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Cubs Release Junichi Tazawa

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Per Chris Cotillo of Masslive.com, the Cubs have released reliever Junichi Tazawa.

Tazawa had a strong spring for Chicago, striking out nine in just 5 2/3 IP while not allowing a run. The 32-year-old was fighting for the last spot in the Cubs pen, but was on the heels of back-to-back dreadful campaigns in 2017 and ’18.

Tazawa was excellent in a four-year stretch for the Red Sox from 2012-15, distancing himself from walks and homers while keeping hitters at bay with his trademark splitter. A velocity drop in 2016 spelled doom, though, as the righty soon found himself frequent prey for power hitters across both leagues. A two-year, $12MM deal with Miami prior to the 2017 season was a disaster – the Marlins dumped the righty in mid-May after he allowed six homers in just twenty low-leverage innings.

The excellent spring numbers, if perhaps indicative of a return to form, should help the veteran righty latch on somewhere. It’s a bit of a surprise he couldn’t crack the in-flux Cubs ’pen, though perhaps the velocity and secondary stuff simply continue to languish.

Orioles Claim Pedro Severino

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Per a team release, the Orioles have claimed catcher Pedro Severino off waivers from the Nationals.  In a corresponding move, the club has designated INF Stevie Wilkerson for assignment.

Severino, 25, hasn’t hit much at the MLB level since debuting late in 2015, slashing just .187/.273/.287 (47 wRC+) in 282 career big-league plate appearances. The rocket-armed catcher hasn’t had much success in his last three AAA stints either, though he did post a career-best .192 ISO in limited action there last season.

He’ll look to insert himself into the murky Baltimore catching mix, where the inexperienced Chance Sisco/Austin Wynns duo has been competing with veteran Jesus Sucre for the bulk of the action at the position.

Wilkerson, 27, sat out much of 2018 with oblique and hamstring troubles, as well as a suspension for amphetamines, but was reasonably productive at the plate, slugging a career-best .500 in 86 plate appearances for Norfolk.

Mets Sign Ruben Tejada

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Per his agents at Primetime Sports Group, the Mets have signed IF Ruben Tejada to a minors deal. The contract comes with a $750K major league salary, and there aren’t any opt-out chances, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.

Tejada, 29, spent his first nine professional seasons with the Mets organization, debuting at the tender age of 20 midway through the 2010 season.  The Panamanian quickly established himself as a solid shortstop option for New York, posting 1.5 fWAR or better three times from 2011-15 despite never accruing more than 501 plate appearances in a single season.

Tejada’s Mets tenure came to an abrupt halt, though, when a vicious Chase Utley takeout slide in Game 2 of the 2015 NLDS fractured his right fibula, ending his season on impact.  He’s never quite been the same since: in 77 appearances over two seasons with the Cardinals, Giants, and Orioles, the slick fielder’s slashed just .207/.275/.268 in 202 plate appearances. Tejada appeared last season for AAA-Norfolk in the Baltimore organization, slashing a meager .230/.291/.298 in 392 plate appearances.

The Mets, who may always have a soft spot for the fan favorite, also have one in back of regular shortstop Amed Rosario, who’s one of just two 40-man players (along with Luis Guillorme) capable of handling the position on a regular basis. Tejada will offer surefire depth, and may indeed seize the utility role if the Mets can again figure out his wayward swing.

Scooter Gennett To Spend 8-12 Weeks On Injured List

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Reds second baseman Scooter Gennett will be sidelined for the next 8-12 weeks due to a right groin strain, Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports (Twitter link).  Gennett suffered the injury yesterday during the second inning of the Reds’ Spring Training game, while making an awkward slide on a fielding play.

The news is a major blow to a Reds team that had a busy offseason in preparation for a return to contention in the NL Central.  Now, Cincinnati will have to wait until mid-May at the earliest to welcome back their All-Star second baseman.

Gennett has been nothing short of outstanding since joining his hometown team prior to the 2017 season, as the infielder has hit .303/.351/.508 with 50 homers over 1135 plate appearances in a Reds uniform.  Originally seen as something of a utility infield option when he first arrived with the team, Gennett’s emergence made him into an unexpected building block for the Reds, and perhaps even a long-term answer at second base (though recent extension talks hadn’t delivered much progress).

Gennett is scheduled to hit free agency after the season, and while the 29-year-old can still produce quite a bit over three or four months of action, his hopes of a big platform year have now been dented by this lengthy stint on the IL.  He’ll have to hope for a relatively quick recovery and then no lingering after-effects from his groin strain, though on the plus side, Gennett has been a pretty durable player throughout the rest of his big league career.

The vacancy at second base will be filled by Jose Peraza, whose former shortstop role will be assumed by minor league signing Jose Iglesias.  Peraza took a big step forward at the plate last season and actually grades out better defensively as a second baseman than as a shortstop, so the Reds should be in decent shape at the keystone.  Iglesias is one of the sport’s better defensive shortstops, so he’ll bring value to the everyday lineup even if his hitting has generally been subpar.  Derek Dietrich, also in camp on a minors contract, was already expected to make Cincinnati’s roster, and Gennett’s absence should solidify Dietrich’s spot as a backup utilityman.

Nick Senzel’s status won’t be impacted by the Gennett news, Reds president of baseball operations Dick Williams told reporters (including C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic).  The top prospect has played second base in the past, though Senzel is still ticketed to begin the season at Triple-A and will be playing as a center fielder, in order to eventually help the Reds at that position.

Jason Hammel Announces Retirement

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In a surprising development, veteran right-hander Jason Hammel has told the Rangers that he is retiring after 13 Major League seasons.  Hammel had signed a minor league deal with the Rangers this winter, and was informed yesterday that he had made the team’s Opening Day roster.

Hammel’s decision doesn’t come entirely out of left field, as he recently stated that he had no interest in pitching in the minor leagues, and would hang up his spikes if he didn’t remain in the Show.  As per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link), Hammel simply “decided he needed to go and be with his family, something you could tell was weighing on his mind this spring.”

Rangers GM Jon Daniels told The Athletic’s Levi Weaver and other media that Hammel “was very apologetic about the timing” of his decision, coming so soon after the team decided to include him on its 25-man roster.  With Hammel now out of the picture, Jeanmar Gomez (another minor league signing) will break camp with the team.

Originally a 10th-round pick for the Rays in the 2002 draft, Hammel rose from that unheralded draft position to pitch 1810 1/3 Major League innings from 2006-18, starting 298 of his 377 career games.  Never a big strikeout pitcher or a particularly hard thrower, Hammel relied on solid control and durability to become a rotation piece for six different teams over the course of his career.

That skillset resulted in just shy of $60MM in career earnings for Hammel, including a pair of multi-year free agent deals with the Cubs and Royals.  Hammel’s stint with the Cubs from 2014-16 was the productive stint of his career, as he posted a 3.59 ERA, 8.5 K/9, and a 3.62 K/9 rate over 446 innings (all of them in 78 starts) for Chicago.  Unfortunately for Hammel, a late-season elbow injury kept him from participating in the Cubs’ historic playoff run in 2016, though his 166 2/3 frames of 3.83 ERA pitching in the regular season netted him a well-earned World Series ring.

We at MLBTR congratulate Hammel on a fine career, and we wish him all the best as he embarks on his post-playing endeavors.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Blue Jays Notes: Borucki, Stroman, Buchholz, Pentecost

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Here’s the latest from the Blue Jays’ camp in Dunedin…

  • Ryan Borucki will miss at least one regular season start as a precautionary measure after the right-hander felt elbow pain during a recent start in minor league camp.  The Athletic’s John Lott (Twitter links) was among those to report the news from Jays manager Charlie Montoyo and Borucki himself, who didn’t sound too concerned about the problem.  Borucki has battled elbow problems in the past, including a Tommy John surgery, and said that injury experience allowed him “to figure out what’s good pain and what’s bad pain, and really, [the current injury] was nothing to really worry about.”  The Blue Jays have Sean Reid-Foley, Thomas Pannone, Sam Gaviglio, or Trent Thornton as potential fill-in candidates for Borucki’s one start.
  • The Astros were one of the teams that showed interest in trading for Marcus Stroman over the winter, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (subscription required).  The Reds and Padres were also linked to Stroman in reports.  Stroman is under team control through the 2020 season, though the combination of the Jays’ rebuild and Stroman’s own outspoken displeasure over a lack of extension talks and the club’s winter moves could be signs that the Blue Jays will eventually move on from the right-hander.  To rebuild trade value, however, Stroman will have to rebound from a disappointing 2018 season.  From Houston’s perspective, Stroman would give the team additional pitching depth beyond the coming year, since Gerrit Cole, Wade Miley, Brad Peacock, and Collin McHugh are all scheduled to hit free agency in the 2019-20 offseason.  (Justin Verlander is also part of this group, though he and the Astros appear to be closing in on an extension.)
  • Clay Buchholz could be ready for rotation duty by early April, GM Ross Atkins told reporters, including The Athletic’s John Lott (subscription required).  Buchholz was a late entry to camp, as he didn’t sign with the Jays until the start of March, plus he was also shut down by the Diamondbacks last September due to a flexor mass strain in his throwing elbow.  For now, however, the veteran righty looks to be making good progress towards his eventual Toronto debut, which could be a boon given Borucki’s injury status.
  • Former first-round pick Max Pentecost has stepped away from spring camp to consider his future in baseball, Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi reports.  Pentecost was the 11th overall pick of the 2014 draft, though he has been plagued by shoulder problems throughout his young career, and also dealt with an elbow injury even prior to his draft selection.  The Blue Jays had slowly been getting Pentecost re-acclimated to catching, culminating in Pentecost being behind the plate for 660 innings for Double-A New Hampshire last season.

Giants Release Rene Rivera

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The Giants have released catcher Rene Rivera from his minor league contract, as reported by several members of the Giants beat (including NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic).

Rivera and Stephen Vogt were the two veterans brought into the Giants’ camp on minor league deals to compete with Aramis Garcia for the backup role behind Buster Posey.  Since Posey is recovering from hip surgery that cut his 2018 campaign short, the general consensus was that San Francisco might look for a catcher that could handle more playing time should Posey need more rest days.  Instead, with Posey making good progress this spring, it seems like the Giants are comfortable using the rookie Garcia as the primary backup, as Vogt has already been assigned to Triple-A to begin the season.  (Cameron Rupp was also in the Giants’ camp earlier this spring, though he has since been traded to the Tigers.)

This left Rivera as the odd man out.  Unless he re-signs with the Giants on a fresh minor league deal, Rivera will now look elsewhere as he looks to embark on his 11th Major League season.  Long known for his excellent framing and prowess at throwing out baserunners, Rivera has also posted decent numbers at the plate over the last two seasons — a .247/.297/.428 slash line and 14 homers over 328 PA with the Mets, Cubs, Braves, and Angels.  Given his defensive reputation, Rivera seems like a good candidate to catch on with another team as clubs figure out their catching situations at the end of Spring Training.

Pirates To Add Francisco Liriano, Melky Cabrera To Opening Day Roster

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The Pirates have announced that left-hander Francisco Liriano and outfielder Melky Cabrera will be on the team’s 25-man roster for Opening Day.  (MLB.com’s Adam Berry was among those to report the news.)  Since both players are in camp on minor league contracts, the Bucs will still need to make some room on their 40-man roster.  Only one more spot will need to be created, as Edgar Santana is already headed for the 60-day injured list after undergoing Tommy John surgery last September.

The news means that Liriano will officially make his return to the Pirates, after previously pitching for the club from 2013-16.  Liriano will become the primary left-handed option in the Pittsburgh bullpen, with closer Felipe Vazquez currently the only other southpaw projected by Roster Resource for the 25-man roster.  Steven Brault is the only other lefty on the 40-man roster, so Liriano clearly had opportunity to win himself a job.

Liriano has primarily worked as a starter throughout his 13 years in the big leagues, and it’s possible he could still be some action as an emergency starter or long man for Pittsburgh this year.  At the moment, however, the 35-year-old looks to be primarily used against left-handed hitters, as Lirano has continued to excel against same-sided hitters in recent years even as his effectiveness against right-handed batters has declined.  In 2017, Liriano worked exclusively out of the bullpen for the Astros after a deadline trade from the Blue Jays, and Liriano served as a solid bullpen piece down the stretch and during Houston’s World Series run.

With Gregory Polanco sidelined for the first part of the season, the Bucs were in need of extra outfield depth beyond starting center fielder Starling Marte and left fielder Corey Dickerson.  The switch-hitting Cabrera will balance out the left-handed hitting Lonnie Chisenhall in right field, and Cabrera could also spell Dickerson against some southpaws.  Cabrera isn’t far removed from a .296/.345/.455 performance over 646 PA with the White Sox in 2016, though the 34-year-old has been roughly a league-average hitter in 2015 and 2017-18.

As per the terms of the two minor league contracts, Liriano will earn $1.8MM in guaranteed money for making the Pirates’ roster, while Cabrera will earn $1.15MM.  Both players also have more available in incentive bonuses.

Giants Notes: Pillar, Guyer, Choo, Harper

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The latest on the Giants’ search for outfield help…

  • Cameron Maybin’s release has left the Giants in need of a right-handed hitting center fielder who can complement Steven Duggar.  To this end, the club has “looked into Blue Jays center fielder Kevin Pillar and Brandon Guyer,” Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes.  Guyer was just released by the White Sox and has a long track record of success against lefty pitching, though he would be another imperfect fit as a center field option — Guyer has only 356 career innings as a center fielder, with a -1.4 UZR.150 and -4 Defensive Runs Saved in that relatively small sample size.  Pillar is the much more accomplished defender, though not much of a hitter and also much more expensive than Guyer would be, as Pillar is set to earn $5.8MM this season.  There’s also the question of what the Giants would have to give up to Toronto in a trade, though Schulman notes “it’s unclear whether the Blue Jays would entertain a deal.”  San Francisco’s interest in Pillar dates back to earlier this offseason, though obviously no trade came together.
  • The Giants and Rangers discussed a trade that would have sent Shin-Soo Choo to the Bay Area, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (subscription required), though “the talks failed to gain momentum and at this point are barely active.”  Choo would’ve been something of a curious add for the Giants, given that he has moved into more of a DH role in recent seasons.  Choo’s bat is still potent (.264/.377/.434 with 21 homers in 665 PA last season), and while his glovework was below-average (-5 DFS, -3.9 UZR/150 in 507 1/3 innings as a corner outfielder) in 2018, the Giants might have felt the tradeoff was worth it, even if Choo’s defense would have likely further fallen off in Oracle Park’s larger outfield.  The Giants could also have possibly seen the trade as something of a bargain, since Rosenthal notes that the Rangers “would have included significant cash” to cover the $42MM remaining on Choo’s contract through 2020.  The talks didn’t revolve around the idea of dealing Choo for one of the hefty contracts (i.e. Jeff Samardzjia, Mark Melancon) on the Giants’ payroll.
  • Also from Rosenthal’s piece, he provided a sneak peek at an interview conducted with Bryce Harper that will air in full after Fox Sports 1’s broadcast of the Braves/Phillies game on March 30.  Within the interview, Harper discussed his lengthy free agent process, including the tidbit that his final decision came down to the Phillies and the Giants.  In weighing his options with his wife Kayla, Harper said the couple ultimately decided that Philadelphia was the best fit.  “It was nothing against San Francisco. They’re a great organization. It’s a great city,” Harper said.  “It just came down to what I felt. And by that point, it was Philly.”  Harper also said that the difference between spacious Oracle Park and the more hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park “was never really a factor” in his choice of teams.

Mets Assign Six NRI Veterans To Minor League Camp

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The Mets have cut several veterans at Spring Training on minor league contracts from their Major League camp.  Carlos Gomez, Adeiny Hechavarria, Rajai Davis, Hector Santiago, Ryan O’Rourke, and Devin Mesoraco are the non-roster invitees who have all been told they aren’t making the Opening Day roster.  (Tim Healey of Newsday was one of several reporters who passed on the news.)  Of note, Mesoraco didn’t have an opt-out clause in his contract, though the Mets said that the catcher is “reassessing his situation” with the organization.

Mesoraco, Hechavarria, and Davis each had upward mobility clauses in their contracts that went into effect last Wednesday, though there hasn’t been any word on whether any other teams had interest in any of the trio.  This doesn’t appear to have been the case for Mesoraco, as Mike Puma of the New York Post reports (Twitter link) that Mesoraco has informed the Mets that he won’t go to Triple-A, and wants to be released.  Mesoraco is even prepared to retire if he isn’t granted his release, according to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter).

Mesoraco’s situation is perhaps the most surprising, as indications were that he would serve as the backup catcher, since Travis d’Arnaud is likely to begin the season on the injured list.  This could mean that a change in d’Arnaud’s status, or that the Mets would simply instead prefer to use another internal candidate in Tomas Nido as Wilson Ramos’ backup.

The Mets’ outfield situation was already pretty crowded, so Gomez and Davis faced something of an uphill battle in winning jobs.  Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto have everyday jobs spoken for, while Jeff McNeil will get at least a share of the left field playing time, with Keon Broxton and Juan Lagares serving as backup outfielders.

O’Rourke pitched quite well in camp while Santiago struggled, though in the end, the Mets chose to take neither left-hander on their Opening Day roster.  This will leave Justin Wilson and Luis Avilan (another minor league signing who is likely to make the team) as the southpaw options out of New York’s bullpen.

The Hechavarria news bodes well for Luis Guillorme’s chances of winning the utility infield job.  McNeil will also see some time in the infield mix when he isn’t playing left field, and J.D. Davis looks to be the team’s top option at third base for the time being.  Of course, the Mets’ infield situation will be in flux once Todd Frazier and Jed Lowrie are healthy.

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