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Minor MLB Transactions: 8/14/18

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There are quite a few minor moves to cover, with Baseball America’s Matt Eddy releasing several weeks’ worth of transactions. We’ll use this post to cover the most notable ones that haven’t yet featured on MLBTR:

  • The Angels released outfielder Ben Revere, who could perhaps be an interesting player to target for contending clubs that like the idea of adding a good defender and baserunning threat to their system. Revere, 30, hasn’t seen the majors this year after seven-straight seasons of action at the game’s highest level. He’s slashing .277/.319/.406 with a pair of steals through 166 plate appearances at Triple-A.
  • Ending a relationship that never seemed to work out, the Dodgers have cut loose infielder Erisbel Arruebarrena. Now 28, the former international signee hadn’t played much in the club’s system since he was suspended in May of 2016.
  • The Phillies have released a pair of former big leaguers: infielder Danny Espinosa and outfielder Adron Chambers. Espinosa’s always fickle bat has not yet recovered from a 2017 nosedive. In 240 Triple-A plate appearances with three organizations this year, he owns a .295/.239/.312 slash. Chambers, meanwhile, hasn’t seen the majors since 2013 and last played affiliated ball in 2015, but came back from an indy stint to produce a .278/.328/.437 batting line in 138 Triple-A plate appearances.
  • A host of players received their walking papers from the Diamondbacks. Righty Brian Ellington is among them; the flamethrower struggled badly with his command in limited minor-league action. Southpaw Anthony Vasquez was also released after after 85 2/3 innings of 5.04 ERA ball in the upper minors. The club also dropped several outfielders. Cesar Puello (.317/.426/.454) and Dan Robertson (.263/.361/.407) are both former big leaguers who were getting on base at Reno, but will now seek other opportunities.
  • The Giants released two notable players in righty Chris Heston and backstop Ryan Hanigan. Heston, 30, only made nine appearances in the minors this year owing to injury. Hanigan, who’s closing in on his 38th birthday, is still looking to crack the majors for the 12th-straight season but did not help his cause with a .175/.254/.193 batting line in 63 plate appearances at Triple-A.
  • The Cubs parted with Ryan Webb after he made just 11 appearances at the Rookie ball level. It is not immediately clear why the 32-year-old did not get a shot in the upper minors, or what’s next for him In eight seasons of MLB pitching, from 2009 through 2016, Webb owns a 3.43 ERA through 393 1/3 innings.
  • A variety of other former major-league relief pitchers were also on the move. Among them: The White Sox signed once-promising Braves reliever Mauricio Cabrera. Righty Dallas Beeler was released by the Royals. A trio of former MLB lefties are back in free agency after being cut free: Elvis Araujo (Orioles); Paco Rodriguez (Twins); and Dario Alvarez (Mariners).
  • Meanwhile, the Mariners parted with outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis and the Nationals did the same with Alejandro De Aza. One-time Rule 5 pick Taylor Featherston landed with the Reds.

Logan Morrison To Undergo Season-Ending Hip Surgery

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SUNDAY: Morrison could actually require up to eight months to recover, he told Tyler Fenwick of MLB.com and other reporters. He wouldn’t return until April in that scenario, though it’s possible Morrison will need as few as four months to come back, as noted below.

SATURDAY, 10:38pm: Morrison seems to be facing a four- to six-month recovery period, per Berardino, who adds that he should be healthy in time for spring training next year.

8:45pm: Twins first baseman Logan Morrison will undergo season-ending surgery on his left hip, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press was among those to tweet. Morrison has a hip impingement and will head to the 10-day disabled list, according to the team. His roster spot will go to right-hander Kohl Stewart (previously reported).

The injury brings a premature conclusion to a disappointing season for Morrison, whom the Twins signed to a one-year, $6.5MM guarantee in free agency last February. The deal also includes an $8MM club option for 2019, but it seems likely the Twins will instead buy out Morrison for $1MM.

When the Twins added Morrison, who lasted longer than expected on the open market, he was coming off a career-best season in which he hit 38 home runs as a member of the Rays. At the same time, the Twins were fresh off their first playoff berth since 2011. But both sides have struggled this season, as Morrison has hit a mere .186/.276/.368 (74 wRC+) with 15 home runs across 359 plate appearances and the Twins have stumbled to a 53-62 record.

In the event Morrison returns to free agency in the offseason, he’ll do so as a 31-year-old who, 2017 aside, hasn’t produced great results in the majors. Over 3,713 PAs, the left-handed hitter has only been a bit better than league average as an offensive player, according to FanGraphs’ wRC+ metric (106). Although, for the second straight year, Morrison garnered positive reviews from Statcast, which places his expected weighted on-base average (.355) well above his actual wOBA (.284).

AL Central Notes: Martin, Santana, Perez

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The Indians have not given much indication as to the medical issue that forced just-acquired outfielder Leonys Martin to the disabled list, but indications are that it’s a rather concerning health matter of some kind. As Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer writes, manager Terry Francona explained yesterday that Martin does not wish to publicize details of his situation at present, but the 30-year-old ballplayer is presently receiving treatment at the Cleveland Clinic. MLBTR joins those around the game in extending its best wishes to Martin and his family. We hope to see him back to full health as soon as possible.

Here are some other recent notes from the American League Central:

  • Twins righty Ervin Santana had some choice words for the front office after his start last night, as Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports. Santana suggested that the organizational higher-ups have given up on the team despite the fact that the players are still “not giving upon” on the season. “They took our pieces away, and it’s difficult to play without our good pieces,” said the veteran hurler. It’s hard to argue with his characterization, of course, as the Twins have dealt away multiple quality veterans. Frankly, though, that has seemed an advisable course given the roster’s struggles in advance of the trade deadline. Santana himself could end up on the move, though he has struggled through four starts since returning from a lengthy stint on the disabled list.
  • Katie Strang of The Athletic took a worthwhile look at Tigers prospect Franklin Perez in a subscription piece. His injury-riddled campaign has impacted the team’s broader rebuilding efforts, as it has robbed one of the organization’s most promising players of a key season. While it’s never good to hear of lat and shoulder issues in a pitcher, the Detroit front office remains bullish on Perez. Fortunately, too, the organization is relatively rich in quality pitching prospects. Strang explains that the hope is to get him back to full health over the offseason, then launch him at Double-A to open the year. The post includes a lengthy chat with Astros international guru Oz Ocampo, who explains that Perez was “pretty much a finished product” from the time he entered the Houston system. Perez, of course, headlined the return in last August’s Justin Verlander swap.

Added To The 40-Man: Ortega, Stewart, Sobotka, Kelly

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There has been a fair amount of roster movement today. We’ll use this post to keep tabs on the players moving onto MLB rosters:

  • After shipping out first baseman Justin Bour earlier today, the Marlins announced they would replace him by selecting the contract of outfielder Rafael Ortega. The 27-year-old Ortega got a solid shot with the Angels in 2016 but could not take advantage. He had a productive season last year with the plate at Triple-A and has been solid as well at the highest level of the minors in 2018, though he hasn’t sustained the power he showed in 2017. In the current season, he has slashed .275/.375/.404 with an impressive combination of 44 walks and 31 strikeouts over 328 plate appearances.
  • The Twins will select the contract of righty Kohl Stewart, according to Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press (via Twitter). Chosen fourth overall in the 2013 draft, Stewart is now slated for his MLB debut after being left unprotected from the Rule 5 draft last winter. Through 108 2/3 innings this season in the upper minors, he owns only a 4.47 ERA. But Stewart has seen a real boost in his K/BB numbers over past years. He’s carrying 8.4 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9 along with a 57.3% groundball rate on the season.
  • As part of a series of pitching moves, the Braves purchased the contract of righty Chad Sobotka. He and lefty Chad Bell will join the active roster as the team has optioned down relievers Wes Parsons and Adam McCreery. Sobotka is a 25-year-old reliever who came to the Atlanta organizatino as a fourth-round pick in 2015. He had already climbed to Triple-A for the first time after dominating performances at High-A (2.21 ERA, 28:7 K/BB in 20 1/3 innings) and Double-A (2.89 ERA, 37:13 K/BB in 28 innings). He has been giving out too many free passes so far at the highest level of the minors (eight in 6 1/3 frames) but has still been getting strikeouts and keeping runs off the board.
  • The Giants announced that they selected the contract of righty Casey Kelly, bumping Johnny Cueto to the 60-day DL as he continues to rehab from Tommy John surgery. Kelly, a first-round pick way back in 2008, has seen brief MLB action in parts of three seasons. He owns only a 4.78 ERA in his 130 Triple-A innings this year, with 7.2 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9.

A’s Acquire Fernando Rodney

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In a stunning move seemingly out of nowhere, the Athletics announced that they’ve acquired right-hander Fernando Rodney from the Twins in exchange for minor league righty Dakota Chalmers. Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press reports that the A’s will assume all of Rodney’s remaining salary (around 1.3MM).

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the transaction came as the result of a waiver claim by the Athletics, meaning Rodney never cleared revocable trade waivers. The 42-year-old was certainly a logical August trade candidate, as MLBTR’s own Connor Byrne noted this past Saturday; more recently, the Twins’ closer appeared near the top of our Top 20 August Trade Candidates, checking in at number seven. He’s a reasonably affordable option for the surging yet cost-conscious A’s.

[RELATED: How August Trades Work]

Rodney has long been an effective MLB reliever, and has served mainly as a closer across the past decade. His 325 career saves rank 17th all-time among relievers, and although he’s certainly shown some fluctuation in performance over the course of his lifetime, his 3.09 ERA at present would be his best in a full season since 2014 with the Mariners. The veteran has managed to strike out more than ten batters per nine innings in five of the past six campaigns and owns a solid if unspectacular 3.70 ERA (3.73 FIP) over the course of his 16-year MLB career.

For the A’s, it’s the latest move to bolster an already-spectacular relief corps. Headed into the second half of July, the club already boasted three relievers with a Win Probability Added of 1.00 or higher (Blake Treinen, Lou Trivino and Yusmeiro Petit). Since then, they’ve added Jeurys Familia in a trade with the Mets, claimed Shawn Kelley off waivers from the Nationals, and plucked Mike Fiers from the paws of the Tigers. Rodney serves as the club’s fourth major bullpen addition over the course of the past month, fortifying an already-terrifying group.

That’s excellent work on the part of the club’s front office, as it’ll help mask the club’s uninspiring rotation. Sean Manaea’s currently the club’s only starter with enough innings to qualify for the ERA title, in no small part due to the wreckage of torn UCLs suffered by rotation candidates this season. Daniel Gossett, Kendall Graveman, Jharel Cotton and top prospect A.J. Puk are all done for the season after requiring Tommy John surgery, leaving the club with a starting group of ragtag veterans that includes Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson and Edwin Jackson, each of whom has outperformed expectations. With an eye on October, it seems as though the Athletics are likely to use starters for short outings in the postseason and rely on a deep bullpen to handle the remainder of the workload.

Perhaps one of the more surprising elements of this deal is the fact that Rodney went unclaimed by the Indians, who had waiver priority over the Athletics and one of the worst bullpens in baseball. With three strong lefties in their pen and no viable right-handed options beyond Adam Cimber and struggling closer Cody Allen, Rodney would have provided a strong upgrade to the Cleveland bullpen. Likewise, the Mariners (who’re in close competition with them for a wild card spot) also passed on Rodney, allowing him to be claimed by a division rival rather than using him to patch their own relief corps.

The inclusion of Chalmers is a fascinating element of this deal, as the 21-year-old right hander has yet to accrue any significant professional resume following his selection by the A’s as the 97th overall pick in the 2015 draft. He didn’t rank among the club’s top 30 prospects in MLB Pipeline’s latest rankings, but Fangraphs considered him to within that group, ranking him 23rd in the A’s farm system. Chalmers had to step away from baseball late in 2017 for personal reasons, and Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen mentioned that he’s struggled with his control since returning. Though his velocity sits in the low-to-mid-90’s, there’s some skepticism that he’ll ever develop the command necessary to work multiple innings. He won’t pitch for the remainder of 2018 after undergoing Tommy John surgery earlier this season.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/7/18

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We’ll use this post to track the day’s minor moves …

Latest…

  • The Blue Jays will hold Darnell Sweeney on their active roster no longer. The club has announced that he cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A. Sweeney earned just four plate appearances with Toronto this season prior to being designated for assignment; it was his first taste of major league action since 2015, when the 27-year-old was with the Phillies. It seems as though the move was more motivated by projected potential than performance. Although Sweeney didn’t get a hit in his four trips to the plate, he did manage to draw two walks. He did, however, hit just .235/.310/.398 at the Triple-A level, and while that’s good for a nearly-average 98 wRC+, he also struck out in more than 30% of his plate appearances.
  • The Angels announced that they’ve placed infielder Luis Valbuena on release waivers. The 32-year-old is finishing up a two-year, $15MM contract with a 2019 club option, which clearly won’t be exercised. He’s long been a useful major-league asset, providing at least 1 fWAR across each of the past six seasons while with the Cubs, Astros and Angels. Unfortunately, this year has been an entirely different story, as he’s mustered just a .199/.253/.335 batting line across 288 plate appearances for the Halos while striking out a whopping 34.7% of the time. Valbuena’s performance has also suffered from a 6.6% walk rate that’s nearly four full percentage points below his career average of 10.5%.

Earlier…

  • The Twins have released right-hander Todd Van Steensel, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (via Twitter). It seems the organization simply ran out of room for the 27-year-old reliever, who has been with the Twins since 2011. The Aussie had spent the 2018 season at the Double-A level, working to a 3.07 ERA with 10.0 K/9 against 4.7 BB/9 while allowing just 26 hits over 44 innings.

Joe Mauer, Logan Morrison Clear Revocable Trade Waivers

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The Twins have passed two of their veteran hitters through the trade waiver process, as Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press reports that Joe Mauer and Logan Morrison both went unclaimed by any of the 29 other teams.  Mauer and Morrison are now eligible to be dealt for the remainder of the season.

Mauer has a full no-trade clause that he could’ve used to block a move to another team, had he been claimed and the Twins elected to let the claim stand.  Still, it was a moot point since other clubs weren’t likely to make a move for a player who is owed significant money (roughly $6.92MM by Berardino’s calculation) for the remainder of the season, particularly since Mauer is hitting only .275/.357/.367 over 348 PA.

Once one of the league’s best players, Mauer has become only a decently above-average offensive contributor in the latter stage of his career, with a .277/.360/.387 slash line since the start of the 2014 season.  He has consistently managed to get on base despite declining power numbers, however, and is less than a year removed from a strong 2017 season.  Mauer is also a well-respected veteran who would add to any clubhouse’s leadership.

As of last week, Mauer said he hadn’t been approached by the Twins about a potential trade, and it isn’t clear if Mauer would consider waiving his no-trade clause to join a contender — he said last winter that he would find it hard to play for any team besides the Twins.  Since Mauer’s contract is up after the season, however, Minnesota could look to re-sign Mauer in the offseason while giving him a shot at a championship over the last two-plus months of the 2018 campaign.

Morrison signed a one-year, $5.5MM deal with the Twins last winter with a $1MM buyout of a club option year for 2019.  That option vests if Morrison reaches 600 plate appearances, though that isn’t likely to happen given that the veteran first baseman/DH has struggled to a .195/.289/.387 slash line and 15 homers over 343 PA.  Morrison is just a season removed from a big 38-homer, .868 OPS season with the Rays, yet he had to settle for his modest contract from the Twins after not receiving much interest in free agency.  Morrison will face another crowded market of veteran bats on the trade market, and teams aren’t likely to show much interest in his services unless he gets hot at the plate.

Twins Notes: Drake, Pineda

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Oliver Drake earned an unusual spot in the record books upon making his Twins debut on Saturday, as the right-hander became the first player in history to pitch for five different MLB teams in a single season.  After three waiver claims and a trade, the well-traveled Drake has now taken the hill for the Twins, Blue Jays, Angels, Indians, and Brewers since the start of the 2018 campaign.  “It’s definitely been a long year,” Drake told MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger and other reporters.  “It’s always a good thing to be wanted in this game. My wife definitely would appreciate being a little more settled. She’s been moving around a lot with me, and it’s kind of chaos. But it’s all part of it, it’s the lifestyle we live, and we’re just making the best of it.”  Drake had already taken a long journey of a different sense just to reach the Show, as he was a 43rd-round pick for the Orioles in the 2008 draft and didn’t crack the big leagues until 2015.  Ironically, Drake had a pretty stable run for much of his pro career, as he was a member of Baltimore’s organization until he was dealt to Milwaukee in April 2017.

  • Also from Bollinger’s piece, Michael Pineda will officially begin his rehab assignment with the Twins’ Gulf Coast League affiliate today.  This will mark the right-hander’s first action since undergoing Tommy John surgery in July 2017.  Minnesota signed Pineda to a two-year, $10MM contract last winter, with $8MM of that deal owed in 2019 as the team sees him as a potential rotation contributor when healthy.  If all goes well in his rehab, Pineda is slated to get some Major League innings under his belt when rosters expand in September.

Twins Interested In Retaining Fernando Rodney

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Considering the Twins are out of playoff contention and soon-to-be 42-year-old closer Fernando Rodney isn’t signed for guaranteed money past this season, he may be a logical August trade candidate. However, the Twins are interested in picking up Rodney’s option for 2019, according to the Star Tribune’s LaVelle E. Neal III, who writes that the team would only move him this month for “a very nice offer.”

Rodney is due another $1.3MM this year, which is an affordable figure, as Neal notes. Contenders in the market for relief help (perhaps including the Red Sox, who showed interest in Rodney last month) may claim him if he ends up on trade waivers, then, though the Twins aren’t in a position where they have to jettison the veteran. Rather, the Twins could retain Rodney this year and exercise their $4.25MM option over the right-hander in the offseason, as opposed to buying him out for $250K, and either keep him for next season or shop him over the winter.

When the Twins signed Rodney to a $4.5MM guarantee last December, they were coming off a playoff-bound campaign and had designs on another postseason trip in 2018. Eight months later, Minnesota has stumbled to a 50-58 record and a nine-game deficit in the AL Central, though its struggles haven’t exactly been Rodney’s fault. For the most part, Rodney has made good on his deal by pitching to a 3.24 ERA/3.91 FIP with 10.15 K/9, 3.89 BB/9 and a 44 percent groundball rate in 41 2/3 innings. Never the most trustworthy game-ending option, Rodney has saved 23 of 29 opportunities this year, giving the journeyman a 79 percent success rate that slightly trails his career mark (82 percent, 323 saves on 395 tries).

Should the Twins bring the hard-throwing Rodney back in 2019, it would give them one fewer area to address in the offseason. The Twins’ bullpen may nonetheless be a focal point for chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and general manager Thad Levine, though, given that the unit has posted the majors’ seventh-worst ERA in 2018. Minnesota’s relief corps has fared much better in terms of K/BB ratio (fifth) and fWAR (18th), though Ryan Pressly and Zach Duke played a role in that, and the team traded both hurlers prior to the non-waiver deadline on Tuesday. Thanks in part to those moves, Rodney clearly ranks as one of the best relievers who’s on track to return for the Twins next season.

Twins Claim Oliver Drake, Johnny Field

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The Twins announced Friday that they’ve claimed right-hander Oliver Drake off waivers from the Blue Jays and outfielder Johnny Field off waivers from the Indians. Drake will step right into the MLB bullpen, while Field will head to Triple-A Rochester for the time being. Minnesota already had two open spots on the 40-man roster, so no additional 40-man moves were necessary to accommodate the pair of claims.

The 31-year-old Drake has already pitched for the Blue Jays, Brewers, Indians and Angels in 2018, making the Twins an incredible fifth MLB organization for which he’ll appear in a single season.

Drake has been rocked for a 7.57 ERA so far, but teams keep taking a chance on him, perhaps in part due to a strong 9.6 K/9 mark against 3.3 BB/9, as well as a healthy 13.3 percent swinging-strike rate. Drake also boasts terrific numbers in Triple-A, where he’s pitched to a 2.05 ERA with 155 punchouts against 43 walks in 110 innings of work. He’s out of minor league options, so the Twins (or a sixth MLB team) will have to carry him on the 25-man roster or try, once again, to pass him through outright waivers.

As for Field, the 26-year-old has batted just .213/.253/.373 through 179 MLB plate appearances this season, but he’s displayed some power and a bit of speed with six homers and a .160 ISO to go along with four steals. He’s drawn positive marks at all three outfield spots, in an obviously small sample, and has a career .271/.325/.440 slash in parts of three Triple-A seasons.

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