Wade Miley Diagnosed With Slight Groin Tear, Boone Logan With Triceps Strain
Saturday: Logan is expected to be out six weeks according to GM David Stearn, via a tweet from Haudricort. The timeline for Miley is thought to be two to four weeks.
Thursday, 4:41pm: Tom Haudricort of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets that while the Brewers are calling Boone’s injury a triceps strain, there’s “some concern” that it’s in the area of last season’s lat tear. More testing will be needed, but it’s “a DL situation in any event.”
Additionally, Haudricort adds that while Miley is not expected to go on the major league roster at this time, GM David Stearns is working with Miley’s agent to keep him in the organization.
10:38am: Two Brewers lefties have learned more about their injury situations, as MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy reports (Twitter links). Rotation candidate Wade Miley has been diagnosed with a slight groin tear, while reliever Boone Logan has a mild triceps strain.
There’s more than just an injury at play for Miley, who can opt out of his minors deal today if not added to the MLB roster. There’s also the matter of an upcoming $100K retention bonus for the Article XX(B) free agent. It’s not clear at this point how much time he’s expected to miss.
As McCalvy notes, it seems that Miley’s representatives will need to hash things out with the Brewers. The veteran hurler says he hopes to remain with the organization after a solid showing this spring. It had been expected that he would crack the rotation to open the season. His existing deal would promise him $2.5MM with as much as $3.2MM more via incentives in the majors.
As for Logan, who inked a $2.5MM guaranteed contract over the winter, the timeline is also yet to be determined. He generally expressed optimism that the injury will not be a significant one, though skipper Craig Counsell tells reporters (including Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel; Twitter link) that Logan will be on the DL to open the season.
The news, particularly with regard to Miley, creates some added questions for a Milwaukee staff that has been the subject of much debate all winter long. Many have wondered why the organization has not pursued further rotation help, while the club has indicated optimism with the unit on hand. Junior Guerra now seems to be in good shape to crack the rotation, while pitchers such as Brent Suter, Brandon Woodruff, and perhaps veteran Yovani Gallardo now have additional opportunity to sneak into the Opening Day starting five — assuming, at least, that the Brewers don’t take another look at outside possibilities.
Article XX(B) Free Agents Update: Saturday
Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement contains a provision that allows certain free agents who are signed to minor league contracts to receive a $100K retention bonus if they are not on the team’s 25-man roster or the Major League disabled list five days prior to the season.
Free agents who qualify for this distinction are those who have at least six years of Major League service time and had a Major League contract expire at the end of the previous season, but signed a minor league deal ten or more days prior to Opening Day.
The deadline for teams to decide on these players is today at 11am central time. By the deadline, teams with these players in camp need to decide whether to:
- Add the player to their 25-man roster or Major League disabled list (or agree to do so in writing).
- Pay the player a $100K retention bonus to keep him in the organization beyond the deadline and send him to the minors.
- Grant the player his outright release from the minor league contract so that he may pursue opportunities with other teams.
We’ll use this post to keep track of the Article XX(B) free agents whose respective teams have elected option one or two; in other words, players who won’t be released for the time being. The most recent updates are on top.
- Miguel Montero has been informed that he’ll make the Nationals as the club’s backup catcher, according to Jamal Collier of MLB.com. He’ll earn a $1.3MM base salary, as outlined in the details of the pact he signed with the club on February 1st. Montero beat out young backstop Pedro Severino in a camp battle for the role.
Earlier…
- Right-handed reliever Fernando Salas will make the Diamondbacks’ opening day roster, Zach Buchanan of The Athletic reports. He’ll join a relief crew that seems somewhat thin behind Archie Bradley, Brad Boxberger and Yoshihisa Hirano. The 32-year-old pitched to a 5.22 ERA across 58 2/3 relief innings last season between the Mets and the Angels. In a related move, the team has designated Rule 5 pick Albert Suarez.
- Indians manager Terry Francona announced today that reliever Matt Belisle will be the seventh member of the club’s opening day bullpen (hat tip to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com). Belisle had been competing with Carlos Torres for the final relief job; he pitched to a 4.03 ERA while saving 9 games for the Twins last season.
- Danny Valencia has been added to the Orioles’ roster, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun tweets. Valencia stated a while back that he had no plans to go to the minors if he didn’t make the big league club, so adding the corner infield to their roster was Baltimore’s only path to retaining him. He’ll prove a right-handed-hitting complement to first baseman Chris Davis.
- The Reds have informed middle infielder Cliff Pennington that he’ll make the major league club, John Fayman of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports via Twitter. He’ll serve as a bench player for a rebuilding Cincinnati club while top prospect Nick Senzel gets more seasoning at the Triple-A level. Pennington hit .253/.306/.330 for the Angels last year.
Blue Jays Release Craig Breslow, Outright Matt Dermody
Left-hander Craig Breslow has been granted his unconditional release by the Blue Jays, per a club announcement. The club has also outrighted fellow southpaw Matt Dermody to Triple-A Buffalo.
During Breslow’s best years, he was an incredibly effective lefty reliever. He never had a fantastic strikeout ability, but he had a penchant for limiting hard contact; a skill which seemed to help him outperform his peripherals virtually every year. That includes a 2013 season during which he managed to post a 1.81 ERA across 59 2/3 innings out of the Red Sox bullpen despite striking out just 4.98 batters per nine innings.
Recent years haven’t been as kind to Breslow, though. After playing below replacement level in 2014 and 2015, he only earned a spot on the mound 15 times during the 2016 campaign. He posted an ERA north of 5.00 and a WHIP north of 1.50 in 35 1/3 innings last season between the Twins and Indians, and spent time on the DL with what was described as rib cage soreness. He allowed five runs in 7 1/3 spring innings, and will cede a chance at a roster spot to the other non-roster invites still in camp.
Dermody, 27, was a late-round pick of the Jays back in 2013. He’s made 28 appearances out of Toronto’s bullpen between the 2016 and 2017 seasons, tossing 25 1/3 innings of 5.33 ERA baseball. While he’s not particularly good at striking batters out (7.11 career K/9), he’s generally proved effective at limiting walks (1.78 career BB/9), and should be able to help the Jays at some point this season.
Indians Release Carlos Torres
The Indians have granted right-hander Carlos Torres his unconditional release, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com tweets.
Over the past four seasons, only Dellin Betances has topped Torres’ 304 2/3 relief innings. In other words, he’s been a reliable workhorse out of the bullpen for the Mets and Brewers during that time. However, he was informed today that he won’t make the Tribe’s bullpen, as the seventh spot will go to fellow right-hander Matt Belisle.
Torres owns a 4.00 ERA and 7.88 K/9 at the major league level, most of that coming in relief. Last season, however, his K/9 figure dropped below 7.00 for the first time since his rookie season, and his walk rate ballooned to 4.06 per nine. While his 4.21 ERA doesn’t seem disastrous, ERA estimators such as FIP, xFIP and SIERA suggest that his true talent was close to that of a 5.00 ERA pitcher.
Diamondbacks Acquire Deven Marrero
The Diamondbacks announced that they’ve acquired infielder Deven Marrero from the Red Sox in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Marrero was out of minor league options.
A former first-round pick by Boston, Marrero hasn’t been able to live up to his pre-draft billing. The 27-year-old righty hitter owns a career slash line of just .208/.259/.309, earning just 258 plate appearances at the big league level across the past three seasons. He’s struck out well over 30% of the time during that span.
Even in the upper minors, Marrero hasn’t shown a whole lot of promise. He hit .240/.266/.361 at Tripe-A Pawtucket last seasons with a meager 3.1% walk rate and a wRC+ of just 69. Only once in the minors has he managed to exceed a .375 slugging percentage, and though he managed to steal at least 25 bases in each of his first two minor league seasons, that hasn’t translated to the upper minors or at the MLB level.
The Sox have played Marrero at second base, shortstop and third base throughout his major league career, but the club had no real need to hold onto both him and fellow utilityman Brock Holt. The Diamondbacks, however, were in need of an outfielder following a recent pectoral injury to Steven Souza Jr., and with a particular urgency since they’re rumored to be considering optioning outfielder Yasmany Tomas to the minors. While Marrero has no experience in the outfield, his presence on the roster should allow Chris Owings to shift to the outfield for the time being.
Twins Claim Kennys Vargas
The Twins have claimed Kennys Vargas off waivers from the Reds, says Dan Hayes of The Athletic. The Reds had claimed the first base/DH type off waivers from the Twins just two days ago, but it’s possible that they designated him in order to make room for infielder Cliff Pennington, who was added to the roster just earlier today, and possibly reliever Kevin Quackenbush.
The intriguing transaction puts Vargas right back with the organization with whom he’d spent his entire career up until Thursday. As MLBTR’s Jeff Todd noted at that time, it was difficult to see how Vargas would make Cincinnati’s roster, since he’s out of options and can only play first base (where Joey Votto will be firmly entrenched on a daily basis). Though he’d have made an interesting pinch-hitting option, it seemed as though the Reds might be able to use the roster spot more efficiently.
Still, it seems as though many around the league believe there to be some upside for the 27-year-old Vargas, who hit .253/.314/.444 last season. He has some reasonable power upside; Vargas homered 10 times and made hard contact at a 41.7% clip in 177 plate appearances during the 2016 campaign. He also owns a walk rate over 15% in his career at the Triple-A level, though the Twins are still waiting for that to translate to the MLB level at which he owns a .311 career OBP.
Phillies Release Francisco Rodriguez
The Phillies have released Francisco Rodriguez from his minor-league contract, according to the club’s media account on Twitter. “K-Rod” would’ve earned a $2.5MM salary if he made the club out of spring training.
The 36-year-old righty reliever has a storied career as a closer. He’s got 437 saves notched into his legacy, including a whopping 62 during his 2008 campaign with the Angels. That puts him fourth on the list of all-time saves leaders in baseball history. He’s also played for the Mets, Orioles and Tigers during his 16 MLB seasons. The righty owns a sterling 2.86 lifetime ERA and 10.53 K/9.
Last season with the Tigers, however, wasn’t reflective of prime K-Rod. He struggled to a disastrous 7.82 ERA, leading to his June release. In camp this spring, Rodriguez put up a 5.40 ERA with five strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings. However, he’s just a season removed from a 2016 campaign during which he accumulated 44 saves for the Tigers while pitching to a 3.24 ERA.
Rangers Release Bartolo Colon
The Rangers have released Bartolo Colon from his minor-league contract, TR Sullivan of MLB.com reports. Colon was in camp competing for a starter or long relief job, but evidently his performance this spring didn’t convince the club to add him to the MLB roster at this time. However, Sullivan reports in a separate tweet that the Rangers are interested in trying to keep Colon around for Triple-A depth, and that the two sides are still discussing a way to make that happen.
Cole Hamels, Matt Moore, Doug Fister and Mike Minor were already locks to make the club’s rotation, so Colon had to beat out a lot of competition (including Tim Lincecum and Jesse Chavez) in order to win the final job. However, with Martin Perez expected to return on April 5th, the club wouldn’t seem to have an immediate need for the 44-year-old Colon.
Colon has seen playing time in parts of 20 MLB campaigns, including a Cy Young-winning 2005. Though he sat out 2010 (which would have been his age-36 season) due to shoulder damage, a stem-cell treatment revived his career and helped him post at least 2.4 fWAR in six consecutive seasons. A 6.48 ERA showing last year caused him to settle for a minor-league deal, but as a fan favorite, “Big Sexy” would still seem to have a shot at cracking the Rangers’ rotation at some point this season if he indeed agrees to start the year at Triple-A Round Rock.
Royals Release Michael Saunders, Ricky Nolasco
Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com tweets that the Royals have elected to release outfielder Michael Saunders and right-hander Ricky Nolasco from their respective minor-league contracts.
The Royals will become the second team to release the 31-year-old Saunders this offseason, as the Pirates did so earlier in the winter after acquiring Corey Dickerson from the Rays. Saunders hit just .202/.256/.344 last season across 234 plate appearances between the Phillies and Blue Jays. He was in camp competing with some other non-roster invitees a chance to play some outfield for the Royals, but even a .356 on-base percentage during spring training apparently wasn’t enough wipe injury and production concerns from the minds of the club’s front office.
As for Nolasco, he allowed eight earned runs in just 3 2/3 innings this spring, and has long been an average starter at best. Though he’s managed to throw at least 180 innings in each of the past two seasons (which would seem to present some appeal to a rebuilding Royals club), he sports a 4.66 ERA during that span with just 6.82 strikeouts per nine. Entering his age-35 season, Kansas City evidently didn’t see enough upside to pay Nolasco the $1.5MM he was promised if he made the major league roster.
Nationals Release Ryan Raburn
According to Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post, Ryan Raburn was seen shaking hands with teammates and walking out of the clubhouse with a duffel bag. This likely means that the Nationals have elected to release him rather than add him to the major league roster or pay him a $100K retention bonus.
Washington re-signed Raburn to a minor-league pact after he hit .262/.304/.431 last year across 69 plate appearances. He logged just 69 plate appearances due to a strained trapezius in his age-36 season while playing average defense in the outfield.
Used largely in a platoon capacity as a lefty-crusher over the past six seasons, Raburn has managed a wRC+ as high as 153 (with the Indians in 2015) while being mostly shielded against right-handers. Raburn had told his teammates he was likely to retire if he didn’t make the team, so a .080/.179/.259 showing in camp has likely put a fork in a career as a slugger that struck fear in the hearts of opposing left-handed pitchers.