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Minor MLB Transactions: 12/18/20

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The latest minor moves from the majors…

  • The Dodgers have signed infielder Elliot Soto to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training, J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group tweets. Soto has been a part of a few organizations, most recently the Angels, since the Cubs picked him in the 15th round of the 2010 draft. The 31-year-old has batted .272/.346/.389 with 15 home runs in 1,323 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. Soto made his major league debut last season with two hits in seven trips to the plate.
  • The Reds have inked righty Bo Takahashi to a minors pact with an invitation to big league camp, per Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. Takahashi, 23, had been part of the Diamondbacks’ system since 2014. He owns a 4.14 ERA with 7.9 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 in 567 minor league innings.

AL Notes: Gallo, Rays, Angels

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Rangers slugger Joey Gallo has been “available” since last summer’s trade deadline, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic writes. It’s unknown what it would cost to pry Gallo out of Texas, though Rosenthal notes that he’s popular among teams that value some combination of home runs, walks, athleticism and tools. The 27-year-old Gallo had a terrible year at the plate during the shortened 2020 season, in which he hit .181/.301/.378 with 10 home runs in 226 plate appearances, but he did earn a Gold Glove for his work in right field. Gallo’s also not far removed from a premier showing at the plate in 2019, and he comes with two affordable years of team control.

Now the latest on two other American League teams…

  • The Rays are among the teams with interest in free-agent right-hander Ryne Stanek, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Stanek began his career with the Rays, who chose him 29th overall in the 2013 draft, and had his best seasons with the club. He was a regular opener with the Rays from 2018-19, during which he pitched to a 3.17 ERA/3.64 FIP and averaged better than 10 strikeouts per nine across 122 innings, but has fallen off of late. Stanek had difficulty in Miami, which acquired him from the Rays before the 2019 trade deadline, and the Marlins non-tendered him as a result. However, the 29-year-old hasn’t had trouble garnering interest from other teams this winter.
  • Rays righty Brent Honeywell was given a fourth option because of the substantial amount of time he has missed on account of injuries, general manager Erik Neander told Topkin and other reporters. The 25-year-old Honeywell was once an elite pitching prospect, but he hasn’t thrown a professional inning since 2017 – which he divided between Double-A and Triple-A – because of health issues. Since then, Honeywell has undergone four elbow surgeries, most recently an arthroscopic procedure. The good news is that Honeywell seems as if he’ll return in 2021.
  • The Angels have made a couple of additions to new general manager Perry Minasian’s front office. The team’s hiring Brewers vice president/assistant to the GM Ray Montgomery and Dodgers international crosschecker Brian Parker, per reports from Joel Sherman of the New York Post and Jim Callis of MLB.com. It’s unclear which roles the two will take on as part of the Angels’ staff.
  • More on the Angels, who are unsurprisingly looking for help in their rotation. Manager Joe Maddon told MLB Network Radio on Friday that “we do need to attract probably two starting pitchers to come to us.” Maddon expects there to be an increase in six-man rotations throughout the league next year; if the Angels go that route – which is something Maddon expects to do (via Maria Torres of the LA Times) – it could benefit Shohei Ohtani, who’s returning from injury and who was part of a six-man staff in Japan before immigrating to the majors prior to the 2018 campaign. Ohtani, Dylan Bundy, Andrew Heaney and Griffin Canning should amass plenty of starts for the Angels in 2021, though the rest of their rotation doesn’t appear etched in stone.

Mariners Designate Tim Lopes For Assignment

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The Mariners announced that they have designated infielder/outfielder Tim Lopes for assignment to make room for the signing of right-hander Chris Flexen, who’s officially part of the team.

Lopes was a sixth-round pick of the Mariners in 2012, though he spent time with the Blue Jays a few years back before returning to the M’s on a minor league contract. He made his major league debut in 2019 and slashed a respectable .270/.359/.360 in 128 plate appearances, but the 26-year-old wasn’t able to offer that type of production over a slightly larger sample sample size last season. Lopes concluded with a .238/.278/.364 line in 151 trips to the plate.

Despite his struggles last season, Lopes could draw interest as someone who has played a handful of positions in the majors (second base, third and both corner outfield spots). He also has three minor league options remaining.

Nationals, Reds Have Discussed Eugenio Suarez

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The Nationals and Reds have discussed Cincinnati third baseman Eugenio Suarez, though no trade appears close at this point, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network.

The third base position was a problem last year for the Nationals, who ranked 18th there in wRC+ (89) and tied for 26th in fWAR (minus-0.1). Carter Kieboom played the lion’s share of games at the hot corner for the Nats, but he didn’t appear ready to take on the position on a full-time basis. And while Kieboom looks like the favorite to start at third in Washington in 2021, that could change with the acquisition of Suarez or another outside pickup.

Suarez, 29, was a 49-home run hitter just two seasons ago. His numbers declined to a significant extent last season, but he still posted a slightly above-average .202/.312/.470 line with 15 home runs in 231 plate appearances in 2020. He’s due a reasonable $43.5MM through 2024 (including a $2MM buyout for 2025), but with Cincy seemingly in payroll-slashing mode, it wouldn’t be all that surprising to see the club part with Suarez if it’s able to find an offer to its liking.

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Giants Sign Anthony DeSclafani

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DEC. 18: The Giants are deferring half of DeSclafani’s salary, including incentives, to the first quarter of 2022, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

DEC. 16, 4:06pm: The Giants have announced the signing. The deal comes with up to $250K in performance bonuses based on innings pitched, per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area.

3:27pm: The two sides have agreed to a one-year, $6MM contract, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets. That comes in north of MLBTR’s one-year, $4MM prediction for DeSclafani.

3:08pm: The Giants and free-agent right-hander Anthony DeSclafani are nearing a deal, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. DeSclafani is a client of VC Sports Group.

This figures to be a buy-low pickup for the Giants, who are set to add a starter who has gone through an up-and-down career since it began in 2014. DeSclafani was a member of the Marlins during his first season, but he moved on to the Reds after that in a trade that sent fellow righty Mat Latos to Miami.

Cincinnati received rather impressive production from DeSclafani from 2015-16, during which he accrued 308 innings and notched a 3.74 ERA/3.79 FIP with 7.48 K/9 and 2.48 BB/9. DeSclafani missed the next season because of elbow problems, though, and didn’t return until June 2018. His production from then through 2019 was fairly respectable, but DeSclafani fell on hard times last season. Despite posting a career-high 94.9 mph on his fastball, the 30-year-old logged personal worsts in ERA (7.22), FIP (6.10), K/9 (6.68) and BB/9 (4.28) across 33 2/3 innings. He also had a rough year by Statcast’s standards, ranking closer to the bottom of the league than the top in most of its categories.

Although last season was no doubt a disaster for DeSclafani, the Giants have done well recently in signing starters to low-risk contracts. They added one of DeSclafani’s former Reds teammates, Kevin Gausman, on a one-year, $9MM pact last offseason. That couldn’t have worked out much better for the Giants, who were so impressed that they issued Gausman a qualifying offer a few weeks back. Gausman accepted that $18.9MM offer and will be atop their rotation in 2021. Along with picking up Gausman a year ago, the Giants signed Drew Smyly to a $4MM guarantee. Smyly also exceeded expectations, though he left for a raise with the Braves earlier this winter.

Assuming DeSclafani is part of the Giants’ rotation next year, he should join a group that will include Gausman, Johnny Cueto and likely Logan Webb. The other spot will probably be up for grabs, especially with Andrew Suarez nearing an agreement with a team in the Korea Baseball Organization.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Blue Jays Sign Richard Urena To Minor League Deal

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Infielder Richard Urena is returning to the Blue Jays on a minor league contract, per a club announcement. He’ll be invited to Major League Spring Training. Toronto also confirmed its previously reported minor league pacts with outfielder Forrest Wall and corner infielder Tyler White. They’ll both be in camp this spring as well.

Urena, 24, spent parts of the 2017-19 seasons with the Blue Jays, appearing in a total of 91 games and hitting .253/.300/.336 through 263 trips to the plate. A versatile defender with a solid defensive reputation as a prospect and a strong throwing arm, Urena logged time at shortstop (394 innings), second base (173 innings) and third base (53 innings) as a member of the Blue Jays over that three-year span. Metrics like Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating weren’t particularly bullish on his work at shortstop in that time, but it’s a relatively small sample from which to draw conclusions.

Toronto tried to pass Urena through waivers back in January, but he ended up being claimed by the Orioles, who successfully passed him through waivers not long thereafter. Urena didn’t make the cut for the Orioles’ 60-man player pool in the shortened 2020 season, however, and he’ll now return to the Jays organization as a depth piece who could give them some cover at multiple positions in 2021.

In 670 plate appearances at the Triple-A level, Urena has posted a .250/.289/.373 batting line with 11 homers, 29 doubles, seven triples and five stolen bases (in 10 tries).

Rangers Acquire Ryder Ryan From Mets As PTBNL From Todd Frazier Swap

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The Rangers announced Friday that they’ve acquired minor league right-hander Ryder Ryan from the Mets as the player to be named later from the Aug. 31 trade that sent Todd Frazier to New York.

Ryan, 25, was a 30th-round pick back in 2016 who landed with the Mets in the 2017 Jay Bruce trade. He pitched at the Double-A level with the Mets in both 2018 and 2019, working to a combined 3.51 ERA with 8.9 K/9, 3.9 BB/9 and 0.82 HR/9 in 77 innings — primarily as a reliever. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranked Ryan 24th among Mets farmhands prior to the 2019 season, calling him a potential middle reliever with a consistently average or better breaking ball.

Ryan doesn’t factor prominently into any current ranking of the Mets’ top farmhands, but the Frazier swap still didn’t work out as the now-former front office regime hoped. The veteran Frazier struggled in his return to Queens, hitting .224/.255/.388 in just 51 plate appearances. His 2021 club option was bought out at season’s end, making him a free agent.

Cardinals Sign Jose Rondon To Minor League Deal

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The Cardinals announced that they’ve signed infielder Jose Rondon to a minor league contract Friday. He’s been invited to Major League Spring Training.

Rondon, 27 in March, appeared in 106 games between the Padres, White Sox and Orioles from 2016-19, mostly with the White Sox. He’s a career .201/.260/.336 hitter with nine homers in 290 plate appearances. Rondon has appeared at all four infield positions and at left field in the Major Leagues, albeit just 16 combined innings at left field and in first base. Shortstop has been his primary position throughout his pro career, though Rondon hasn’t graded out well in an admittedly tiny sample of 217 MLB frames at the position. His marks at second base and third base are better.

Rondon gives the Cardinals some infield depth after the club decided to decline second baseman Kolten Wong’s $12.5MM club option back in November. Even if he were to make the roster, Rondon would presumably serve as a bench piece, with Tommy Edman slotting in as the primary second baseman and Matt Carpenter getting a chance to rebound at the hot corner. The Cards currently have Edmundo Sosa and Elehuris Montero as additional infield options on the 40-man roster, and St. Louis recently added Max Moroff on a minor league deal with a non-roster invite — the same type of deal received by Rondon.

In parts of four Triple-A seasons, Rondon is a .258/.301/.448 hitter.

Cubs, James Bourque Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Cubs have agreed to a minor league pact with righty James Bourque and invited him to Major League Spring Training, reports MLB.com’s Jon Morosi (Twitter link). The 27-year-old Bourque appeared to be in line to get a look with the Nats in September, but an elbow strain landed him on the IL and limited him to four innings. The Nats removed Bourque from the 40-man roster after the season drew to a close, and he opted for free agency rather than accepting an outright assignment.

A 14th-round pick in 2014, Bourque ranked near the back end of the Nationals’ top 30 farmhands in recent years due largely to a power fastball that sits in the mid 90s and an above-average curveball. Control has increasingly become an issue for Bourque as he’s advanced through the minors and faced better competition, but his strikeout rates have also climbed. In 117 innings from 2018-19, Bourque whiffed 162 batters in just 117 innings — good for 12.5 K/9 and a 32.5 percent overall strikeout rate. He also averaged 4.8 BB/9 with a 12.4 percent walk overall walk rate.

Bourque is the second bullpen flier in as many days for the Cubs, who yesterday agreed to a non-guaranteed, Major League deal with former Yankees setup man Jonathan Holder. Chicago hasn’t spent much on the bullpen at all in recent years outside of a one-time splash with Craig Kimbrel that hasn’t panned out, and the team has also struggled to develop consistently productive arms. As such, there are several spots up for grabs in a largely unsettled bullpen mix, creating Spring Training opportunities for Bourque, Holder and any other speculative adds by new president of baseball ops Jed Hoyer.

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