Minor MLB Transactions: 2/16/18
We’ll use this post to cover the day’s minor moves:
- The Dodgers have added lefty Cesar Ramos on a minors deal, per SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). The 33-year-old won’t receive a MLB camp invite. Ramos worked to a 4.00 ERA in 92 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level last year with the Phillies organization. That represented the first season in which he hadn’t cracked the majors since he first reached the bigs in 2009. Ramos carries a lifetime 4.02 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 346 2/3 MLB innings, most of them coming as a reliever. He has typically been fairly stingy against opposing lefty hitters, who carry a .245/.314/.339 overall batting line against him.
Miami-Dade County To Sue Jeffrey Loria, Marlins
8:50pm: The Marlins issued a statement to Hanks indicating that the purchase agreement included language protecting the new ownership group from claims relating to the stadium agreement. “This claim has absolutely nothing to do with the [current] ownership group,” the organization says.
6:31pm: Miami-Dade County is suing the Marlins, the former ownership group led by Jeffrey Loria,and the team’s current ownership group, according to a report from Doug Hanks of the Miami Herald. The litigation will address a dispute that has arisen over the municipality’s rights to a share of profits from the sale of the organization that was wrapped up last fall.
Details of the suit are still somewhat sparse at this time. But the general parameters of the matter were laid out by Hanks a few weeks back and are touched upon in the above-linked post. The county claims “fuzzy math” was utilized to prevent it from recouping a share of the sale profits.
Generally, of course, a local government would not have a direct claim to the proceeds of the sale of a sports franchise. But Miami-Dade County forked over hundreds of millions of dollars to enable the construction of Marlins Park. As part of the 2009 agreement that led to the new stadium, the county (along with the city of Miami) is entitled to a five percent share of certain profits from the franchise sale. Loria now claims that the $1.2B sale did not leave him with any profits within the terms of the contract.
It’ll surely be interesting to see how this litigation plays out. The current ownership group (led by Derek Jeter and Bruce Sherman) will necessarily be involved, given that it now owns the entity that inked the original contracts, though its potential exposure to liability is not clear at this point. While it’s always possible that things could end up being settled out, the discovery process could lead to the airing of quite a lot of fascinating information regarding the Marlins’ finances. That possibility, no doubt, will also play a role in how things shake out.
Whether or not the team will be impacted moving forward, the suit also promises to be of quite some relevance to the ongoing debate over the public financing of stadiums. The Marlins Park episode has long been cited by opponents as a prime example of the harms the public can suffer when municipalities pay for the facilities utilized by sports teams.
Twins To Sign Anibal Sanchez
8:19pm: Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press has some further details on how the contract works. Essentially, it’s structured like a non-guaranteed arbitration deal. Sanchez would receive about $410K if cut loose on or before the 16th day of camp or around $615K if he makes it past the first date but is then released before March 29th.
4:31pm: The Twins have reportedly reached agreement on a split MLB contract with veteran righty Anibal Sanchez. He can earn $2.5MM if he makes the roster out of camp but is guaranteed only $500K in the deal, which also includes up to $2.5MM in incentives.
Soon to turn 34, Sanchez is coming off of a dreadful three-year run with the Tigers. He produced in the first two seasons after signing with Detroit, but has limped to a 5.67 ERA in the 415 2/3 innings since the start of 2015.
Given the struggles, it came as no surprise when the Tigers paid Sanchez a $5MM buyout rather than picking up his 2018 option at a $16MM price tag. At that time, it seemed questionable at best whether the veteran would even merit a major league contract. After all, despite Sanchez’s excellent track record — he carried a 3.53 ERA through his first 1,177 MLB innings — it has been some time since he has been consistently effective.
In particular, the long ball has become a persistent problem. Compared with his better, prior campaigns, Sanchez has both allowed more flyballs and given up more dingers on the balls that have gone skyward off of opponents’ bats. The issues reached an apex in 2017, wen he coughed up 2.22 HR/9 on a 19.3% HR/FB rate. Sanchez also permitted hard contact at a career-high 37.4% rate.
On the positive side, Sanchez has continued to post solid strikeout and walk numbers. He maintained a typical 9.8% swinging-strike rate in 2017 and finished with 8.9 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9. Those levels hardly stand out in this age of whiffs, but do suggest he could be effective if he can regain control over the batted-ball outcomes.
Sanchez was tagged for a .354 BABIP. While the volume of hard contact suggests that may have been deserved to an extent, Statcast numbers suggest there was some poor fortune. The veteran permitted a .386 wOBA but carried a .332 xwOBA, making for a rather massive spread.
Given the nature of the contract, Sanchez is hardly guaranteed a rotation spot. And though the addition changes the depth picture, it doesn’t seem that it’ll prevent the organization from pursuing a more significant starter, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN notes on Twitter.
Jon Heyman of Fan Rag reported the agreement (Twitter links). Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN first noted the connection on Twitter and added additional details on Twitter. MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger reported that the deal was not guaranteed (via Twitter).
Mike Rizzo Says He Is “Confident” He Will Reach New Deal With Nationals
Nationals president of baseball operations and general manager Mike Rizzo addressed his contract situation today. As Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post reports, the veteran executive gave the clearest indication yet that he anticipates remaining in his position beyond the present season.
“I’ve had a couple conversations with ownership about my contract,” said Rizzo, who noted that an agreement has yet to be struck. “I’ve been here for 12 years. With the trust that we’ve developed over the years, I feel confident that we should get something done.”
Rizzo is entering the final year of the deal he signed with the team in the middle of the 2013 season. He has been with the organization since 2006 and has sat atop the baseball ops hierarchy since 2009.
It is difficult to argue with Rizzo’s track record. The rosters he has constructed have taken four of the past six NL East titles. Of course, the Nats also have lost all four ensuing divisional series in heartbreaking fashion. Those postseason disappointments have helped to create quite some churn in the field manager role, but Rizzo has remained a constant — and with good reason, given his track record of engineering a sustained winner.
While it has long seemed from the outside that Rizzo enjoys the trust of the organization’s ownership, led by the Lerner family, his future had seemed less certain than ever during the current offseason. When asked about his contract status in November, Rizzo said he had yet to discuss it and would not be the one to broach the subject.
Rizzo’s most recent comments, though, clearly paint a different picture as camp gets underway. The notoriously tight-lipped executive, who has always negotiated his own contracts, not only made clear that he had been engaged in discussions but strongly suggested that a new deal ought to be anticipated.
Padres Claim Rowan Wick
The Padres have claimed right-hander Rowan Wick off waivers from the Cardinals, reports Dennis Lin of The Athletic (on Twitter). Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch had first reported that Wick, who was designated for assignment when the Cards signed Bud Norris, had been claimed by an unknown team (Twitter link).
Wick, 25, was drafted as a catcher and moved to the outfield before ultimately transitioning to the mound on a full-time basis in 2016. As one might expect, then, his body of work as a reliever in the minors is rather limited, but he’s shown some positive trends. This past season he split the year between the Gulf Coast League, Double-A and Triple-A, working to a combined 3.19 ERA with 42 strikeouts in 42 1/3 innings. Wick also issued 19 walks, hit two batters, balked twice and uncorked a pair of wild pitches, so he still seems somewhat raw on the mound.
The Padres aren’t strangers to the notion of trying to convert a position player into a pitcher, though, having gone through the process (albeit unsuccessfully) with former top catching prospect Christian Bethancourt in recent years. San Diego had an open spot on the 40-man roster, so a corresponding move from the Friars won’t be necessary to accommodate the addition of Wick.
Rangers Sign Edinson Volquez To Two-Year Minor League Contract
The Rangers announced on Friday that they’ve signed right-hander Edinson Volquez to a minor league contract that contains invitations to Major League Spring Training for both the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Volquez underwent Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career late in the 2017 season and won’t pitch in the 2018 campaign.
The two-year minor league deal, though, will give him a year to acclimate to the Rangers’ medical staff and rehab/training facilities with an eye toward returning to the Majors on their 2019 roster. SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets that Volquez would earn a $2MM salary in 2019 if he makes the roster and has another $4.5MM worth of incentives in the contract’s second season. Volquez is represented by Wasserman.
The signing represents a homecoming for Volquez, who signed his first professional contract with the Rangers as an 18-year-old amateur back in 2001. Now 34 years of age, Volquez will still earn a $13MM salary this season as part of the two-year, $22MM pact he signed with the Marlins last offseason. Miami is still on the hook for the full $13MM after releasing him last year.
After a rough second season in a two-year deal with the Royals (2015-16), Volquez looked to be on his way to rebounding with a solid 2017 effort this past season. His masterful 10-strikeout no-hitter against a potent D-backs lineup was one of the highlights of the Marlins’ season and of his 13-year big league career. Overall, Volquez worked to a 4.19 ERA with 7.9 K/9, 5.2 BB/9, 0.78 HR/9 and a 45.8 percent ground-ball rate in 92 1/3 innings.
Unfortunately for both Volquez and the Marlins, he incurred a knee injury in July that sidelined him into August, and, upon working his way back from that malady, suffered a torn UCL that necessitated the TJ procedure.
It’ll be a long road back to the Majors for Volquez, though by the time Spring Training 2019 rolls around, he’ll be nearly 18 months removed from surgery, so he should be plenty strong at that point. There’s little downside in the deal for Texas, as the only thing they’re guaranteeing him is resources for his rehabilitation as he works back toward a potential return to the big leagues.
Royals Win Arbitration Hearing Against Brandon Maurer
The Royals have won their arbitration hearing against right-hander Brandon Maurer, tweets FanRag’s Jon Heyman. He’ll earn a $2.95MM salary as opposed to the $3.5MM sought by Maurer and his agents at Frye McCann Sports (link to MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker). Maurer still takes home a raise of $1.05MM in his second trip through the arbitration process, and he can be controlled through 2019 before reaching free agency.
The 27-year-old Maurer was facing an uphill battle in an arbitration hearing, given the 6.52 ERA he sported on the season — including an 8.10 mark with the Royals after being traded over from the Padres. However, the arbitration process rewards saves and holds, and Maurer did lock down 22 saves while serving as the Padres’ closer in addition to six holds on the year. He also remained healthy, taking the ball in 68 games, and he averaged roughly a strikeout per inning as well. All of those components were undoubtedly considered by the arbitration panel, but ultimately Maurer’s run-prevention numbers appear to have been too much to overcome.
That said, there’s reason for optimism and a turnaround in 2018. Maurer’s 59-to-19 K/BB ratio in 59 1/3 innings was strong, he averaged 96.6 mph on his fastball, and he was plagued both by a bloated BABIP (.361) and an abnormally low strand rate (61.1 percent). Maurer has long had problems in stranding runners, but the 2017 season was an extreme case even by his standards. Clearly, the Royals believe there’s a decent chance for him to right the ship as well, or they could have simply non-tendered him in December or found a trade partner for him in recent months.
Maurer will return to a bullpen that has had its share of turnover this offseason, as Joakim Soria, Scott Alexander and Ryan Buchter have all been traded elsewhere. Closer Kelvin Herrera remains a trade candidate even as Spring Training gets underway, though perhaps the Royals would prefer to see him rebuild some value and shop him this summer, considering his lackluster 2017 campaign.
Who will fill in the relief ranks behind Herrera and Maurer is almost impossible to determine with any certainty at this juncture. Candidates include Wily Peralta, Jesse Hahn, Brian Flynn, Kevin McCarthy and Rule 5 picks Burch Smith and Brad Keller, in addition to non-roster veterans Blaine Boyer and Seth Maness.
Marlins Win Arbitration Hearing Over Dan Straily
The Marlins won their arbitration hearing over right-hander Dan Straily, tweets FanRag’s Jon Heyman. He’ll earn the $3.375MM sum submitted by the team rather than the $3.55MM salary that he and his agents at Sosnick, Cobbe & Karon filed (as can be seen in MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker). Straily will still earn the first seven-figure salary of his career with today’s ruling, though, as he earned $552K last year in his final pre-arbitration season. Straily is under team control through the 2020 season.
Straily, 29, started 33 games for the Marlins in 2017, working to a 4.26 ERA with 8.4 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, 1.54 HR/9 and a 34.2 percent ground-ball rate in 181 2/3 innings. Straily found himself at the center of plenty of trade rumors last summer as the Marlins underperformed, and again this offseason, but for the time being it looks like he’ll return to Miami for a second season there. (The Marlins young righty Luis Castillo to Cincinnati to acquire him last offseason in a swap that now looks regrettable, even with Straily’s solid ’17 showing.)
As it stands, Straily will return to Miami as the top starter in a largely unsettled group. Right-hander Jose Urena will join him in the rotation, and the Marlins are reportedly planning to stretch out lefty Jarlin Garcia as a starter this year as well. Other rotation options include Adam Conley, Odrisamer Despaigne, Justin Nicolino, Caleb Smith, Dillon Peters and Sandy Alcantara.
Even if the Fish hang onto Straily through the entirety of Spring Training, his name figures to once again surface in trade talks this summer; the Marlins aren’t going to compete for a division title or a Wild Card spot in 2018, barring something miraculous, and a healthy Straily will garner robust levels of interest from contending clubs that are searching for a stabilizing presence in the middle of their rotations.
Cubs Sign Shae Simmons
Feb. 16: The Cubs have formally announced the signing of Simmons to a one-year, split Major League contract. He’s been placed on the 40-man roster, with left-hander Drew Smyly (recovering from Tommy John surgery) moving to the 60-day DL to create a roster spot.
Feb. 14: The Cubs have signed righty Shae Simmons to a split contract, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (Twitter links). The deal will pay Simmons $750K if he cracks Chicago’s Major League roster, and $120K if he remains in the minors. The contract will be official once Simmons passes a physical, according to MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat.
That last detail is an important one given how Simmons has been plagued by injuries for the better part of three years. Simmons looked good as a hard-throwing rookie with the Braves in 2014 but then underwent Tommy John surgery in February 2015. Beyond just the usual 12-15 month recovery timeline for that procedure, Simmons’ return by halted by a variety of injury setbacks, and then further halted by a forearm strain that kept him out of action for a large chunk of the 2017 season. Over the last two seasons, Simmons has tossed only 14 1/3 total innings.
The Mariners acquired Simmons and Mallex Smith for Luiz Gohara and lefty prospect Thomas Burrows in January 2017, though Simmons’ forearm problems kept him from developing into any sort of a real weapon out of Seattle’s bullpen. The M’s non-tendered Simmons last December, ending his tenure with the team after just 7 2/3 innings and a 7.04 ERA.
Despite the injuries and the control problems that have plagued Simmons throughout his career, the Cubs have little to lose in taking a flier on the 27-year-old. Simmons has shown flashes of dominance when healthy, including some dominant numbers (2.06 ERA, 12.6 K/9) over 131 1/3 career minor league frames.
Free Agent Rumors: Lincecum, Hosmer, Siegrist, Tillman, Mets
Tim Lincecum worked out for between 15 and 20 teams yesterday, per a pair of reports from Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times and Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Both reports peg Lincecum’s fastball between 90 and 92 mph at the showcase, with Feinsand noting that he touched 93 mph at one point and Divish specifying that the pitch sat in the 91 mph range for the most part. (His fastball sat 87.7 mph with the Angels in 2016 and 87.2 mph with the Giants in 2015.) Divish spoke to an NL scout who stated that Lincecum showed “a better shape and bite to his curveball than in past years” and a better changeup, though he also suggested that the two-time Cy Young winner currently lacks a true out pitch. Feinsand notes that Lincecum didn’t personally meet with any scouts or team executives before or after the showcase yesterday, adding that he “took awhile to get warmed up,” which wouldn’t be ideal for teams interested in him as a reliever.
Both reports suggest, though, that Lincecum should have no trouble finding a big league invite to Spring Training based on yesterday’s results.
Some more free agent chatter from around the league as the weekend approaches…
- The Padres‘ personnel department has “fallen in love” with Eric Hosmer, writes Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. San Diego continues to maintain serious interest in adding Hosmer’s bat and leadership skills to its emerging core of young players — so much so that two sources indicated to Acee that the team would forgo making a big splash in next year’s free agent crop if it meant signing Hosmer this winter. Part of that likely stems from their interest in Hosmer, while some of the thinking is likely also attributable to the fact that more traditional big spenders like the Dodgers, Yankees and Red Sox (as well as possibly the Rangers and Giants) will be more aggressive next winter. It’s difficult, after all, to envision the Friars topping any of those deep-pocketed clubs in a bidding war.
- Lincecum wasn’t the only pitcher to host a showcase on Thursday; ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports (via Twitter) that left-hander Kevin Siegrist pitched for a crowd of about 20 scouts in Florida yesterday in an effort to show that he’s healthy after a poor, injury-marred 2017 season. The 28-year-old Siegrist posted sub-3.00 ERAs with the Cardinals in 2015-16 before struggling to a 4.81 ERA last year in season during which he logged DL time for both a forearm issue and a spinal sprain. Siegrist averaged a career-worst 5.03 walks per nine innings pitched last season, and his 92 mph average fastball was down noticeably from his peak, when his heater averaged 93.7 mph. Any club that signs Siegrist for the 2018 season could control him through 2019 via arbitration, as he presently has four years, 116 days of MLB service time.
- Free-agent righty Chris Tillman had multiple offers in hand as of yesterday afternoon, per MLB.com’s Britt Ghiroli (Twitter link), though the Orioles had not yet made him a formal offer to return at that point. Baltimore has been linked to Tillman, its longtime top starter, throughout the offseason. The Orioles still have a pair of open rotation spots even after signing Andrew Cashner to a two-year contract. Tillman, 30 in April, turned in a catastrophic 7.84 ERA in 93 innings last year in a season that was largely derailed by shoulder injuries. He’s also been linked to the Twins, Blue Jays and Phillies over the past month or so, although the Jays may be off the table now after signing Jaime Garcia to a one-year deal yesterday.
- The Mets had interest in Jaime Garcia before he signed with Toronto on Thursday, per Mike Puma of the New York Post. The Mets are focusing their efforts on adding a starter that won’t come with draft/international forfeitures (i.e. Alex Cobb, Lance Lynn, Jake Arrieta). Puma reported yesterday that Jason Vargas remains on the Mets’ list of targets, noting that he was briefly with the organization back in 2007-08 and has spent the past four seasons working with new Mets pitching coach Dave Eiland, who formerly held that same position with the Royals.