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Indians To Promote Francisco Lindor

By | June 13, 2015 at 8:28pm CDT

The Indians are expected to promote shortstop prospect Francisco Lindor, tweets Yahoo’s Jeff Passan. He will join the team tomorrow.

The 21-year-old is widely viewed as a top 10 prospect. He’s ranked fourth by Baseball Prospectus, sixth by ESPN’s Kieth Law, and ninth by Baseball America. FanGraphs’ Kiley McDaniel is the sole guru to rank him outside the top 10 (14th). Lindor was the eighth overall pick of the 2011 Rule 4 draft.

The switch-hitter slashed .279/.346/.398 in 259 Triple-A plate appearances. Unlike other notable prospect promotions like Kris Bryant, Joey Gallo, Carlos Correa, or Byron Buxton, Lindor’s bat isn’t expected to be special in the near future (he could certainly develop). He’s viewed as a high contact, gap-to-gap hitter, but it’s his speed and defense that ooze potential.

The decision to promote the youngster is not surprising. The team recently demoted Jose Ramirez after he hit just .180/.247/.240. Cleveland would probably like to move Mike Aviles (.284/.344/.405) back into a reserve role. He’s viewed as a modest defensive liability at shortstop and can also be used to spell Giovanny Urshela and Jason Kipnis. Lindor should add stability to a sometimes shaky Indians defense.

Like the promotion of Buxton by the Twins earlier today, Lindor is unlikely to qualify as a Super Two. He’ll remain club controlled through 2021 at the very least. Lindor is reportedly battling some minor injuries. Expect the club to handle their top prospect carefully.

Mets Acquire Alex Torres

By Steve Adams | June 13, 2015 at 7:35pm CDT

Jun 13: The player to be named later is left-handed pitcher Brad Wieck, tweets Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. He’ll now head to the Padres. The southpaw was the Mets’ seventh round pick in the 2014 Rule 4 draft. He has a 3.21 ERA with 11.89 K/9 and 3.38 BB/9 in 56 Low-A innings. FanGraphs prospect analyst Kiley McDaniel says Wieck’s fastball works in the low 90’s. The 23-year-old could move quickly as a situational reliever.

Mar 30: The Mets announced that they have acquired left-handed reliever Alex Torres from the Padres in exchange for Minor League right-hander Cory Mazzoni and a player to be named later.

Torres, 27, will give the Mets a much-needed left-handed option in the bullpen. Josh Edgin, who had projected to be New York’s top southpaw reliever, underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this month, leaving the team precariously thin in this department. Since that time, rumors have circulated about potential matches for the Mets, who have been linked to Baltimore’s Brian Matusz as well as J.P. Howell, Paco Rodriguez and Adam Liberatore of the Dodgers. Colorado’s Rex Brothers was also suggested as a fit.

In Torres, New York receives a pitcher that has posted a 2.49 ERA with 9.1 K/9, 4.3 BB/9 and a 44.7 percent ground-ball rate over the past two seasons. Torres has benefited from a perhaps unsustainbly low homer-to-flyball ratio of just 3.1 percent, though Citi Field’s generally pitcher-friendly dimensions may help him to sustain an above-average rate in that regard.

Torres does come with some control issues, as he averaged 5.5 walks per nine innings pitched in 2014. That, combined with some correction for his good fortune on home runs, leads sabermetric ERA estimators to peg him for an ERA in the mid-3.00s rather than to sustain his sub-3.00 mark.

Somewhat curiously, most of Torres’ control problems come against left-handed hitters. Right-handers have batted a meager .175/.260/.251 against Torres dating back to 2013, while lefties have exploited his lack of control and gotten on base at a .341 clip against Torres. Of course, they’ve also batted just .213 and slugged .276, so if he can rein in his control, he could post dominant overall numbers.

With one year and 141 days of service time under his belt, Torres can be controlled via arbitration through the 2019 season. However, because he’ll end up with two years, 141 days next offseason (assuming a full year of service time is accrued, as one would expect), he’s a likely Super Two player, meaning he will be arbitration-eligible four times as opposed to three.

The 25-year-old Mazzoni was New York’s second-round pick back in 2011 and is generally ranked as the Mets’ 15th-20th best prospect, per Baseball America, MLB.com and Fangraphs. Mazzoni split the 2014 campaign across four levels, spending the bulk of his time at Triple-A where he worked to a 4.67 ERA with 49 strikeouts against just 12 walks in 52 innings. Mazzoni has spent much of his career as a starter, but most feel that he’s likely destined for relief work if he surfaces in the Majors, where his low 90s fastball will instead reach the mid-90s, serving as a complement to an above-average slider.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported (via Twitter) that the Mets had acquired Torres.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Twins Promote Byron Buxton

By | June 13, 2015 at 5:21pm CDT

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

Blue Jays Have Inquired About Tyler Clippard

By charliewilmoth | June 13, 2015 at 3:43pm CDT

The Blue Jays have asked the Athletics about the possibility of trading for reliever Tyler Clippard, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. The Blue Jays are seeking upgrades for both their rotation and their bullpen, Crasnick reports. Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote yesterday that Clippard might become a target for the Blue Jays, who were also interested in Clippard last offseason.

The Jays have gotten good results this year from Roberto Osuna, Liam Hendriks, Steve Delabar and current closer Brett Cecil, but their bullpen has been an area of concern throughout the season, and they’ve recently also had trade discussions with the Phillies regarding Jonathan Papelbon.

The 30-year-old Clippard would be a somewhat lower-wattage addition, but he’s in the midst of an effective season, with a 3.20 ERA and 7.8 K/9. His walk rate is elevated at 4.6 BB/9, however, and he’s allowed fly balls at an alarming 64.9% rate that’s somewhat atypical, even though he’s never been a ground-ball pitcher. He’s saved nine games in his first extended stint as a closer since 2012, when he saved 32 games for the Nationals. He’s making $8.3MM in his last year before free agency.

Orioles Activate Wieters, Release Everth Cabrera

By Steve Adams | June 13, 2015 at 2:33pm CDT

JUNE 13: The Orioles have announced that they’ve released Cabrera, making him a free agent.

JUNE 5: In a flurry of roster moves that includes the activation of catcher Matt Wieters from the disabled list, the Orioles announced that infielder Everth Cabrera has been designated for assignment. Additionally, Steve Clevenger has been optioned to Triple-A along with right-hander Mike Wright. The team has also recalled infielder Rey Navarro from the minors and selected the contract of left-handed reliever Cesar Cabral.

The 28-year-old Cabrera was non-tendered by the Padres this offseason and spent much of the winter seeing his free agent stock weighed down by legal troubles pertaining to charges of resisting arrest after being pulled over by police for suspicion of driving under the influence. Eventually, once it was ruled that Cabrera would not serve any jail time, he signed a one-year, $2.4MM contract with Baltimore.

Cabrera has played both second base and shortstop for the Orioles this season, though most of his experience in the Majors is at short. He batted a mere .208/.250/.229 in 105 plate appearances, however, and his lack of time on base prevented him from taking advantage of his best tool — speed. Cabrera led the NL with 44 steals back in 2012 despite playing in just 115 games, and he swiped 37 bags in 95 games the following year before he was suspended 50 games for ties to the Biogenesis PED scandal. Cabrera stole just two bases while with the Orioles.

Overall, Cabrera is a .246/.315/.328 career hitter, though those numbers are dragged down a bit by the fact that he’s called Petco Park home for nearly his entire career. Park-adjusted metrics such as OPS+ and wRC+ rate him at 17 percent below the league average, which is still not good, but is more acceptable considering his position. (Shortstops, generally speaking, are below-average offensive performers.) Should he land on another team’s big league roster, Cabrera can be controlled for an additional season via arbitration. He entered the years with four years, 144 days of big league service but has already eclipsed the five-year mark with the service time he’s accrued in 2015.

Wieters will rejoin the Orioles’ roster just less than a year removed his 2014 Tommy John surgery, which was performed on June 16 last year. Baltimore hoped to have his bat in the lineup earlier this season, but his return from the surgery has been slow, as Wieters not only needed to build up strength and reestablish his swing mechanics but also needed to be able to confidently and strongly throw to second and third base.

The 29-year-old Wieters will be left with about four months’ worth of plate appearances to show that he is healthy and can be an above-average contributor both at the plate and behind it, as he’s nearing his first venture into the free agent market. A career .257/.320/.423 hitter, Wieters has not developed into the superstar catcher that many expected when he was selected with the fifth pick in the 2007 draft, but he has been a decidedly above-average performer at his position and was enjoying a strong season last year at the time of his injury. In 112 plate appearances in 2014, Wieters batted .308/.339/.500. Wieters inactivity prevented has prevented him from appearing on MLBTR’s Free Agent Power Rankings, but a strong start to his season could land him on the list in short order, as a switch-hitting catcher with power heading into his age-30 season certainly carries quite a bit of earning power.

Mariners Outright Justin Ruggiano

By Steve Adams | June 13, 2015 at 2:30pm CDT

JUNE 13: Ruggiano has cleared waivers, and the Mariners have outrighted him to Triple-A Tacoma, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets.

JUNE 4: The Mariners have designated outfielder Justin Ruggiano for assignment in order to clear a 25-man roster spot for backup catcher Jesus Sucre, the team announced (relayed by 710 ESPN’s Shannon Drayer, on Twitter). Seattle needed to clear a spot on the roster for a catcher after trading Welington Castillo to the Diamondbacks yesterday in the six-player Mark Trumbo trade.

The decision to designate Ruggiano is a somewhat curious one, as the veteran outfielder was acquired from the Cubs this offseason with the hope that he could form one half of a right field platoon along with Seth Smith. Ruggiano’s overall numbers don’t look particularly appealing, but he’s hit left-handed pitching well in 2015, as he has throughout his career. In 43 plate appearances versus lefties this season, Ruggiano is hitting .263/.349/.474 with a pair of homers. That slash line gels with his career marks — a .266/.331/.505 line against southpaws.

Though Ruggiano has not hit especially well as a whole this season, his .214/.321/.357 has been roughly league-average production when accounting for his pitcher-friendly home ballpark (99 wRC+, 97 OPS+). Teammates Rickie Weeks and Dustin Ackley, however, have been markedly worse performers at the dish, with Weeks hitting just .169/.273/.260 and Ackley hitting a mere .190/.231/.331. In terms of defensive value, Ruggiano is better suited to play the outfield than Weeks, who is still learning the position.

Ruggiano is earning $2.505MM this season after avoiding arbitration this winter. He’s under control through the 2016 season and will be arb-eligible once more this offseason if he accumulates a full year of service time in 2015. I’d imagine that Ruggiano could generate some interest in trades, particularly if the Mariners are willing to absorb some of the remaining salary. From a speculative standpoint, the Reds could be a fit, as they are on the lookout for corner outfield options after seeing Marlon Byrd go down with a fractured wrist earlier in the week.

Mets Claim Kirk Nieuwenhuis

By charliewilmoth | June 13, 2015 at 1:16pm CDT

The Mets have re-claimed outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis, ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin tweets. The team has announced that it has moved reliever Jerry Blevins (forearm) to the 60-day disabled list to clear space on its 40-man roster.

The Mets designated Nieuwenhuis for assignment last month, then traded him to the Angels for cash. The Angels then designated him for assignment last week after 24 plate appearances for the club. Overall, Nieuwenhuis has posted a dismal .100/.156/.167 line in 64 plate appearances between the two teams this season. In the past, though, the left-handed hitter has been modestly productive, with a good eye and moderate power, and he posted a .259/.342/.482 line in 130 plate appearances last year. Nieuwenhuis can also play all three outfield positions, so he can be a useful player if he regains his stroke.

He is, however, out of options. Rubin thinks (again via Twitter) that the Mets might try to pass Nieuwenhuis through waivers again, as they’ll soon have to open spots for Dillon Gee (bereavement list), Ruben Tejada (paternity list) and Daniel Murphy (disabled list).

Mariners Designate Rickie Weeks For Assignment

By charliewilmoth | June 13, 2015 at 12:12pm CDT

The Mariners have designated Rickie Weeks for assignment, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets. The move clears space for the Mariners to recall reliever Danny Farquhar, who will provide help for a Mariners bullpen that had to pitch 7 2/3 innings in a blowout against the Astros yesterday.

The Mariners signed Weeks to a one-year, $2MM deal in the offseason, and he was a disappointment, hitting .167/.263/.250 with just three recorded line drives (according to Fangraphs’ batted-ball data) in 95 plate appearances with the club. The 32-year-old Weeks had rebounded from a poor 2013 season to have a quality 2014 in a part-time role in his final season in Milwaukee, but that success obviously didn’t continue this year as a right-handed bench bat with the Mariners. Weeks also struggled defensively at second base in his last few seasons with the Brewers, and the Mariners used him exclusively in left field, where his bat played even worse than it would have at second. The result was that Weeks posted -0.7 fWAR in his brief time in Seattle.

Weeks isn’t far removed from some effective seasons with the Brewers, and he’s a career .260/.382/.445 hitter against lefties, so he’ll probably eventually make it back to the big leagues. His salary will likely be an obstacle to any team claiming him right now, however.

Blue Jays To Sign Jon Harris

By charliewilmoth | June 13, 2015 at 10:49am CDT

The Blue Jays have agreed to terms with first-round draft pick Jon Harris, Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi tweets. Harris still needs to take a physical, but the deal could become final tomorrow. Harris will receive the recommended bonus pool allotment for the pick, which is $1,944,800.

Harris, a righty from Missouri State, was the No. 29 overall selection in the draft. The Jays forfeited their regular first-round pick when they signed Russell Martin, but they received the No. 29 selection as compensation for the departure off Melky Cabrera. The Jays are drafting Harris for the second time, having also selected him in the 33rd round out of high school in 2012.

MLB.com notes that Harris throws in the 92-94 MPH and that there might be some potential for him to throw a bit harder as he matures. His slider, curveball and changeup are also potentially good pitches. Baseball America (subscription required) ranks Harris the No. 25 prospect in the draft, noting that control isn’t always his strong suit but offering praise for all four of his pitches and for his ability to work deep into games.

Reds Sign Tyler Stephenson

By charliewilmoth | June 12, 2015 at 8:23pm CDT

The Reds have announced that they’ve signed catcher and 11th overall draft pick Tyler Stephenson. Stephenson has been assigned to short-season Billings. MLB.com’s Jim Callis tweets that Stephenson will receive the allotted value of the pick, which is $3,141,600. Stephenson, from Kennesaw Mountain High School in Georgia, had been committed to Georgia Tech.

MLB.com notes that Stephenson appears capable defensively, with soft hands, a strong arm and good agility given his size (6-foot-4, 225 pounds). He also has good power, although his ability to make contact is a concern. Baseball America (subscription required) ranked Stephenson the 15th-best prospect in the draft, noting that his defensive ability would buy him time to work through any offensive issues that might arise. Stephenson is the third catcher the Reds have selected with a first-round pick in the past decade, joining Devin Mesoraco (2007) and the since-traded Yasmani Grandal (2010).

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