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Blue Jays Acquire Cliff Pennington

By charliewilmoth | August 8, 2015 at 1:52pm CDT

The Blue Jays have announced that they’ve acquired Diamondbacks infielder Cliff Pennington and cash for minor league shortstop Dawel Lugo. The Diamondbacks have also announced that they’ve selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Jamie Romak, as we reported earlier today.

The switch-hitting Pennington batted a meager .237/.318/.281 in 157 plate appearances in Arizona, although he can play both middle infield positions and has a strong defensive track record at shortstop. He has four homers total in the last three seasons and doesn’t usually hit for high averages, although he does draw his share of walks. The Blue Jays currently have another light-hitting infielder, Munenori Kawasaki, backing up Troy Tulowitzki at shortstop, although Kawasaki can be optioned and probably isn’t quite as good as Pennington defensively. The Blue Jays are also missing second baseman Devon Travis, who’s dealing with a shoulder injury. Ryan Goins is their current starter at second.

Before the trade deadline, Pennington had been connected to the Pirates and Nationals. That the Blue Jays are acquiring him now means that, at the very least, all of the NL and most of the AL passed on him on the waiver wire, but perhaps that’s not surprising given his $3.275MM salary. He is eligible for free agency this winter. The 31-year-old has a career .248/.315/.346 line in parts of eight seasons in Oakland and Arizona.

The 20-year-old Lugo has hit just .257/.287/.343 in 408 plate appearances split between Class A Lansing and Class A+ Dunedin this season, although he’s been a bit young for both levels. MLB.com ranked him the Blue Jays’ 12th-best prospect, writing that he was one of the best hitters available on the international market in 2011 (when the Jays signed him for $1.3MM out of the Dominican Republic) but that he already had below-average speed and might end up at third base in the long term.

SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo first to tweet that the Blue Jays and Diamondbacks had made a deal involving Pennington. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca tweeted that the Blue Jays would receive cash in the deal and the that the Diamondbacks would receive a minor leaguer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Astros Acquire Oliver Perez

By charliewilmoth and Tim Dierkes | August 8, 2015 at 8:56am CDT

The Astros announced they acquired veteran lefty reliever Oliver Perez from the Diamondbacks for minor league southpaw Junior Garcia. Houston moved righty Sam Deduno to the 60-day DL to open a spot for Perez, while Arizona announced that it will select the contract of lefty Keith Hessler to take Perez’s place on its active roster.

Perez, 34 next week, has a 3.10 ERA, 11.5 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 0.62 HR/9, and 38.9% groundball rate in 29 innings for Arizona this year. This year he’s faced an even number of lefty and righty hitters and has been more effective against left-handed batters, as you would expect. Perez joins Tony Sipp as another lefty option out of Houston’s bullpen, which ranks second in the American League with a 2.70 ERA. The Astros had designated lefty reliever Joe Thatcher for assignment on July 21st, though he remained in the organization on a minor league deal.

Perez spent his first nine seasons in the Majors as a starter for the Padres, Pirates, and Mets before beginning a bit of a career renaissance as a reliever for the Mariners. He signed a two-year free agent deal with the Diamondbacks in March 2014 and will be a free agent after the season.

Garcia, 19, signed with the Astros out of the Dominican Republic for $200K late in 2012. He mostly pitched in the Gulf Coast League in 2014 and got good results, although he posted a 3.9 BB/9 for the season. He’s improved upon that mark in 2015 while pitching in the Appalachian League and the NY-Penn League, posting an 0.96 ERA, 6.3 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 37 1/3 innings. He’s so far from the Majors, though, that parsing his statistics probably misses the point. He’ll provide the Diamondbacks’ system with a bit of left-handed pitching depth and upside.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rangers Acquire Mike Napoli

By Jeff Todd | August 7, 2015 at 6:14pm CDT

8:21pm: Texas will pay $1.5MM of Napoli’s salary, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets, with Boston keeping the rest.

7:06pm: The deal is for Napoli and cash in exchange for a player to be named later (or cash considerations), the clubs have announced.

6:14pm: The Rangers have agreed to acquire first baseman Mike Napoli from the Red Sox, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports on Twitter. Boston pulled Napoli from its lineup at the last minute, leading to speculation of a deal that appears to have come to fruition.

Texas continues to be a fascinating to team to watch. The team added Cole Hamels at the deadline, seemingly more for his future value, while shopping (but not dealing) veteran Yovani Gallardo. Now, after a solid run coming out of the deadline, Texas is just five-and-a-half back in the division and 2.5 games out of Wild Card contention.

Napoli represents a right-handed power bat to plug into a heavily left-handed lineup. The club has utilized Prince Fielder and Mitch Moreland at first base and DH for much of the season, but can now deploy Napoli at both positions as well. Unsurprisingly, Napoli has been much better against southpaws this year than same-handed pitching.

As he rejoins his former club, Napoli will look to carry forward a strong start to the second half. Having scuffled badly early in the year, over his last 69 turns at bat, Napoli owns a .267/.362/.533 batting line.

It remains to be seen what the return is, but in all likelihood Boston’s primary benefit here will be salary relief (along with freeing a roster spot). Napoli is earning $16MM on the season before hitting the open market this winter.

Napoli played mostly at catcher when he last suited up for the Rangers, but in spite of the team’s needs in that regard, it would be rather surprising at this point if he got back behind the dish. Bradford notes on Twitter that Napoli’s limited no-trade clause gives him veto power over a move to Texas, but obviously he’s decided to waive that.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Mets Acquire Eric O’Flaherty, Designate Alex Torres

By Steve Adams | August 7, 2015 at 5:14pm CDT

AUGUST 7: Righty Dawrin Frias will head to Oakland to complete the deal, the A’s announced. The 23-year-old has been hit hard at the Class A level this year, while also showing significant control problems.

AUGUST 4: The Mets announced tonight that they have acquired left-handed reliever Eric O’Flaherty and cash considerations from the Athletics in exchange for a player to be named later. Fellow southpaw reliever Alex Torres has been designated for assignment to clear space for O’Flaherty on the 40-man and 25-man rosters.

The Athletics designated O’Flaherty for assignment over the weekend to clear a roster spot for trade acquisition Aaron Brooks. The former Braves setup ace was in the second season of a two-year, $7MM contract he signed prior to the 2014 campaign as he recovered from 2013 Tommy John surgery.

O’Flaherty, 30, was sharp in 2014 — his first year back from Tommy John surgery — working to a 2.25 ERA with 6.8 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9 in a small sample of 20 innings at the big league level. His backloaded contract paid him just $1.5MM in 2014 due to uncertainty surrounding how much he’d be able to pitch and $5.5MM in 2015, with the A’s expecting him to be a significant piece in their bullpen.

That didn’t work out, though, as O’Flaherty has struggled to a 5.91 ERA in 2015. While a .354 BABIP has been a significant factor in the regression of O’Flaherty’s ERA, so, too, a marked step back in his control. O’Flaherty averaged just 2.3 unintentional walks per nine innings from 2009-14 after establishing himself as a quality relief option in the Majors, but he’s issued 12 unintentional free passes in 21 1/3 innings this season. On the plus side, O’Flaherty has a track record of success — he posted a 1.99 ERA, 7.2 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 249 1/3 innings from 2009-13 with Atlanta — and he’s dominated opposing lefties in 2015, holding them to a .186/.286/.209 batting line.

O’Flaherty is owed about $1.86MM through season’s end, though the A’s appear to be picking up at least some of the tab there. He becomes the second reliever to make the cross-country journey from Oakland to Queens, as he’ll join former teammate Tyler Clippard in manager Terry Collins’ bullpen.

Torres doesn’t immediately look like a DFA candidate upon first glance, as he’s worked to a 3.15 ERA and struck out 35 batters in 34 1/3 innings. However, Torres has also walked 26 batters this year, and opposing lefties are hitting an alarming .268/.406/.393 against him in 69 plate appearances. Torres’ ERA is largely a product of a minuscule .233 BABIP and a bloated 83 percent strand rate — neither of which figures to be sustainable down the stretch.

A relatively quick DFA certainly isn’t what the Mets had in mind this spring when they traded Cory Mazzoni and a player to be named later (Brad Wieck) to the Padres in exchange for what they hoped to be several years of Torres’ services. Torres is not yet arbitration eligible — though he will be this winter — and enjoyed better performances from 2013-14 with the Rays and Padres, so perhaps a team looking for left-handed bullpen depth will give him a look if he’s placed on outright waivers. If not, the Mets will be able to outright him to Triple-A Las Vegas and keep him in the organization with the hope that some time in the minors will help to sort out his command issues.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. This post was originally published at 9:48pm CT.

Nationals Move Doug Fister To Bullpen

By Jeff Todd | August 6, 2015 at 7:09pm CDT

The Nationals have shifted veteran righty Doug Fister to the bullpen, manager Matt Williams told reporters after today’s game, Dan Kolko of MASNsports.com among them (on Twitter). Impressive rookie Joe Ross will take his regular spot in the rotation.

The move is surprising to see, in some respects, but makes sense as the evidence on both pitchers has continued to accumulate. Fister has dealt with injuries, lost velocity, and a continued decline in his ability to generate strikeouts.

All told, he owns a 4.60 ERA over 86 innings, with 5.0 K/9 against 1.9 BB/9 with an uncharacteristically low 42.0% groundball rate. Those are his worst results as a big leaguer, and ERA estimators suggest that his earned run average reflects his performance this season.

On the other side of the ledger, Ross — who came over with Trea Turner in the deal that sent Steven Souza to the Rays and Wil Myers to the Padres — has been excellent since making the jump to the big leagues. After today’s strong outing, he sits at a 2.80 earned run mark over 45 frames, with an outstanding 47:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Ross now seems to have the inside track on a rotation spot for next year’s club.

Beyond the impact on the postseason race, Fister’s demotion carries important implications for his upcoming free agent case. For one thing, the 31-year-old no longer seems at all likely to receive a qualifying offer from the Nationals. Not unlike Justin Masterson last year, Fister entered the season primed to be an important second-tier arm on next year’s market, but now looks like a candidate for a short-term deal with a club that is willing to take a gamble on a return to form.

2016 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings

By Tim Dierkes | August 6, 2015 at 11:16am CDT

The non-waiver trade deadline has passed, and many players’ free agent prospects were affected. So far, the following free agents are among those no longer eligible for a qualifying offer due to a trade: David Price, Johnny Cueto, Ben Zobrist, Scott Kazmir, Mat Latos, Mike Leake, Gerardo Parra, and Dan Haren. Yoenis Cespedes was already ineligible for a QO.

As a reminder, these rankings represent earning power in terms of total contract size, assuming everyone reaches the open market after this season and goes to the highest bidder. Here’s MLBTR’s full list of 2015-16 free agents.

1. David Price. Price landed with the Blue Jays last week in a blockbuster trade, and has ascended to the top spot in these rankings. His 2.45 ERA ranks fourth in the American League, and agent Bo McKinnis will have a case to exceed Max Scherzer’s seven-year, $210MM deal from last offseason. The present-day value of that deal was reported to be under $192MM due to deferred money. Price represents a true ace at the top of his game, entering his age 30 season. He might be the only free agent to top $200MM this winter.

2. Jason Heyward. Heyward’s last 1500 plate appearances have established that he’s good for about 15 home runs per year. He adds value in a lot of different ways, though, and a more analytical team might be more inclined to appreciate and pay for that. While he might not be better than all the players listed below him, keep in mind Heyward turns 26 years old on Sunday. Because of his age, Heyward is the player on this list with the best shot at an eight-year contract, which could still push him into the $180MM range.

3. Justin Upton. Upton is the other free agent outfielder who figures to command a premium partly because of his youth. Still, he’s hitting .189/.275/.311 since June, and he will require draft pick forfeiture unless the Padres trade him this month. Upton has been hampered by oblique and thumb injuries since July 19th, and his contract year has not gone as planned. He still may approach 30 home runs, though, and may be able to get a seven-year deal.

4. Johnny Cueto. As expected, Cueto was traded, and now he’ll try to lead the Royals to a championship. Cueto’s ace-level talent is undeniable, but with a few blips on his health record, can he push into seven-year deal territory? A seventh year could result in Cueto getting this winter’s second-biggest contract. A strong finish will go a long way.

5. Zack Greinke. Since we last checked in on June 25th, Greinke has given up four earned runs. He leads all of baseball with a 1.41 ERA, and no one else is under 2.00. Greinke’s timing is fantastic, and even though he turns 32 in October, a six-year deal is looking more and more plausible. Opting out of the three years and $71MM remaining on his Dodgers contract seems a mere formality.

6. Yoenis Cespedes. The Mets made a trade deadline splash by acquiring Cespedes. He may threaten his career-high of 26 home runs, and he turns 30 in October. With Shin-Soo Choo and Jacoby Ellsbury, there is precedent for Cespedes to get a seven-year deal. Though he’s known for his power, Cespedes’ agent could try to push him as an elite defender as well based on his metrics this year.

7. Alex Gordon. Gordon went down on July 8th with a groin injury, but he’s on the road to recovery. I don’t believe the injury will affect his value much. However, as a player who turns 32 in February, he seems limited to a six-year deal. Given his strong on-base percentage and defense, there will be teams with Gordon atop their free agent outfielder rankings.

8. Jordan Zimmermann. Zimmermann has been solid, with a 3.54 ERA in 22 starts. He’s not a big strikeout guy, and for the first time it looks like he’ll allow more than a hit per inning in a full season. He’ll still be a great addition for a team with a strong defense. The question is whether a team will commit a sixth year.

9. Chris Davis. Davis has bounced back from 2014 and has a reasonable shot at hitting 40 home runs this year. Davis has 28 home runs now, with Upton, Cespedes, and Marlon Byrd next among free agents at 18. Davis isn’t showing a platoon split in 2015, and he doesn’t turn 30 until March. He’s again starting to look like a player who could exceed $100MM.

10. Mike Leake. Leake is a new entrant on this list. Just 28 in November, Leake has a 2.61 ERA since June. With the trade to the Giants, he’s ineligible for a qualifying offer. Leake is a durable, young mid-rotation arm, and I’m starting to wonder if he can snag a five-year deal in free agency. For now, his durability holds off Scott Kazmir in terms of earning power.

Kazmir leads the American League in ERA right now, and won’t be getting a qualifying offer. The southpaw, 32 in January, could find his way into our top ten if his success continues and his health holds up. Still, it’s hard to crack the list without an expectation of a five-year deal, and I can’t picture that for Kazmir right now.

Jeff Samardzija, once seen as the list’s most likely trade candidate, has fallen out of our top ten. His results continue to be middling for the White Sox, and now a qualifying offer seems likely. Shark remains a durable, quality arm, but he might not be a lock for five years.

Nationals’ shortstop Ian Desmond also drops off the list. His struggles have continued, and he may prefer to try to rebuild value with a one-year deal. Those haven’t been en vogue lately, but can you picture any team giving Desmond four-plus years at a decent salary?

Other impending free agents to watch include Matt Wieters, Ben Zobrist, Yovani Gallardo, Gerardo Parra, Denard Span, Wei-Yin Chen, and Mat Latos.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Zwelling, Keri Examine Blue Jays’ Active Deadline

By Steve Adams | August 5, 2015 at 9:36pm CDT

In a pair of excellent columns, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet and Jonah Keri of Grantland offer behind-the-scenes looks at the chaotic week of Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos leading up to the trade deadline. Each spoke directly to Anthopoulos, and while Keri’s piece focuses on blockbuster deals for David Price and Troy Tulowitzki, Zwelling’s looks at each day of Anthopoulos’ week leading up to the deadline (including those trades and other discussions) — painting a vivid picture of the life of a general manager during one of the most chaotic times of the year.

Some highlights from each piece, although I’d highly recommend reading each in its entirety…

Both Zwelling and Keri note that talks between the Blue Jays and Rockies date back to the offseason, but the initial concept of Jose Reyes and pitching prospects for Tulowitzki surfaced in late May. Anthopoulos, Zwelling writes, had been unwilling to part with Jeff Hoffman until the day that Tulowitzki was traded. When Hoffman’s name was put on the table, talks with Rockies GM Jeff Bridich accelerated quickly. Zwelling’s piece also provides a glimpse into the difficult task of Anthopoulos informing Reyes that he’d been traded.
Meanwhile, Anthopoulos told Keri that the decision to add Tulowitzki did have its detractors within the Toronto front office. “They brought up the length of his contract, the dollars on his contract, the players we’d have to give up,” said Anthopoulos. However, his take on the situation varied. “Players like that don’t become available,” said the Toronto GM. “They sign 10-year contracts and become the face of a franchise. It wasn’t an easy decision. It was weird, the process was long and stressful … but it was also a lot of fun.”
Zwelling writes that Anthopoulos was in negotiation for players such as Ben Zobrist, Gerardo Parra and Mike Leake as well, but an eventual phone call from Detroit’s Dave Dombrowski caused him to shift his focus to Price. Dombrowski had told Anthopoulos a week before the trade deadline that he’d call him if he decided to move Price, and despite the fact that Anthopoulos saw constant rumors about Price’s availability, his respect for Dombrowski prevented him from calling to check in. “His guarantee that he’d call me was all I needed,” said Anthopoulos. “Dave’s a complete pro. No matter what was being said in the media, I was going to take his word for it. When and if the time presented itself, he was going to call.”
Anthopoulos tells Zwelling that while there was pressure to get a deal for Price and/or another starter done, he did have a fallback plan. Anthopoulos had a standing agreement in place for a yet-unnamed lesser pitcher than Price that he could’ve swung on July 31, but the move for Price halted that need.
Keri notes that Anthopoulos was on the phone with Mariners counterpart Jack Zduriencik discussing Mark Lowe when Dombrowski came calling with the info that he was ready to move Price. “I’m dying to jump off the phone, but I don’t want to do that to Jack,” said Anthopoulos. “I did really want Price, though. So I did hurry it along.”
Keri cites a Blue Jays source in reporting that the Blue Jays nearly had a trade completed for the Indians’ Carlos Carrasco, but talks fell apart just as the Jays thought they had something worked out. The Jays also checked in with the Phillies on Cole Hamels over the winter, in Spring Training, before the All-Star break and with 10 days to go before the trade deadline, Keri reports, but were repeatedly told that Hamels wouldn’t waive his no-trade clause to approve a deal to Toronto. Anthopoulos also aggressively pursued the Padres’ Tyson Ross, according to Keri’s source, though he gives no indication that anything was as close with Ross as it seemingly was with Carrasco.

Yankees Re-Sign Garrett Jones

By Jeff Todd | August 5, 2015 at 12:17pm CDT

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.

Rays Claim Daniel Nava

By Jeff Todd | August 5, 2015 at 9:44am CDT

The Rays have claimed outfielder Daniel Nava off waivers from the Red Sox, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports on Twitter. Boston had designated the 32-year-old for assignment on July 30th.

Nava has spent most of his time in the corner outfield, though he also has appeared some at first base. The switch-hitter has been much more productive against right-handed pitching in his career, and it seems he could step into the role of just-traded outfielder David DeJesus.

Tampa Bay is placing a good bit of trust in a turn-around from Nava, as the club will owe him the balance of a $1.85MM salary (around $617K) for the rest of the year. Nava can also be controlled for two more years via arbitration, and probably won’t be in line for a significant raise.

Of course, the reason that Nava was available in the first place is that he’s scuffled badly this year while also dealing with injuries. He’s registered just ten hits, and no home runs, in 78 MLB plate appearances. Nava was already coming off of a less-than-inspiring 2014 campaign, when he saw his power output dip following an excellent 2013 (.303/.385/.445), though defensive metrics thought he had improved significantly in his outfield defense.

Dave Dombrowski Out As Tigers GM; Al Avila Named Replacement

By Jeff Todd | August 4, 2015 at 7:23pm CDT

7:23pm: Avila received a five-year contract that runs through the end of the 2020 season, reports MLive.com’s Chris Iott.

3:10pm: The Tigers have announced significant changes to their front office structure, with Al Avila taking over for Dave Dombrowski as GM and executive VP of baseball operations. In a statement, announcing the move, owner Mike Ilitch issued the following statement: “I’ve decided to release Dave from his contract in order to afford him the time to pursue other career opportunities.”

The sudden and abrupt departure unexpectedly brings to close a historic and successful tenure for Dombrowski as the Tigers’ top baseball operations decision-maker. While there’s been some speculation that Dombrowski would depart after the season, the fact that he was allowed to oversee franchise-altering transactions such as the David Price and Yoenis Cespedes trades led many to believe that Dombrowski would remain with the Tigers.

The 59-year-old Dombrowski’s experience as a general manager dates back to 1988, when he became GM of the Expos at the age of 31. (Notably, he worked with Angels interim GM Bill Stoneman in Montreal.) He’s since served as general manager of the Marlins — including in 1997 when the team won the World Series — and the Tigers.

Dombrowski has served as the Tigers’ GM since 2002 and helped to revitalize an organization that finished no better than third place in the AL Central in each of the division’s first eight years of existence. (Three of those were under Dombrowski’s watch.) His 2006 blockbuster trade to acquire Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis from the Marlins in exchange for Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller, Burke Badenhop, Mike Rabelo, Frankie De La Cruz and Dallas Trahern looks, in hindsight, like one of the most lopsided swaps in recent history. Other notable transactions made under Dombrowski’s tenure include acquiring Max Scherzer and Austin Jackson in a three-team deal that sent Curtis Granderson to the Yankees as well as acquiring Doug Fister from the Mariners in exchange for Francisco Martinez, Casper Wells, Charlie Furbush and Chance Ruffin.

Of course, Dombrowski isn’t without fault, either. His trade of Fister to the Nationals in exchange for Robbie Ray, Steve Lombardozzi and Ian Krol hasn’t panned out as hoped, and the Tigers have seen trade acquisitions Shane Greene and Alfredo Simon struggle quite a bit in the rotation this season.

Dombrowski is one of the game’s most well-respected executives and should have no difficulty finding a position elsewhere. The Angels are currently without a permanent general manager, for instance, following Jerry Dipoto’s resignation. The Blue Jays took a long look at Orioles GM Dan Duquette as a potential replacement for retiring president Paul Beeston this offseason, and one can envision Dombrowski sliding into that role as well. Brewers GM Doug Melvin is rumored to be rising to the role of president this offseason, which would create a GM opening. Other very preliminary speculation has connected Dombrowski to both Seattle and Boston.

As for Avila, his Detroit tenure also dates back to the 2002 season. The father of Tigers catcher Alex Avila, he’s also worked in the front office of the Pirates and the Marlins. With the Marlins, Avila was involved in the signing of Cabrera as well as several of the drafts that helped form the foundation of a 2003 World Series Championship (after Avila had departed). “I’m very excited for this opportunity, and honored and grateful to Mr. Ilitch for having the faith and trust in me to run the ballclub in our continuing pursuit of a World Series championship,” said Avila in the press release. “…We’re confident we can make a strong push to win this year, and that we have the foundation in place to win next year and for years to come.”

Avila’s emphasis on winning in 2015 — a sentiment he echoed at today’s press conference, via MLive.com’s James Schmehl (on Twitter) — is an interesting development and one that could at least indicate some of the reasoning behind the executive shakeup.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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