor leagues the whole season, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets.
- It looks more and more likely that the Red Sox will re-sign Stephen Drew, and if so, that doesn't mean they'll necessarily trade Will Middlebrooks, writes Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal. A number of potential suitors, including the Mets, Pirates, Twins and Yankees, appear content to go with internal options rather than signing Drew and losing a draft pick, which could leave the Red Sox as the only team standing. Boston currently figures to head into the season with Xander Bogaerts at shortstop and Middlebrooks at third, but if they re-signed Drew, Bogaerts would head to third and Middlebrooks wouldn't have a place to play. The Red Sox could then keep Middlebrooks for depth. MacPherson points to the example of Mike Carp, who demonstrated last year that a player need not have an obvious starting role to be helpful — perhaps Middlebrooks could follow in his footsteps.
Mets Still Talking Ike Davis With Brewers, O’s, Pirates
The Ike Davis rumor mill has calmed down as the holiday season has set in, but Mike Puma of the New York Post provides an update (Twitter link). The Mets remain in contact with the Brewers, Pirates and Orioles regarding Davis, but the team has been unsuccessful in its efforts to pry top pitching prospect Eduardo Rodriguez away from Baltimore.
That the Mets are interested in Rodriguez is no surprise, but neither is the fact that the Orioles won't deal him for Davis. Rodriguez, a 20-year-old left-hander, posted a combined 3.41 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 145 innings between Class-A Advanced and Double-A in 2013. His numbers took a hit upon reaching Double-A (4.22 ERA in 59 2/3 innings), but that isn't all that alarming when considering the fact that he was one of the youngest players in the league. The average age of pitchers in the Eastern League, for context, was 24.6. Hitters in the Eastern League had an average age of 24.4.
This isn't the first time Rodriguez's name has appeared on the rumor mill, as the Twins reportedly asked for the lefty in exchange for Josh Willingham when the Orioles claimed Willingham on waivers in August. MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo currently ranks Rodriguez as baseball's No. 85 prospect, and ESPN's Keith Law ranked him No. 44 in his midseason Top 50 prospect list in July (Insider required). Baseball America ranks him third among O's prospects — behind Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman — noting in their subscription-only scouting report that he has the ceiling of a No. 3 starter.
In short, Rodriguez is a lofty asking price for Mets GM Sandy Alderson when peddling Davis to other clubs — higher than his reported asking price of Tyler Thornburg from the Brewers. Davis is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $3.5MM in 2014 and can be controlled through the 2016 season.
Minor Moves: Haley, Scarpetta, Mastroianni, Ruffin
Here are today's minor moves and outright assignments from around the league…
- Indians right-hander Trey Haley has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Columbus, the team announced. Haley was designated for assignment last week in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for new closer John Axford.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that the Brewers have released right-hander Cody Scarpetta (Twitter link). Baseball America ranked Scarpetta as Milwaukee's No. 4 prospect at one point and ranked his curveball best among Brewers farmhands from 2008-11. Scarpetta, now 25, underwent Tommy John surgery in 2012 and struggled to a 7.15 ERA in 34 innings upon his return in 2013.
- The Twins announced that they've outrighted outfielder Darin Mastroianni to Triple-A Rochester. The 28-year-old was a solid fourth outfielder for the Twins in 2012 with outstanding defense and baserunning contributions, but an ankle injury limited him to 73 plate appearances in 2013. Mastroianni followed up a .250/.328/.350 showing in 2012 with a .185/.229/.215 effort in 2013.
- Right-hander Chance Ruffin has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma, the Mariners announced. Ruffin was designated for assignment last week in order to clear room on the 40-man roster for Franklin Gutierrez, who re-signed with Seattle on a one-year deal.
- The Brewers have outrighted right-hander Michael Olmsted off their 40-man roster, according to senior director of media relations Mike Vassallo (on Twitter). The 26-year-old whiffed 60 batters in 59 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A in 2013 but also walked 43 hitters en route to a 5.88 ERA.
- Right-hander Rhiner Cruz has been outrighted from the Astros' 40-man roster, according to Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Houston selected Cruz out of the Mets organization with the first overall pick of the 2011 Rule 5 Draft. The 26-year-old posted a 3.38 ERA in 21 1/3 innings in 2013 but walked more hitters (11) than he struck out (10) in that time.
- The Dodgers have signed right-hander Juan Abreu to a minor league contract, according to the team's transactions page. Now 28 years old, Abreu's only Major League experience came with the Astros in 2011 when he allowed two runs with 12 strikeouts against three walks in 6 2/3 innings of relief. The Dominican native has a 4.30 ERA with 11.5 K/9 and 5.9 BB/9 in 106 2/3 career innings at the Triple-A level.
Central Notes: Castro, Indians, Twins, Hart
Starlin Castro claims that stress related to an ongoing legal dispute in the Dominican Republic has affected his on-field performance for the Cubs, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports. A coach at a baseball school in the Dominican is suing Castro, contending that a contract the shortstop's father signed when Castro was an amateur entitles the academy to a portion of his Major League earnings. The affair has had a "direct impact on his duties as a professional ballplayer, leading to one of his worst-ever statistical performances," Castro's countersuit states. While the 23-year-old played in 161 games last season, 2013 saw him slump to a .245/.284/.347 line. The 2014 season will be the second of the seven-year, $60MM deal Castro signed inked with the Cubs in 2012. Here's more from around baseball's Central divisions:
- Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer thinks the Indians can still add a couple of players to their roster, but they'll come via trades or minor league signings.
- A Twins official tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (via Twitter) that he doesn't see the club getting in on free agent bats Stephen Drew and Nelson Cruz. Minnesota has money to spend but the draft pick compensation that is required to sign them is an issue.
- Longtime Brewer Corey Hart took out a full-page ad in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel to thank the city for its support, Big League Stew's Mark Townsend notes. Hart is headed to Seattle after agreeing to a one-year deal with the Mariners that reportedly guarantees him $6MM.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Minor Moves: Lin, Sanchez, Sosa, Ni, Burriss
We'll keep tabs on the day's minor moves right here …
- The Rangers have inked Taiwanese outfielder Che-Hsuan Lin to a minor league deal, Baseball America's Matt Eddy tweets. Signed by the Red Sox as an amateur free agent in 2007, Lin got his only 12 major league plate appearances in 2012 with Boston, swatting three singles in 12 plate appearances. He's hit .253/.349/.339 in his seven minor league seasons.
- The Dodgers have signed two right-handed pitchers, Romulo Sanchez and Henry Sosa, and lefty Fu-Te Ni to minor league deals, according to Eddy (via Twitter). Sanchez spent 2013 in the Mexican League, while Sosa pitched for a Korean team last year. Ni last pitched in 2012, when he amassed a 4.56 ERA in 23 2/3 innings for the Tigers' Triple-A affiliate.
- Eddy tweets that the Nationals have signed three minor league free agents: shortstop Emmanuel Burriss, catcher Mitch Canham and first baseman Brock Peterson. Burriss, 28, has seen 801 plate appearances in parts of five MLB seasons, but has struggled to a .243/.304/.269 line. He last appeared in the majors in 2012 with the Giants. The 29-year-old Canham has never appeared in the majors, but has seven minor league seasons under his belt and a lifetime line of .255/.340/.364. Now 30, Peterson got 28 plate appearances with the Cardinals in 2013, his first taste of the big leagues, managing just a .077 batting average. His career minor league triple slash of .274/.354/.464 is much better, however.
- The Nationals have also signed backstop Chris Snyder to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training, the club announced via Twitter. The soon-to-be 33-year-old Snyder should have a chance to compete for the club's backup job with younger options Jhonatan Solano and Sandy Leon. Snyder's last substantial MLB action came in 2012 with the Astros, when he put up a .176/.295/.308 line in 258 plate appearances. Snyder did, however, post an OPS over .800 last year in his time at Triple-A with the Orioles and Angels. His career MLB line stands at .224/.328/.382 in 2,459 plate appearances. The Steamer and Oliver projection systems (via Fangraphs) both like Snyder to put up an 84 wRC+ at the plate next year while adding solid defense. Snyder spent part of the spring with the Nationals last year, but requested his release when he failed to make the big league roster. Snyder would earn $1MM plus incentives if he makes the roster out of the spring, reprots ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter).
- The Brewers have released righty Cody Scarpetta, tweets Eddy. As Eddy notes, Scarpetta was twice ranked among the ten best prospects in the Milwaukee organization, and occupied a 40-man spot for three seasons. The 25-year-old posted a 3.85 ERA in 117 innings at Double-A Huntsville in 2011 before missing the 2012 season to undergo Tommy John surgery. Scarpetta mustered only a 7.15 ERA in 34 innings at the High-A level last year, including an ugly 9.5 BB/9.
- As always, MLBTR's DFA Tracker is your guide to players currently (or previously) facing DFA limbo. At the present, seven players have been removed from their clubs' 40-man rosters while they wait to learn their fate: Eric Surkamp of the Giants, Brett Marshall of the Yankees, Trey Haley of the Indians, Chance Ruffin of the Mariners, Ryan Reid and Jerry Sands of the Pirates, and Alex Castellanos of the Red Sox. Decisions are due today on Castellanos and tomorrow on Reid and Sands, but the others could be forced to sweat things out over Christmas.
Aaron Steen contributed to this post.