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Twins Release Jordan Schafer

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The Twins have released outfielder Jordan Schafer, director of communications Dustin Morse announced on Twitter. He had been on the DL with a knee sprain.

Schafer, 28, had a nice run with the Twins last year after being claimed off waivers from the Braves. That led the team to tender him a contract through arbitration, ultimately agreeing upon a $1.55MM pact.

This year, however, has been a disappointment. Schafer owns a meager .217/.250/.261 slash over 74 plate appearances. The typically fleet runner has also gone 0-for-3 in stolen base attempts.

With top prospect Byron Buxton up to man center, Schafer did not seem to have a significant role going forward. Minnesota has also deployed Shane Robinson and the injure Aaron Hicks up the middle.

AL Central Notes: Buxton, Sox, V-Mart, Tigers, Young

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Speaking about the team’s recent promotion of top prospect Byron Buxton, Twins GM Terry Ryan told Kris Atteberry of Twins Radio (audio link): “We brought up Buxton because he’s the best one we had available at the time. We have a few guys down there that we considered, but they aren’t as good as Buxton, so we brought up Byron to give him a shot. … I’m hoping that things go well enough that we don’t have to worry about it.” Based on Ryan’s comments, it seems that Buxton will have the opportunity to play his way into a regular role moving forward. A productive Buxton would certainly increase Minnesota’s chances of remaining in the hunt for the division and could also eliminate a potential area of need in trades — an upgrade in the outfield.

More from the AL Central…

  • Asked by MLB.com’s Scott Merkin about the possibility of the White Sox becoming deadline sellers, David Robertson said that he would be understanding of any route that GM Rick Hahn felt was best for the team. “If that happens, you know, that’s just part of the game,” said the closer, who signed a four-year, $46MM contract this winter. “That’s obviously a decision that I’m not even involved in. The organization has to do what’s best for them. If that’s the way this season turns out, then so be it.” Robertson, however, feels that the Sox still have the pieces to contend and believes a turnaround is possible with strong performances against division rivals in Kansas City and Detroit. Chicago is currently seven games under .500 and nine back in the AL Central.
  • Victor Martinez will rejoin the Tigers this weekend in New York and could be activated from the disabled list at that time, writes James Schmehl of MLive.com. Martinez has been out since May 19 but looked strong on a Triple-A rehab assignment to date, going 4-for-12 with a double in 12 plate appearances.
  • In a mailbag column, Schmehl addresses potential trade scenarios for the Tigers this summer, reporting that the team will consider adding starting pitching. Johnny Cueto and Scott Kazmir are two seemingly speculative names tossed out by Schmehl. He adds that Detroit is likely to add a relief arm as well, though not an elite closer like Aroldis Chapman, as the team is happy with Joakim Soria in the ninth inning.
  • In a piece for FOX Sports, Dave Cameron of Fangraphs examines the unique nature of Chris Young’s ability to drastically outperform his FIP by virtue of consistently posting one of the lowest BABIP marks in baseball. While there’s a good amount of luck involved in BABIP, Young’s extreme fly-ball tendencies — specifically his ability to induce infield flies — has allowed him to post a .240 BABIP dating back to 2006. Cameron notes that in such a heavily analytical era, it’s not surprising that teams were so reluctant to gamble on a 36-year-old soft-tosser with a 5.02 FIP in 2014, but Young’s mastery of a rare skill set has made him a bargain.

Twins Release Tim Stauffer

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JUNE 17: The Twins have released Stauffer, reports MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger (Twitter link).

JUNE 10: The Twins have designated right-hander Tim Stauffer for assignment, tweets MLB.com’s Betsy Helfand. Right-handed reliever Michael Tonkin will be recalled from Triple-A Rochester to take Stauffer’s spot in the bullpen for Thursday’s contest.

After a long stint of relatively successful but injury-marred seasons with the Padres, Stauffer became a free agent for the first time this past winter. He signed a one-year, $2.2MM contract with the Twins and was said to have a shot at a rotation slot in Spring Training, but the expectation was that he’d slot into the team’s bullpen, which he indeed wound up doing.

However, the 33-year-old Stauffer has not been able to replicate the success he found with the Padres. In 15 innings with the Twins, Stauffer has surrendered an alarming 13 runs (11 earned), issuing seven walks against just six strikeouts. Stauffer missed time this season with an intercostal strain, which may or may not have something to do with the fact that his average fastball velocity declined from 90.6 mph in 2014 to 88.7 mph in 2015.

Tonkin, 25, has been up and down with the Twins over the past three seasons. The 6’7″ hurler has ranked among the Twins’ Top 30 prospects in three offseasons, per Baseball America, but he’s yet to receive an extended look as a member of the bullpen. It would seem that this may be that opportunity for him, however. Tonkin has averaged 93.9 mph on his fastball and pitched to a 3.76 ERA with 7.7 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 45 percent ground-ball rate in 38 1/3 big league innings dating back to 2013. His Triple-A numbers are markedly better, as he’s posted a 3.22 ERA with 9.9 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9 in 89 1/3 innings there.

Twins To Sign Tyler Jay

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The Twins and No. 6 overall pick Tyler Jay are in agreement on a full-slot bonus of $3,889,500, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com (Twitter link). Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN first tweeted that Jay was at Target Field in Minneapolis and was scheduled to meet with the media shortly. Jay, a left-handed pitcher out of the University of Illinois, is represented by Scott Leventhal of All Bases Covered Sports Management.

Jay spent his college career as a relief pitcher, but he ranked near the top of the draft class because most scouts believe that he has the mix of pitches necessary to become a starting pitcher in the Majors. Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs rated Jay as the sixth-best prospect in the draft, while Jay rated ninth on the lists of MLB.com (Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo) and ESPN (Keith Law). Baseball America ranked Jay as the No. 13 prospect in the draft.

McDaniel ranked Jay second among all pitchers in this year’s class, writing that he flashes three plus pitches and held his velocity well in multi-inning relief stints. McDaniel feels that Jay could feature three 60-grade (or better) pitches in the future. Law notes that Jay could end up in the middle of a big league rotation and has four pitches, though he figures to be a three-pitch guy in pro ball. MLB.com has Jay’s velocity in the 93-95 mph range and topping out at 98. Callis and Mayo prefer Jay’s slider to his curve. BA clocks Jay’s slider in the low 80s and notes that some scouts have given it “wipeout” designation.

Jay will pitch as a reliever in 2015, according to GM Terry Ryan (via MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger on Twitter), though the expectation is, of course, that he will eventually move to the rotation. In response to that, Callis tweets that Jay could very well follow in the footsteps of Chris Sale and Brandon Finnegan, emerging as a late-season relief option for his club in the same season that he’s drafted. Jay will begin his career at Fort Myers in the Class-A Advanced Florida State League, per Ryan.

Draft Signings: Thompson, Jones, Cabbage

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We’ll track some of the day’s notable draft bonus agreements here. (Slot values via Baseball America; signing links to Twitter.)

  • Another player whose signing was reported yesterday, Dylan Thompson of the Mariners, agreed to an above-slot deal, per Callis. A high school righty, Thompson will receive a $585K bonus after being taken 125th overall ($448K slot value).

Earlier Updates

  • 70th overall pick Jahmai Jones receives a $1.1MM bonus from the Angels, MLB.com’s Jim Callis reports. We covered his agreement to an above-slot bonus last night, and it turns out that Los Angeles had to add $220K to the pick’s allocated value to keep Jones from attending UNC.
  • The Twins have likewise agreed to an above-slot bonus with fourth-round (110th overall) selection Trey Cabbage, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN. It remains unreported just how far over the $517,900 pick allocation Minnesota went to lure Cabbage away from his commitment to the University of Tennessee. The third baseman rated as high as the 72nd-best player in the draft, per MLB.com, which noted his plus hit tool and promise at the hot corner.

Twins Promote Byron Buxton

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The Twins will promote top prospect Byron Buxton prior to tomorrow’s game, tweets Phil Miller of the Star Tribune.

The 21-year-old Buxton is the game’s number one prospect according to MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus. FanGraphs, ESPN’s Keith Law, and Baseball America all ranked Buxton as the second best prospect behind Kris Bryant. Buxton was selected with the second overall pick of the 2012 draft.

The call up is a mild surprise despite the club’s obvious need in center field. Buxton was hitting .283/.351/.489 with six home runs and 20  stolen bases at Double-A. By activating Buxton tomorrow, the Twins should avoid the Super Two cutoff if he remains in the majors for the remainder of the season. No matter how he’s used, he’ll remain club controllable through at least the 2021 season.

Unlike the Bryant promotion, service time considerations don’t seem like a major factor in the Twins decision. Buxton missed most of the 2014 season with various maladies. Given his age and inexperience above the High-A level, it made perfect sense for the club to continue developing him in the minors. Minnesota’s surprise contention and the poor performance of Aaron Hicks may have forced the team to reevaluate their development plans. Hicks is currently day-to-day with an elbow injury, and he’s hit just .247/.293/.301 on the season.

Manager Paul Molitor has not commented on how he plans to use Buxton, but one can assume he’ll play regularly. He may feature prominently in the lineup. He should provide a spark to an offense that has relied heavily on leadoff hitter Brian Dozier, third baseman Trevor Plouffe, and outfielder Torii Hunter.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Heyman’s Latest: Twins, Mariners, Draft, Viciedo

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Jon Heyman of CBS Sports’ latest column contains notes on every team throughout baseball. Here are a few highlights.

  • The Twins are surprise contenders this year, and they’re open to acquiring a middle-of-the-order hitter, possibly an outfielder, Heyman writes. They could also seek relief help.
  • After trading for Mark Trumbo, the Mariners seem to lack budget flexibility, which might be the reason they weren’t a serious contender for Rafael Soriano despite Fernando Rodney’s poor performance this season.
  • The Astros are expected to sign No. 37 overall pick Daz Cameron for about $4MM, Heyman notes. Cameron, who is committed to Florida State, fell in the draft due to signability concerns.
  • The Marlins are close to signing first baseman Josh Naylor, the No. 12 overall pick in the draft.
  • The Dodgers might have a tough time signing No. 35 overall pick Kyle Funkhouser. The righty could head back to Louisville for his senior season, much as Mark Appel spurned the Pirates a few years back so he could complete his degree at Stanford and re-enter the draft the following year.
  • Free agent and former White Sox outfielder Dayan Viciedo has received offers for minor-league deals, but he’s holding out for a big-league contract, Heyman reports.
  • MLB might think about moving the draft from Secaucus, New Jersey to a different location, perhaps Omaha. That would allow more top prospects to attend.

Amateur Notes: July 2, Martinez, Sierra, D’Backs, Draft

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With the draft in the books, the next July 2 period is just around the corner. Last year saw several teams blow past their spending allocations, incurring two-year bans on $300K+ signings to do so. As the Angels, Diamondbacks, Rays, Red Sox, and Yankees go on probation, the Cubs and Rangers are returning to the market. Ben Badler of Baseball America breaks down this year’s market, with the Cubs joined by the Dodgers and Royals as teams that seem quite likely to dole out enough excess bonus cash to incur the highest possible penalties. The Phillies and Blue Jays could follow those clubs, says Badler, though they may yet be able to add their top targets without taking on a signing ban. Badler discusses several clubs that could be buyers or sellers of international space, with the Twins profiling as a major acquirer or spending capacity and the D’backs looking to get some value back for the bonus availability that they cannot take advantage of.

You’ll want to give that piece a full read. Here are some other worthwhile amateur links:

  • Badler discusses the signing situations of BA’s top ten July 2 prospects (non-Cuban edition). He says the Mets are the favorites to land Venezuelan shortstop Andres Gimenez. Though New York probably won’t get Vladimir Guerror Jr., who has long been linked to the Blue Jays, they may instead get Vlad Sr. nephew Gregory Guerrero, another shortstop. Meanwhile, Badler says the Rangers appear set to sign Dominican outfielder Leodys Taveras but now seem likely to lose Bahamian shortstop Lucius Fox to the Dodgers.
  • Cuban outfielder Eddie Julio Martinez has drawn a range of reviews, with MLB.com pegging him as the top overall international prospect and Badler expressing considerably more doubt. You can have a look for yourself, at least at some batting practice cuts, with a video courtesy of BA.
  • Well-regarded Cuban right-hander Yaisel Sierra will be represented by Praver-Shapiro Sports Management, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. As Badler recently explained, Sierra will be exempt from international signing restrictions when he becomes eligible to sign, but his Serie Nacional track record has never quite matched his promising pure stuff.
  • The Diamondbacks’ new regime exhibited a notable change in strategy in this year’s draft, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic notes (Twitter links). After going heavy on high schoolers at the top of last year’s draft, Arizona chose 15 collegiate players in its first 19 picks (including each of its first six selections) this time around. Individual draft dynamics always have an important bearing on a team’s final board, of course, but it is notable that the D’Backs ultimately chose just four high school players out of their forty total draft slots.
  • MLB.com’s Jim Callis lists the five teams that had the best drafts. Like other analysts, he places the Astros, Rockies, and Dodgers at the top of that list. Callis also likes what the Rays and Rangers accomplished with their selections.

Trade Notes: Sellers, Dodgers, Papelbon, Jays, Twins

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Dave Cameron of Fangraphs opines that we may be headed for the “most extreme sellers’ market in years” given the unprecedented parity in the American League and a lack of sellers in the National League. Only 8.5 games separate the best team in the AL and the second-worst, Cameron notes, and the worst club (the Athletics) can be reasonably expected to turn things around if one believes in the estimation of a context-neutral system like BaseRuns (of course, Oakland’s hole may be too deep to escape even if their luck turns). In the NL, only the Phillies and Brewers are clear sellers, and even potential sellers like the Diamondbacks and Marlins are loaded with young, controllable players as opposed to appealing veteran assets. The Reds and Rockies may eventually sell also, but they’re close enough to .500 at this time that they may wait until late in trade season to market their players. Cameron adds that if the Rox “really won’t trade Tulowitzki in this market, where there might not be another significant power hitter available, then they should just never trade him.” I’m inclined to agree that it’s difficult to imagine a better market for Colorado to move Tulowitzki, particularly if he continues a torrid hot streak that is silencing any previous concerns about his health.

A few more trade-related notes as we begin to get the time of year when teams will shift their focus to improving the 25-man roster…

  • It’s no secret that the Dodgers could use a quality starter, and Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes that the club is looking at the very top of the market. The top Dodgers target is Nationals righty Jordan Zimmermann. Other preferred names include Johnny Cueto of the Reds and David Price of the Tigers. Of course, it’s far from clear what kind of deal would interest contenders like Washington and Detroit, and Saxon notes that Los Angeles has no reason to believe at this point that Zimmermann could be had via trade. While Cueto is obviously expected to be available, it’s hard to imagine the other two arms being dealt barring some significant change (e.g., loss of a major player to injury or a rather dramatic slide in the standings) or serious creativity in structuring a deal.
  • Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon has seen his name in the news today, and ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark adds to the reports indicating that Philadelphia is increasingly interested in moving the veteran. Rivals think that the Phils may be looking to deal Papelbon sooner rather than later in order to get out ahead of other clubs that might sell off late-inning arms — namely, the Athletics (Tyler Clippard) and Reds (Aroldis Chapman).
  • It remains to be seen what kind of return the Phillies can achieve on Papelbon, but the club’s apparent willingness to keep some of the salary obligations will obviously help on the prospect side of the equation. Corey Seidman of CSNPhilly.com attempts to gauge Papelbon’s value by looking at recent deals involving late-inning arms, indicating that the club might be interested in bolstering its organization depth with multiple prospects if it can’t pry loose a single player that it really likes.
  • The Blue Jays undeniably have a need at the back of the pen, writes Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca, but the club does not seem any closer to reaching agreement on Papelbon. While the teams have indeed chatted recently, Davidi says that Philly is still not willing to take on enough of Papelbon’s salary to make an agreement palatable. And Toronto is not looking to part with its better minor league talent, perhaps buoyed by the fact that there is not a ton of demand for Papelbon. The Jays are definitely constrained by financial limitations, says Davidi, who sums it up thusly: “in all likelihood they have one, maybe two moves in them, so they can ill-afford a costly roll of the dice.”
  • Twins GM Terry Ryan says that the failure of last year’s mid-season Kendrys Morales  signing will not cause the team to pause in pursuing an upgrade this summer, as Derek Wetmore of 1500ESPN.com writes. “I would do it again if I had an opportunity,” Ryan said of the Morales move. “It just didn’t work.” He went on to say that the club is looking to see what it can do to take advantage of its nice start: “We’re doing pretty good and we certainly have to have our eyes open,” Ryan said. “We’re in contention, there’s no secret here. We have an opportunity to do some things and hopefully we’ll be able to.”

AL Central Notes: Price, Indians, Lindor, Santana

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In an interview with Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (video link), Tigers ace David Price discussed his lasting connection with the Vanderbilt baseball program, the absence of Victor Martinez in his team’s lineup, his early picks for the AL Cy Young and, perhaps most interestingly to MLBTR readers, his upcoming free agency. Price says that free agency hasn’t been on his mind very often throughout the year to this point, as he tries to focus on the season at hand. Price adds that winning “takes precedent over everything else” when thinking about where he will play after 2015, but he feels the culture of the team will be important as well. “I want to have fun,” said Price. “There are some teams that are just a no-fun zone. I don’t care how much money I’m making. To me, I couldn’t imagine waking up and [not wanting to go to the field]. I couldn’t handle that. I’ll quit before that happens.” The 2012 Cy Young winner also reiterated that he wants a chance to win both immediately and long-term.

More from the AL Central…

  • Zack Meisel of Cleveland.com looks at the Indians’ recent decision to option Lonnie Chisenhall and Jose Ramirez in favor of Zach Walters and Giovanny Urshela. Ramirez’s demotion was long overdue, says Meisel, but a lack of alternatives in the Majors delayed the decision. Meisel notes that the clock is ticking on a promotion for top prospect Francisco Lindor, and he also wonders if Chisenhall might’ve “burned through his last chance” with the Indians after another demotion.
  • Via MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian (Twitter link), Indians GM Chris Antonetti said that Lindor was, in fact, a consideration to join the big league roster. However, Lindor has been bothered by some minor hand and core issues and is not currently at 100 percent. As Meisel noted in his piece, Lindor is slashing .295/.363/.446 over the past month after a slow start, so it’s fair to wonder just how much longer it will be before the consensus Top 10 prospect joins Cleveland’s big league roster. Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets that he gets the sense that the team wants to see Lindor consistently perform at the Triple-A level before a promotion.
  • The Twins have optioned struggling shortstop Danny Santana to Triple-A Rochester and recalled DH Kennys Vargas in his place. Both switch-hitters were in Minnesota’s Opening Day lineup, but each endured struggles. Santana received a longer leash than Vargas, who was optioned in early May, but the team seems to have run out of patience for the time being. Santana batted just .218/.235/.291 just one year after hitting .319/.353/.472 as a rookie. He’ll work on rediscovering his stroke and also cutting down on the errors at shortstop, but I’d imagine that with Jorge Polanco performing well at Double-A and being a more well-regarded defender, there’s a chance that Polanco could leapfrog Santana. As for Vargas, the hulking slugger hit .308/.403/.519 with three homers in 16 Triple-A games. He should get another chance to hold down Minnesota’s DH spot for the duration of the season. However, Twins DHs are hitting just .249/.308/.328, so if Vargas struggles, that may be an area they consider short-term upgrades this summer. In fact, I could envision the Twins looking for help at either of those positions in July, if they hang in near the top of the division.
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