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Braves Release Carlos Quentin

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The Braves have released outfielder Carlos Quentin, according to the team’s MLB.com transactions page. Quentin and his agents at CAA will now be able to field offers from any interested clubs.

Atlanta acquired Quentin from the Padres in the Craig Kimbrel blockbuster and promptly designated him for assignment. The Braves’ agreement to acquire Quentin boiled down to little more than financial maneuvering; his inclusion in the trade was necessary to offset some of the salary headed to the Padres with the salaries of Kimbrel and, especially, Melvin Upton Jr. The Braves will pay the 32-year-old Quentin $8MM in 2015, minus the pro-rated portion of the league minimum for as long as he’s on a new team’s active roster.

Quentin was, at one point, an All-Star and even an MVP candidate with the White Sox — he finished fifth in the 2008 voting when he belted 36 home runs — but injuries have long plagued him and reduced his ability to produce even when healthy. Quentin has appeared in just 218 games over the past three seasons, primarily due to knee problems. Those issues have caused his defense, which was never his strong suit in the first place, to deteriorate to the point where he’s best-suited for an American League club that can give him some at-bats as a designated hitter.

Teams with a need for some right-handed pop off the bench or a part-time DH figure to be interested in Quentin despite his injuries. With the exception of last year, Quentin has long posted strong numbers at the plate. From 2008-13, he batted .260/.356/.503, averaging 35 homers per 162 games played. Unfortunately for the White Sox and Padres — the two teams for which he played during that stretch — Quentin averaged just 108 games per season in those six years.

Indians Sign Jhoulys Chacin, Designate Shaun Marcum

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The Indians have announced a series of transactions, including the signing of righty Jhoulys Chacin to a minor league deal. Fellow right-hander Shaun Marcum was designated for assignment, while backstop Brett Hayes will take his roster spot.

Chacin, 27, was cut loose by the Rockies this spring in something of a surprise move. He struggled with shoulder issues last year, and injuries are the main concern given his effectiveness when healthy. Overall, Chacin owns a 3.78 ERA with 6.9 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9 to go with a 48.2% groundball rate. He joins Ryan Webb as a recently-added veteran depth piece in the Cleveland system.

Of course, much of the same could have been said of Marcum, 33, who was quite a productive starter in his heyday but who has battled injuries in recent campaigns. He made one appearance for the Indians, allowing just one earned run in five innings of relief, but will presumably be left to look for a new opportunity.

As for Hayes, he is needed to fill in for the injured Yan Gomes. The veteran backup has never done much damage on offense but will provide a steady presence in reserve while Gomes is down. It remains to be seen how long his services will be needed at the big league level, as Cleveland is said to be weighing the possibility of making an addition to its catching corps.

Alex Rios Fractures Left Hand

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11:24am: GM Dayton Moore says that the expectation is Rios will only miss three to six weeks of action, though it is too early to establish a precise timeline, McCullough reports (Twitter links). Dyson and Orlando will indeed share right field for the time being, Moore adds. The club may replace Rios on the roster with another pitcher.

10:50am: Royals outfielder Alex Rios fractured his left hand in yesterday’s action, Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star reports on Twitter. It is a non-displaced fracture, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan tweets. There is no timetable for his return as of yet, though obviously a DL stint will be in order.

Rios’s injury comes as a fairly significant disappointment for a Kansas City club that is off to a 7-0 start. Rios, 34, has played a big role in that effort, slashing .321/.345/.464 in his first 29 plate appearances while contributing a home run and two stolen bases. Signed to a one-year, $11MM contract out of free agency, the veteran represents a significant portion of the team’s payroll.

Fortunately, the Royals do have a capable replacement on hand in Jarrod Dyson, a rangy outfielder and highly productive baserunner. Despite below-average batting lines and less than 300 plate appearances in each of the last two years, Dyson has racked up 5.6 fWAR and 4.4 rWAR over that span. Of course, the team has been able to maximize his value by limiting his exposure to left-handed pitching. Right-handed-hitting rookie Paulo Orlando is also on the active roster, and could share time with Dyson in right.

Given the internal options and the teams payroll restrictions, to say nothing of Rios’s still-uncertain timeline, a significant outside addition seems unlikely at this point. Of course, hand injuries can be trouble for hitters, so the progress of Rios will be something to keep an eye on as the season progresses.

Indians Sign Ryan Webb

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The Indians have reached a minor league deal with righty Ryan Webb, the club announced. Webb has been assigned to the club’s Triple-A affiliate.

Webb started the year with the Orioles, still playing under the free agent contract he signed before the 2014 season. Before appearing in a game, he went through an interesting series of transactions that left him outrighted — and later released — by the Dodgers. As MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth explains, the net result was that Los Angeles paid down Webb’s 2015 salary in exchange for the rights to the 74th overall pick in this year’s amateur draft.

Of course, those maneuvers may sell Webb short to an extent. He has been at least an average reliever, with peripherals to match, over 325 1/3 innings across the last six seasons. He posted career bests in both strikeouts (6.8 per nine) and walks (2.2 per nine) last year. While his groundball rate fell only a few ticks above league average in 2014, he owns a strong 56.1% mark for his career.

All in all, he seems to be a nice player to have waiting at Triple-A — especially with another club picking up the tab. Cleveland obviously feels that way after moving quickly to add him to its depth chart.

Yan Gomes Out Six To Eight Weeks With Knee Injury

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An MRI today revealed a sprained MCL in the right knee of Indians catcher Yan Gomes, which will sideline the standout backstop for six to eight weeks, Cleveland has announced.

The injury to Gomes is a significant blow to the Indians, who are expected by many to contend for the AL Central title this season but will now be without one of their most valuable players for up to two months. In the interim, Roberto Perez figures to step into an everyday role behind the plate, and Carlos Santana can serve as a backup in the near-term. However, it wouldn’t be a shock to see Cleveland pursue upgrades from outside the organization.

Gomes, 27, has established himself as one of the game’s better catchers over the past season and a half, batting a combined .284/.325/.476 with 32 homers in 223 games from 2013-14. He’s also an excellent defender, grading very well in terms of both pitch-framing metrics and shutting down the running game. Gomes has caught 35 percent of opposing base stealers in his big league career, while the league-average rate in that time has been 27 percent. Both Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference pegged Gomes’ value at roughly 4.5 wins above replacement last year.

Jenrry Mejia Receives 80-Game Suspension

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6:30pm: The suspension will save the Mets $1.2MM per Mike Puma of the New York Post (tweet).

Rubin tweets that Mejia will not be eligible for the postseason roster if the Mets qualify for the playoffs.

6:20pm: Mejia is the fourth pitcher in the last 15 days to test positive for Stanozolol, reports Adam Rubin of ESPN New York. In addition to Santana, Mariners pitcher David Rollins and Braves pitcher Arodys Vizcaino are serving suspensions after failing a drug test. Three of the four players are Dominican, which might provide a clue as to how or where the drug is being disseminated. Like Mejia, Santana also claimed that he had no knowledge of how the drug entered his system.

As a reminder, days on the disabled list count towards the suspension, so Mejia will simply be out longer than expected, tweets Matt Ehalt of The Record. Per Ehalt, Mejia will not appeal the suspension. He is eligible to return on July 7 against the Giants (Twitter).

Andy Martino of the New York Daily News adds (on Twitter) that the Mets won’t pursue an external option like Rafael Soriano. They’re satisfied with their current depth.

4:37pm: Mets closer Jenrry Mejia has received an 80-game suspension without pay after testing positive for Stanozolol, MLB has announced. Stanozolol is the same performance-enhancing drug Ervin Santana was suspended earlier this month for using.

“We were disappointed when informed of Jenrry’s suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program,” say the Mets in a statement. “We fully support MLB’s policy toward eliminating performance enhancing substances from the sport. As per the Joint Drug Program, we will have no further comment on this suspension.”

“I know the rules are the rules and I will accept my punishment,” says Mejia, seemingly suggesting he will not appeal the suspension. “[B]ut I can honestly say I have no idea how a banned substance ended up in my system. … I’m sorry to the Mets organization, my teammates and the fans, as well as my family.”

Mejia had not pitched in 2015 due to elbow inflammation. An MRI showed no structural damage, so he likely would have returned at some point fairly soon if not for the suspension. Mejia racked up 28 saves in 2014 while carrying a relatively heavy workload for a closer, pitching 93 2/3 innings with a 3.65 ERA, 9.4 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9. Jeurys Familia will likely get most save opportunities in his absence. Mejia was set to make $2.595MM in his first arbitration year in 2015, but now the Mets will only have to pay him about half that amount.

Hiroshima Carp Sign Outfielder Nate Schierholtz

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The Hiroshima Carp of Japan’s NPB have signed outfielder Nate Schierholtz to a one-year, $1.16MM contract, reports the Japan Times. Schierholtz is expected to join the team as soon as April 21. He opted out of his minor league contract with the Rangers on March 28.

Schierholtz struggled to a .195/.243/.309 line in 383 plate appearances last season. However, he turned in a useful 2013 campaign with the Cubs that included 21 home runs and a .251/.301/.470 slash. The left-handed hitter is also a career .253/.302/.419 hitter against right-handed pitchers.

Cubans Heredia, Gutierrez Nearing Free Agency

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Two of Cuba’s most intriguing remaining prospects — outfielder Guillermo Heredia and righty Vladimir Gutierrez — appear to be nearing free agency, according to a report from Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com (Twitter links).

The 24-year-old Heredia has established residency in Mexico and on Monday will submit his application to MLB to be declared a free agent. Baseball America’s Ben Badler rated Heredia just outside his top-ten list of Cuban prospects last fall, though he notes that the outfielder has been eclipsed by some other players since. Though he has at least one big power season to his credit in Cuba, Heredia’s calling cards are his defense in center and on-base ability.

Gutierrez, 19, is just days away from residency in Mexico, per Sanchez, and will presumably make his own application for free agency in short order thereafter. He has been training in Mexico since creating a stir by leaving his club during the Caribbean Series. Badler credits Gutierrez with a projectable frame and advanced curve, making him one of those players that has gained on Heredia in recent months.

Heredia will be exempt from international bonus limits, and he could field wide interest. The younger Gutierrez, meanwhile, will fall within the parameters of the spending limits, meaning that he will be off limits for those clubs that are currently serving two-year signing bans and that whichever club signs him will have to stay within its pool allocation or face a hefty overage tax and signing timeout.

Derek Holland To Be Shut Down For Four To Six Weeks

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Rangers starter Derek Holland will not pick up a baseball for the next four to six weeks after being diagnosed with a sub-scapular strain, the club told reporters including Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (via Twitter).

Holland left his start today after the first inning, continuing a nearly unimaginable string of pitching injuries for the club. Fortunately for Holland, surgery is not on the table, Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest tweets. He’ll undergo a scan in a month, with the course of action determined from that point.

Texas did just sign veteran lefty Wandy Rodriguez to provide an additional option, and he figures to be the most likely candidate to join the big league rotation in the short term. Of course, the club may prefer not to begin paying out Rodriguez’s available incentives (which could reach $1.8MM), though his salary will be at the league-minimum rate.

Holland was not the only casualty in today’s action. The Rangers also saw outfielders Shin-Soo Choo and Ryan Rua leave with injuries — back spasms and a sprained ankle, respectively — and could be left scrambling to fill in its lineup as well.

Heyman’s Latest: Kimbrel, Howard, Perez, Salty, Soriano, Cueto

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Jon Heyman of CBS Sports has penned a lengthy column that’s chock full of Hot Stove related items as the season gets underway. First and foremost, he chronicles the Braves’ trade of Craig Kimbrel at length. Heyman spoke to president of baseball ops John Hart, who candidly told Heyman that the team took a hard line of refusing to trade Kimbrel unless Melvin Upton Jr. was involved in the deal. “We were not going to separate Kimbrel and trade him by himself,” Hart told Heyman. Atlanta reached out to the Cubs, Astros, Dodgers and Padres, among others, this winter in an effort to move Upton, and despite the Dodgers’ bullpen needs, they weren’t willing to add Upton’s contract to that of Carl Crawford and Andre Ethier, having already shed Matt Kemp’s contract. The Padres trade didn’t heat up until about four days before it was agreed upon, Heyman writes, with Hart even remaining in Orlando to finish negotiations rather than fly with the team to Miami at the end of Spring Training. Hart credited assistant GM John Coppolella for doing much of the legwork and his creativity in getting the trade finalized.

More highlights from Heyman’s article (though the entire piece is well worth your time)…

  • While some reports late in Spring Training indicated that the Phillies would be willing to eat up to $50MM of the remaining $60MM on Ryan Howard’s contract, two GMs tell Heyman they hadn’t heard that figure. One of those GMs was of the belief that the Phillies’ top offer was to pay about $35MM, which, Heyman speculates, may have been a large reason that the Royals opted to sign Kendrys Morales for two years and $17MM rather than pursue a Howard trade.
  • Speaking of the Royals, Heyman hears that the team is open to pursuing a second extension with catcher Salvador Perez and would be happy to make him a Royal for life. Heyman notes that some in the organization even have some sympathy for Perez, whose five-year, $7MM contract is widely considered the most team-friendly deal in all of baseball. Perez’s deal contains three startlingly low club options valued at $3.75MM, $5MM and $6MM for the 2017-19 seasons — two of which would have been free-agent seasons beginning at the age of 28.
  • The Marlins tried to trade Jarrod Saltalamacchia this winter after the catcher’s first season on a three-year, $21MM pact was a struggle, but his salary was too great a deterrent. The Marlins presumably feel that top prospect J.T. Realmuto could step into the catcher’s role in the not-too-distant future.
  • The Tigers are believed to be at least monitoring Rafael Soriano’s workouts at the Boras Sports Training Institute in Miami, per Heyman. However, Soriano has seen his stock suffer not only due to ineffective innings late int he 2014 season but also due to perceptions about his personality and negative clubhouse impact. At least one club that was taking a hard look at late-inning relievers ruled out Soriano entirely due to that perception, Heyman reports.
  • The Reds felt the odds of extending Johnny Cueto prior to Opening Day were so slim that it’s not even clear if they made a formal offer, writes Heyman. Cueto is seeking a figure in the range of $200MM following Max Scherzer’s mammoth contract this offseason, he adds. Heyman also opines that David Price would probably be selling himself short if he took much less than $200MM from the Tigers at this point as well.
  • Anecdotally, Heyman tells the story of how Cody Ross’ career began when he was sold to the Marlins from the Reds in exchange for “cash considerations” of precisely one dollar. Former Reds GM Wayne Krivsky spoke to Heyman about the deal, explaining that they didn’t have room on the Cincinnati roster back in ’06 but genuinely wanted to get Ross into the best possible position to have a chance at a Major League roster spot. Ross has gone on to earn more than $52MM in the game of baseball.
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