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Twins Sign Royce Lewis

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5:50pm: The Twins have announced the signing. Lewis’ deal is worth $6.725MM, per Heyman, who notes that it’s a record for a high school player in the new system (Twitter links).

4:34pm: The Twins have agreed to a deal with first overall draft pick Royce Lewis, Fan Rag’s Jon Heyman tweets. Lewis will receive a bonus of a bit over $6.7MM. Lewis, a high school shortstop from California, will forgo his commitment to UC-Irvine, as expected.

It was reported late last week that Lewis would soon take a physical with the Twins and that he was expected to receive a bonus slightly higher than the $6.5MM 2015 first overall pick Dansby Swanson got from the Diamondbacks, so today’s news does not come as a major surprise. It appears Lewis’ bonus will not be the biggest overall in this year’s draft, however — that honor could go to Braves No. 5 overall pick Kyle Wright, who received $7MM, or Rays No. 4 overall selection Brendan McKay, who could receive slightly more.

The first overall pick had a pool value of $7,770,700 this year, so it appears that when Lewis’ signing is complete, the Twins will save around $1M against their total draft pool of $14,156,800. Notably, they’ve already struck a deal with third-rounder Blayne Enlow for $2MM, a little over $1.2MM more than the value of the No. 76 pick. The Lewis and Enlow deals, then, will essentially balance one another out.

The Twins were reportedly interested in both Lewis and McKay with the first overall pick, and Lewis’ willingness to accept the Twins’ bonus offer was reportedly a key factor in their decision to select him. Lewis, though, did rate as one of the premium talents in this year’s draft. MLB.com rated him the No. 5 prospect available, noting that he has excellent athleticism and good range either in the infield or center field. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen rated Lewis similarly, noting his feel for hitting, projectable body and the likelihood he could become a plus center field if he’s eventually moved off shortstop. Baseball America (subscription required) noted Lewis’ plus makeup, speed and raw power.

Lewis will join a collection of young Twins talent that includes big-leaguers Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton and Jose Berrios, along with prospects Nick Gordon, Stephen Gonsalves and Enlow. Lewis only turned 18 the week before the draft and could require ample time to develop, but he’ll immediately become one of the crown jewels of the Twins’ system.

Rays Acquire Trevor Plouffe From Athletics

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The Rays have acquired infielder Trevor Plouffe from the Athletics for cash considerations or a player to be named later, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes (Twitter links). The Rays will also receive cash in the deal, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweets, with Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle adding that the Rays will receive over $2MM to cover a portion of the approximately $3MM left on Plouffe’s $5.25MM 2017 salary. The Rays have moved righty Matt Andriese (hip) to the 60-day DL to clear space for Plouffe on their 40-man roster.

The Athletics designated Plouffe for assignment last week after he batted just .214/.276/.357 while striking out 29.1% of the time in 199 plate appearances this season. The 31-year-old also had a somewhat disappointing 2016 campaign with the Twins in which he hit a modest .260/.303/.420 while earning below-average marks in UZR and DRS for his defense. The Twins then outrighted him rather than taking him through the arbitration process.

Still, there’s perhaps reason for the Rays to hope Plouffe will be somewhat productive. He was a decent regular in Minnesota in 2014 and 2015, and he has decent power (with 103 career big-league home runs) and can play either infield corner. He’s also batted a solid .269/.345/.459 against lefties in his career, whereas the Rays as a team have hit a modest .227/.312/.374 against southpaws.

The Rays have established players at third (Evan Longoria), first (Logan Morrison) and DH (Corey Dickerson), but the left-handed Morrison, despite having a very strong season overall, has not hit lefties well in his career. The Rays could try to find further opportunities for Plouffe as a pinch-hitter, and he should improve their bench, which has had uninspiring options like Michael Martinez and Rickie Weeks to man the infield corners. Also, as ESPN’s Jim Bowden points out in a tweet, the Rays’ AL East rivals the Red Sox have struggled at third base this season and had interest in Plouffe last winter, and the Rays acquiring him prevents the Red Sox from acquiring him now. Plouffe is eligible for free agency after the season.

Athletics Designate Trevor Plouffe For Assignment

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3:32pm: Oakland has made it official: Chapman is up and Plouffe is in DFA limbo.

1:31pm: With the A’s set to call up top prospect Matt Chapman, the team is preparing to designate third baseman Trevor Plouffe for assignment, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

[Related: Updated Oakland Athletics depth chart]

Plouffe, who turns 31 today, signed a one-year, $5.25MM deal with the A’s this offseason after effectively being non-tendered by the Twins. His bat has yet to recover from a slow start to the season, however, as the former first-round pick is hitting just .214/.276/.357 on the year with seven homers and five doubles. As Slusser notes, Plouffe had recently seen his playing time diminish in Oakland.

When at his best, Plouffe has proven to be a serviceable defender at third base with modest on-base skills but enough pop to hit 20 to 25 homers. From 2012-15 in Minnesota he batted a combined .248/.312/.426 with an average of 23 homers per 162 games played.

Given that track record, it’s possible that the A’s could find a taker for Plouffe in trade, as teams like the Red Sox, Yankees and Mets have received little help from their third basemen in 2017. Presumably, the A’s would need to include some cash to help offset the remaining $3.13MM on his contract. Boston, for what it’s worth, reportedly showed interest in Plouffe over the winter before he signed with the A’s.

If Oakland doesn’t find a trade partner, Plouffe’s salary will very likely allow him to clear waivers, at which point any club could sign him and owe him only the pro-rated portion of the league minimum through season’s end.

Tyler Thornburg To Undergo Surgery For Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

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The Red Sox announced on Thursday that right-hander Tyler Thornburg will undergo surgery to alleviate thoracic outlet syndrome. Thornburg, who has yet to pitch this year due to ongoing shoulder troubles, will miss the entire season.

The team expects Thornburg to be ready for the 2018 season. Per Dombrowski, via Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com (on Twitter), the medical expectation is that the reliever could be ready for MLB action in nine months’ time. That would land in mid-March, right in the middle of 2018 Spring Training.

[Related: Boston Red Sox depth chart]

Boston acquired the 28-year-old Thornburg this offseason on the heels of an excellent 2016 campaign, hoping that he could help to serve as a bridge from the rotation to closer Craig Kimbrel. However, for the second consecutive offseason, Boston’s top bullpen addition will be unable to contribute to the club due to injury. (Carson Smith underwent Tommy John surgery in 2016 and has yet to take the hill for the BoSox, either.) The trade looks decidedly lopsided at this point, as Boston sent third baseman Travis Shaw and prospects Mauricio Dubon, Josh Pennington and Yeison Coca to Milwaukee in return.

Of course, thoracic outlet syndrome was entirely unforeseeable, and based on Thornburg’s 2016 success, the Red Sox had every reason to be interested in the breakout righty. Last year, Thornburg tossed 67 innings of 2.15 ERA ball while averaging 12.1 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 with a 32.4 percent ground-ball rate. The former starter also saw his fastball velocity jump to an average of 94.1 mph, and his 12.1 percent swinging-strike rate was comfortably above average among big league relievers. On top of that, Thornburg entered the 2017 season with just over three years of service time, giving Boston three more years of control over the righty before free agency.

The Sox will have another two years to try to recoup some value from the swap, though there’s no guarantee that Thornburg will simply bounce back to his former self. While some pitchers, such as Chris Young and Jaime Garcia, have come back and enjoyed success following the operation, more recent cases such as Phil Hughes and Matt Harvey have struggled upon returning from the same procedure.

Even without Thornburg contributing, however, Boston’s bullpen has been a strength in 2017. Red Sox relievers have the second-best ERA and FIP of any team in the Majors, and their xFIP ranks fourth among big league clubs. Craig Kimbrel has not only bounced back after a down season (by his standards) in 2016 — he’s turned in the best year of his remarkable career to date. Joe Kelly, meanwhile, is sporting a 1.27 ERA, and Matt Barnes has emerged as a reliable setup arm as well. In fact, the Red Sox have eight relievers that have totaled 10 or more innings in 2017, and all but one (rookie Ben Taylor) has turned in an ERA of 3.77 or better.

Cardinals Release Jhonny Peralta

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The Cardinals have released infielder Jhonny Peralta, per a club announcement. The veteran had recently been designated for assignment.

It’s no surprise that Peralta cleared waivers. He’s earning $10MM in 2017, the final season of the four-year free agent deal he signed when he joined the Cards.

At 35 years of age, Peralta seems to have hit a wall. After struggling through an injury-riddled 2016 campaign, there was hope that he’d bounce back this year. But he’s hitting only .204/.259/.204 through 58 plate appearances.

The story is similar on the defensive side of the spectrum. Generally regarded as a solid, albeit unspectacular shortstop, Peralta has drawn negative reviews for his glovework since the start of 2015 — even after moving over to third base last year. DRS and UZR have both pegged him at average thus far in 2017, though that’s in a sample of just 114 innings.

Still, it’s easy to imagine rival organizations taking a look at a player who was an All-Star in 2015. That’s especially true since Peralta can be had for the league-minimum salary, with St. Louis continuing to pay the vast majority of his salary. Even if he’s not capable of handling short on a day-to-day basis, it helps that he brings so much experience at the position. All said, for clubs in need of some versatility around the diamond, taking a chance on the 15-year MLB veteran may hold quite a bit of appeal.

Twins Select Royce Lewis First Overall

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The Twins have taken high school infielder Royce Lewis with the first overall pick of the 2017 amateur draft, as Keith Law of ESPN.com suggested on Twitter and John Manuel of Baseball America tweeted would occur. The selection is the first for the organization’s newly installed front office, led by chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and GM Thad Levine.

With the draft clock ticking down, reports suggested that Minnesota had whittled it down to two possibilities: Louisville two-way star Brendan McKay and Lewis. But McKay’s camp declined to take the bonus that Minnesota was offering him, according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis (via Twitter), leaving the team to move on.

The 18-year-old Lewis is seen as a highly projectable talent who may thrive in center field even if he can’t stick at short. He hails from California’s JSerra Catholic High School. MLB.com’s team of Callis and Jonathan Mayo joined Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs in ranking Lewis as the fifth overall prospect on the board. Baseball America had him at seventh.

High-school righty Hunter Greene and Vanderbilt starter Kyle Wright have drawn the most votes as the top overall player available. But every team’s assessments are different. And maximizing an overall draft requires bonus pool management. The first overall slot came with over $7.7MM in total spending capacity, some of which will likely be allocated to other selections.

Kevin Kiermaier Out At Least Two Months Due To Hip Fracture

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11:37am: Topkin further elaborates that Kiermaier suffered a hairline fracture in the hip and will need to allow six to eight weeks for the injury to heal before he even begins ramping back up to playing condition. Smith is “going to get his chance” to play on a regular basis, according to manager Kevin Cash.

11:18am: Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier will miss at least the next two months due to a fracture in his right hip, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter).

Kiermaier suffered the injury when sliding into first base to avoid a collision with Jose Abreu last night and quickly exited the game, as Topkin wrote this morning. He was seen on crutches following last night’s contest and underwent a series of tests this morning, including an MRI, CT scan and x-rays. Topkin tweets that Mallex Smith will be recalled from Triple-A in place of Kiermaier.

[Related: Updated Tampa Bay Rays depth chart]

Kiermaier, who signed a six-year, $53.5MM contract extension this offseason, will be missed both in the Rays’ lineup and in the outfield. While he’s made an uncharacteristic six errors in center field this year, he has a track record as the game’s best defensive center fielder (and, quite arguably, best overall defensive player). In spite of the errors, Defensive Runs Saved still pegs him at +9, due largely to his exceptional range and strong throwing arm. At the plate, he’s provided roughly league-average offensive production, hitting .258/.329/.408 with seven homers, 10 doubles and two triples. Kiermaier has also swiped 10 bags in 14 tries and been among the game’s best baserunners, per Fangraphs’ BsR metric.

In Smith, the Rays have a player who may not match Kiermaier’s general excellence but can still provide considerably above-average glovework. Smith possesses excellent range in center thanks to elite speed on which many scouting reports have placed an 80 grade (on the 20-80 scale). Acquired in the offseason trade that sent Drew Smyly to the Mariners, Smith hit .261/.346/.304 in a tiny sample of 26 plate appearances with Tampa Bay earlier this season. The 24-year-old has had a considerably more productive year in Triple-A Durham, slashing .311/.345/.477 with three homers, five doubles, four triples and 16 steals (in 23 attempts).

While Topkin suggests that Smith will get a chance to play on an everyday basis, the Rays are reasonably well-stocked with alternatives should he struggle at the plate or should further injuries arise. Veteran Peter Bourjos has plenty of experience in center field and could spell Smith against left-handed pitching, should the need arise. And left fielder Colby Rasmus, too, has spent several seasons of his career as a center fielder. While an alignment of Rasmus, Smith and Steven Souza seems likely on most days, the Rays can still mix in Bourjos, Corey Dickerson and bench pieces such as Michael Martinez and Rickie Weeks on an as-needed basis.

MLB Looking Into Abuse Allegations Against Addison Russell

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3:55pm: The Cubs have now also issued a statement, via press release: “Last night, we were made aware of a serious claim posted on social media about Addison Russell. We reached out to Major League Baseball and, following the protocol established by MLB, will fully cooperate with the Commissioner’s Office as it gathers pertinent facts. Addison will not be in uniform tonight to allow him to work through this matter.”

It should be stressed, of course, that there’s no team-issued suspension at play here. The Cubs, rather, are merely giving Russell a day off to work through the matter (as noted by ESPN’s Jesse Rogers). They’ll play a man short for tonight’s game.

3:35pm: Both Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago/670 The Score and Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago report that MLB has not launched a formal investigation of the matter (Twitter links). Rather, the league is “looking into” the matter, per Levine. Mooney, meanwhile, cites a source close to Russell in reporting that MLB is at a “fact-finding stage.” The exact distinction between a formal investigation and fact-finding is somewhat unclear, though the implication is clearly that the former is more serious than the latter.

3:20pm: Russell has issued a brief statement on the matter via a team press release: “Any allegation I have abused my wife is false and hurtful. For the well-being of my family, I’ll have no further comment.”

9:32am: Major League Baseball will investigate domestic violence allegations against Cubs shortstop Addison Russell, reports Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago-Sun Times.

In an Instagram post on Wednesday, a friend of Russell’s wife, Melisa, accused Russell of “mentally and physically” abusing Melisa. As a result, the league would like to interview both Melisa Russell and her friend, according to Wittenmyer.

Addison Russell is now the second major leaguer to face domestic abuse allegations this week. Rays catcher Derek Norris’ ex-fiancee accused him of “physical and emotional abuse” in an Instagram post on Tuesday, but Norris quickly refuted that, saying:  “I have NEVER been physically or emotionally abusive towards her, or anyone else in my life. I plan to go above and beyond to assist MLB with their investigation into this matter.”

Since the league instituted its current domestic violence policy two years ago, suspensions have been handed out to Aroldis Chapman, Jose Reyes, Hector Olivera and Jeurys Familia. As MLBTR’s Steve Adams noted on Wednesday, each of those players’ situations dealt with singular incidents and came with criminal investigations. The cases of Russell and Norris differ from theirs, but both players are clearly at risk of facing some sort of punishment from the league.

Mariners Extend Jean Segura

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3:50pm: The breakdown of Segura’s extension is provided by Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (Twitter link).  Segura receives a $3MM signing bonus, $9MM in 2018, and then salaries of $14.25MM in each season from 2019-2022.  The 2023 club option is worth $17MM, with a $1MM buyout.

12:37pm: The Mariners announced on Wednesday that they’ve locked up shortstop Jean Segura on a five-year contract extension that includes a club option for the 2023 season. The deal will reportedly guarantee the CAA Sports client a total of $70MM over the next five seasons and include full no-trade protection.

Jean Segura

“Over the past two seasons, Jean has been one of the premier offensive players in baseball,” said GM Jerry Dipoto in a statement announcing the extension. “His combination of average, power and speed is extremely difficult to find, especially as a top-of-the-lineup hitter at a key defensive position like shortstop. We are all quite excited about having him here with the Mariners and believe he is a key ingredient in our ongoing effort to build a championship level roster.”

The 27-year-old Segura, currently on the disabled list with a minor ankle injury, entered play Wednesday pacing the American League with a .341 average. In addition to that excellent mark, he’s posted a .391 on-base percentage and slugged .462 through 198 plate appearances in his first year as a Mariner. Seattle acquired Segura from the Diamondbacks alongside Mitch Haniger and minor league lefty Zac Curtis in exchange for right-hander Taijuan Walker and infielder Ketel Marte this offseason.

Segura is already earning $6.2MM this season and, of course, would stand to earn a significant raise upon that salary via arbitration in 2018 before hitting the open market in advance of his age-29 season. With a rough assumption of a would-be $9-10MM salary via that arbitration process this winter, the Mariners secured Segura’s first four free agent seasons for a rough annual value of about $15MM.

Extensions for a player in his service class are relatively rare — especially at this point of the year — though recent examples include Salvador Perez’s five-year, $52MM deal and Brandon Crawford’s six-year, $75MM contract (as shown in MLBTR’s Extension Tracker). Segura doesn’t have the consistent track record that a number of his peers that have secured long-term deals in this service class have had.

Back in 2013, Segura had a terrific sophomore season with the Brewers, hitting .294/.329/.423 with 12 homers and 44 stolen bases through 623 plate appearances. However, that was followed up with a pair of down seasons, during which he suffered the tragic loss of his infant son. A change of scenery that sent Segura to the D-backs in exchange for Chase Anderson and prospect Isan Diaz led to a resurgence for the one-time top prospect. Segura was sensational in his lone year with the Diamondbacks, slashing .319/.368/.499 with 20 homers and 33 steals.

From a long-term perspective, the Mariners are reasonably well-equipped to handle a significant extension. Robinson Cano, Felix Hernandez and Kyle Seager are the only players under club control beyond the 2018 campaign. Segura now joins that core, and the presumptive increase in his salary that will begin with his free-agent years will coincide with the departure of Nelson Cruz, Marc Rzepczynski and Drew Smyly in free agency. The Mariners will also see Steve Cishek, Carlos Ruiz, Danny Valencia and Jarrod Dyson depart via free agency after the 2017 season. Not including the yet-unreported terms of Segura’s extension, the Mariners have committed just under $72MM to their 2019 payroll and just $43.5MM committed to the 2020 payroll.

Jon Morosi of MLB Network and FOX Sports first reported the two sides were close to a deal (Twitter link). Hector Gomez of Z 101 in Santo Domingo tweeted the agreement and the terms of the deal. FanRag’s Jon Heyman reported that Segura would receive a full no-trade clause (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

MLB Investigating Abuse Allegations Against Derek Norris

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12:20pm: Norris has issued a statement, via his agent, to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times:

“First, I want to be absolutely clear that abuse of any form, is completely unacceptable. Allegations regarding this issue are a very serious matter and should not be taken lightly under any circumstances. That being said, in this circumstance, the comments made by my ex-fiancee could not be further from the truth. I have NEVER been physically or emotionally abusive towards her, or anyone else in my life. I plan to go above and beyond to assist MLB with their investigation into this matter.”

The Rays have also commented on the matter, though their statement was considerably more brief: “The Rays wholly support MLB’s Domestic Violence policy. We take these allegations very seriously and will fully cooperate with the Commissioner’s Office on this matter.”

8:00am: Major League Baseball is investigating allegations of  “physical and emotional abuse” that have been brought forth against Rays catcher Derek Norris, MLB spokesperson Pat Courtney confirmed to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. Norris’ ex-fiancee, Kristin Eck, made the claims against him in a recent post on Instagram. It’s not clear at this time if there is any ongoing criminal investigation, though Crasnick’s report makes no such mention.

Eck’s comments do not specifically mention Norris by name, but she’d previously appeared on MLB Network in a video interview promoting some charity work, in which she was identified as Norris’ fiancee. Her comments also imply that Norris is the man in question: “…I also was physically and emotionally abused by this beautiful man. He gave me a lifestyle most people only dreamed of, but it came at a price. … When I left I had $300 to my name, I had no access to money, I had no access to cars and was only given the courtesy to remove my items from our home.”

Commissioner Rob Manfred and his staff will look into the matter under Major League Baseball’s relatively new domestic abuse policy, which has already led to suspensions of varying length for Aroldis Chapman, Jose Reyes, Hector Olivera and Jeurys Familia. Each of those cases was dealing with allegations of singular incidents, and MLB’s investigation into each of those incidents was also performed simultaneously with criminal investigations. The allegations against Norris, at present, are more generalized in nature, which will likely require a different type of investigation from the Commissioner’s Office.

That is not to say, of course, that the claims levied against Norris should be considered lesser; certainly, it’s a serious matter that could well result in a punishment for the six-year big league veteran. However, Norris’ case does come under different circumstances than the previous cases that yielded suspensions, so it remains to be seen precisely how the league will handle this scenario. Olivera is the only one of those previously punished under the policy whose investigation occurred during the season, and he was initially placed on paid administrative leave during that investigation. It’s not yet clear if Norris will also be placed on leave.

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