AL East Notes: Napoli, Pennington, Price
Mike Napoli may have struggled this season, but he left his mark on the Red Sox organization, writes Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. The slugger hit .242/.350/.436 during his Red Sox tenure with 53 regular season home runs. He also popped two home runs in the 2013 ALCS. In addition to his on-field contributions, Napoli was known for his character. I’ll leave the story telling to Bradford.
Here’s more from the AL East:
- The acquisition of Cliff Pennington by the Blue Jays is all about making final tweaks, writes Mike Wilner of Sportsnet.ca. The club could have survived with Munenori Kawasaki, but Pennington offers a modest upgrade. Not only is he a better defender with more utility, he also has solid splits against left-handed pitching. He’ll also provide insurance for second baseman Devon Travis. The rookie is currently on the disabled list with recurring a shoulder injury.
- The Blue Jays are on a seven game winning streak and just 2.5 games behind the Yankees in the NL East. New acquisition David Price figures to pay “big dividends,” according to Mike Mazzeo of ESPN New York. Price is 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 15 innings since the trade including a victory against the Yankees today. The Bronx Bombers may regret passing on Price and other aces. Instead, New York remained committed to their youth movement, refusing to part with Luis Severino or Aaron Judge.
Quick Hits: QO, Yankees, Athletics, Cubs
The qualifying offer continues to be an interesting topic of conversation and study around the game. It’s clear that it impacts free agent situations, but precisely how and how much remains somewhat difficult to nail down in practice. Next year’s QO will rise to approximately $15.7MM to $16MM, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets, providing another, increasingly-high-stakes opportunity to observe how teams approach the rule.
Here are a few stray notes to finish out the evening:
- The Yankees have already made use of a significant number of relief arms, often by shuttling players with options, and figure to do even more of that when rosters expand next month, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. That strategy may explain in part why the team ultimately chose not to add a starter at the deadline, preferring instead to rely on its depth to reduce the burden and reliance on its starters.
- The Athletics front office is geared up for the future, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. While GM Billy Beane says he is “always trying to get better in the short term,” he acknowledged that the club’s trade deadline strategy focused on cashing in expiring veteran contracts for “younger players with more of an upside .. as more of a long-term approach.” Having adopted that approach, Beane says that the team likely will not “use prospects for acquisitions” this winter.
- Notably, the Athletics’ key non-playing figures all seem likely not only to stay on, but to advance their careers. Per Slusser, manager Bob Melvin is likely to receive a multi-year extension at season’s end, while she labels it a “strong bet” that Beane will move up to a president position while handing over the GM title to David Forst.
- The presence of multiple teams still in contention could slow the August trade market, Cubs GM Jed Hoyer tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. “There’ll definitely be deals,” he said. “Whether those will be big deals or not, I would probably say no, simply because I do think people are pretty active on the waiver wire and there’ll be quite a bit of blocking.” Hoyer added that Chicago had already been awarded several waiver claims, though obviously it has not actually acquired any of those players.
NL Notes: Utley, Reds, Finnegan, Olivera
Longtime star second baseman Chase Utley will rejoin the Phillies tomorrow, the club announced. It’s almost certainly too late for him to reach sufficient plate appearances to trigger his vesting option for next season, making it a straight team decision whether to pick him up at $15MM or instead pay a $2MM buyout. But that doesn’t mean his return won’t be interesting, as Utley remains a very plausible August trade candidate. Indeed, the Phillies veteran is drawing interest around the league, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News reports. The Cubs, Dodgers, and Yankees are among the teams expected to have some interest in adding Utley down the stretch. Of course, his appeal will depend heavily upon the form he shows upon his return.
Here’s more from the National League:
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty provided some interesting thoughts on his team’s trade deadline moves, especially the Johnny Cueto deal, in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (links to Twitter). “We had the Cueto deal done, then another team came in,” said Jocketty, “and I was actually able to get a little more out of the Royals.”
- One key piece of that deal, of course, was lefty Brandon Finnegan, who Jocketty says will be expected to work as a starter at Triple-A before joining the big league club in September. After entering the year with 28 days of service and tacking on about 37 more thus far in 2015, Finnegan still has six years of team control remaining and won’t line up as a Super Two candidate even if he spends next month (and all of next year) on the Cincinnati staff.
- Jocketty also discussed the Reds‘ timeline to return to contention (Twitter link), saying that “our plan at this point is that we realistically have a real good shot in 2017.” While he praised the team’s “nucleus,” Jocketty’s statement seems to suggest that next season will be something of a regrouping year. The club has worked to fill its system with young arms after parting with Cueto and Mike Leake, but it remains to be seen how and when they will develop into productive big leaguers. With several big contracts limiting flexibility, and players like Aroldis Chapman and Jay Bruce entering their final years of control, it will be interesting to see whether Cinci pursues further trades over the winter.
- Braves GM John Hart also discussed his team’s role in the three-team, thirteen-player deadline deal with the Dodgers and Marlins with MLB Network Radio (Twitter links). He confirmed that the club was motivated primarily by the chance to add the bat of infielder Hector Olivera for a relatively minor commitment (five-years and roughly $30MM after 2015). Atlanta was weighing its options for bolstering its lineup, he indicated, and felt that it would cost too much to compete for the top-level bats set to hit the coming free agent market.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/6/2015
Here are today’s minor moves …
- The Giants have signed infielder Nick Noonan to a minor league deal, Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area tweets. Noonan played at the Triple-A level for the Yankees this year, but spent his first eight professional seasons in the San Francisco organization. Since cracking the big leagues with the Giants back in 2013, Noonan has produced mediocre results at the plate while playing at the highest level of the minors.
- Catcher George Kottaras has joined the Blue Jays on a minor league deal, according to an announcement from the club’s Triple-A affiliate. The 32-year-old had seen big league action for seven straight seasons heading into this one — suiting up for three organizations last year alone — but hasn’t seen an MLB opportunity yet with the White Sox organization. Kottaras has hit well in limited action this year, though, and is a .215/.326/.411 hitter in 858 big league plate appearances.
Yankees Designate Danny Burawa
The Yankees have designated righty Danny Burawa for assignment, the club announced. New York needed a 40-man spot after re-signing Garrett Jones.
Burawa, 26, reached the big leagues for the first time this year, though his only appearance did not go well. He has put up 60 1/3 solid innings at the Triple-A level, however, with a 2.69 ERA. Burawa notched only 7.8 K/9 against 4.5 BB/9, but has allowed a meager 6.3 hits per nine.
Yankees Re-Sign Garrett Jones
The Yankees have re-signed first baseman/outfielder Garrett Jones, Jack Curry of the YES Network tweets. New York is expected to move a pitcher off the active roster to create space.
Jones was recently designated for assignment to clear roster space as part of the team’s acquisition of Dustin Ackley. As Curry explains, Jones elected free agency after being outrighted by the club. But with Ackley going on the DL, New York decided to bring back the veteran.
Playing in his eighth big league season at 34 years of age, Jones owns a .215/.257/.361 batting line. But he’s done much more in the past, and carries a .757 collective OPS in a career with over 3,000 trips to the plate. Jones has always maintained a sizable platoon split, and will presumably continue to see most of his action against right-handed pitching.
Yankees Notes: Ackley, Pineda, Williams, Gregorius
The Yankees placed Dustin Ackley on the disabled list today due to a lumbar strain in his back. Ackley’s collected just three plate appearances since coming over from the Mariners in a trade, but Yankees GM Brian Cashman told reporters, including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch (Twitter link) that he has no issues with the Mariners. Ackley was healthy at the time of the trade, said Cashman, who expects the outfielder to miss about 20 to 30 days.
More on the Yankees…
- Also from Cashman (and also via Hoch), right-hander Michael Pineda won’t pitch in a Major League game in the month of August. The team is hopeful that Pineda, who hit the disabled list with a forearm strain shortly before the trade deadline, will return to the big league mound in September.
- Hoch tweets that outfield prospect Mason Williams, who made his Major League debut with the Yankees this season, will have season-ending shoulder surgery on Friday. Formerly a consensus Top 100 prospect, Williams’ star has faded in recent years, but he put himself back on the Yankees’ radar in 2015 with a .318/.397/.398 batting line between Double-A and Triple-A this season. Though he hasn’t homered in the minors at all this season, he did homer in the Majors before landing on the disabled list. In eight games with the Yankees, he hit .286/.318/.571. Williams will accrue 116 days of Major League service time this season by virtue of his time spent on the 60-day DL.
- The Yankees’ patience with Didi Gregorius is beginning to pay off, writes George A. King III of the New York Post. Though Gregorius batted just .221/.283/.297 through the season’s first two months, he’s now batting .291/.330/.396 since June 1 and playing solid defense at shortstop. “When we got him I spoke about his ability but that he was not a finished product,” said Cashman. “There were going to be growing pains, and we were forced to be patient. You hope your patience pays dividends. We are seeing that.” The Yankees picked up Gregorius in a three-team deal that sent Shane Greene to the Tigers.
Minor Moves: Cards, Carpenter, Murphy, Clemens
Here are today’s minor league transactions from around baseball, with the newest moves at the top of the post…
- The Cardinals outrighted right-hander Marcus Hatley and first baseman Dan Johnson off the 40-man roster and sent them to Triple-A, according to the club’s official transactions page. Both players were designated for assignment earlier in the week.
- Braves right-hander David Carpenter has accepted his outright assignment to Triple-A, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. Carpenter was designated for assignment last week and had the option of becoming a free agent, which he declined to stay in the Braves organization. Carpenter has only appeared in four games for Atlanta this season, posting a 7.36 ERA over his 3 2/3 innings of work.
- The Brewers released infielder Donnie Murphy, as per the Pacific Coast League’s transactions page. Murphy signed a minor league contract with Milwaukee in February and had a .257/.352/.371 line over 162 PA at Triple-A Colorado Springs. The 32-year-old Murphy has appeared in parts of nine Major League seasons with five different teams since 2004.
- The Royals signed righty Paul Clemens to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com’s transactions page. Clemens posted a 5.51 ERA over 98 innings with the Astros in 2013-14 and a 5.54 ERA over 26 innings in the Phillies’ minor league system this season. He was released by the Phils in June.
- Chris Capuano has accepted his outright assignment from the Yankees and reported to Triple-A, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. The veteran southpaw had the option of becoming a free agent, though doing so would’ve forfeited the roughly $1.7MM still owed to him on his Yankees contract for the rest of the season.
- Angels right-hander Jeremy McBryde has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, the club’s communications department tweets. McBryde was designated for assignment earlier in the week. McBryde has a 4.07 ERA over 659 1/3 career minor league innings, though he’s struggled to a 5.63 ERA in 46 1/3 relief frames for the Halos’ Triple-A affiliate this season.
- While McBryde’s case has been settled, over 20 players are still in DFA limbo. Check out the MLB Trade Rumors DFA Tracker for a full accounting of the players still awaiting their next assignment.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Dodgers, Mets, Hamels, Jays, Astros
An elite starting pitcher was a luxury good for the Dodgers, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. That’s why Los Angeles passed on talents like Cole Hamels, David Price, and Johnny Cueto despite possessing the prospect depth to acquire their pick of the litter. Instead, the club flexed its financial might to acquire Mat Latos, Alex Wood, Jim Johnson, Luis Avilan, and Jose Peraza. The biggest piece dealt away by the Dodgers was 30-year-old Cuban infielder Hector Olivera. The utility man has not yet reached the majors after signing a six-year, $62.5MM deal with the Dodgers. A full $28MM of that was in the form of a signing bonus.
Here’s more from Rosenthal:
- Cynics may find a way to criticize the Mets deadline transactions. Perhaps they didn’t add enough to the payroll or were too small minded? However, the moves for Yoenis Cespedes, Tyler Clippard, Kelly Johnson, and Juan Uribe provided essential upgrades to a roster that was showing signs of stress. GM Sandy Alderson deserves kudos for improving the club while working within tight constraints. To me, this was Rosenthal’s money quote, “Mets fans will not be satisfied – and should not be satisfied – until the team raises its payroll to a level more commensurate with the New York market.“
- Echoing the sentiments of many analysts, both the Phillies and Rangers did well in the Hamels trade. With the Phillies taking on Matt Harrison and chipping in cash, the Rangers will pay Hamels an average of $13MM to $14MM per season if his option vests. They also hung onto top prospects Joey Gallo and Nomar Mazara. On Philadelphia’s end, acquiring three quality prospects will do much to bolster their future.
- The Blue Jays, unlike the Dodgers, are often described as a cash strapped organization. Instead of taking on payroll like L.A., the Blue Jays dealt 11 prospects and Jose Reyes to acquire Troy Tulowitzki, David Price, Ben Revere, Mark Lowe, and LaTroy Hawkins. They’re 6.5 games back in the AL East and 1.5 games behind the Twins for the second Wild Card slot.
- The Astros also spent their prospect chips for major league upgrades. They made the first deadline strike by acquiring Scott Kazmir then paid a princely sum for Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers. Interestingly, mid-market teams like the Astros, Blue Jays, Mets, and Royals used prospects in their search for October baseball. The Yankees and Dodgers opted to use money or stand pat.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/1/15
Here are today’s minor moves from around the league.
- The Mets have signed pitcher Tim Stauffer to a minor league contract, according to the MLB transactions page. Stauffer was released by the Twins earlier this summer and signed with the independent Sugar Land Skeeters in mid-July. He posted a 6.60 ERA in 15 innings with the Twins. Over a 590 inning major league career, he has a 3.94 ERA with 6.73 K/9 and 3.05 BB/9. In his heyday, he worked between 90 and 92 mph. He averaged just 88 mph with his fastball during his stint with Minnesota.
- The Giants have released pitcher Erik Cordier, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. MLBTR has learned that Cordier’s deal included opt out clauses on July 1, August 1, and September 7. The 29-year-old righty performed well in the minors. In 34 Triple-A innings, he posted a 1.04 ERA and 11.16 K/9. However, his command and control left something to be desired with 6.49 BB/9.
- The White Sox have signed outfielder Dayan Viciedo and assigned him to the Triple-A Charlotte Knights, the Knights have announced. Viciedo was, of course, a longtime staple of the White Sox outfield, but they released him in February, avoiding paying most of what would have been a $4.4MM arbitration salary. He played briefly this year for Triple-A Nashville in the Athletics system, hitting .221/.282/.336.
- The Red Sox have outrighted infielder Jemile Weeks and assigned him to Triple-A Pawtucket, Tim Britton of the Providence Journal tweets. The Red Sox designated Weeks for assignment on Wednesday when they added Josh Rutledge to their roster. Weeks has hit .207/.307/.310 in 199 plate appearances for Pawtucket this year.
- Former Yankees reliever Esmil Rogers is headed to Korea, where he’ll get $1MM to play for the Hanwha Eagles of the KBO, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets. In the midst of yesterday’s trade deadline madness, MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch tweeted that the Yankees had released Rogers. The 29-year-old Rogers posted a 6.27 ERA, 8.5 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 33 innings with New York this season.