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Twins Outright Chris Heston

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The Twins have outrighted right-hander Chris Heston, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press tweets. His roster spot will go to southpaw Adam Wilk, who is scheduled to take the hill tomorrow.

Heston, 29, only ended up making one appearance for Minnesota after being claimed off waivers from the Dodgers and opening the year with the Mariners. He has thrown just 11 total MLB frames since the start of 2016.

Before that, though, Heston turned in an interesting 2015 campaign with the Giants. Over 31 starts and 177 2/3 innings, he carried a 3.95 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9. (You may also recall that he recorded one of baseball’s more surprising no-hitters that year.)

Pirates Sign First-Rounder Shane Baz

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FRIDAY: Pittsburgh has announced the signing. Baz gets $4.1MM, just over the slot value, per Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via Twitter).

WEDNESDAY: The Pirates and No. 12 overall pick Shane Baz have agreed to terms, reports Mark Berman of Houston’s FOX 26 (Twitter links). Baz, a Houston-area native, tells Berman that the Pirates made an offer that he “can’t pass up,” calling it a “tough decision” to forgo his commitment to Texas Christian University.

Terms of the deal have yet to be reported, though Baz’s No. 12 slot comes with an assigned value of $4,032,000. The Pirates have a bonus pool of $10,135,900 and can go over that assigned slot value to sign Baz if they save money on other picks further down the draft board.

Baz ranked No. 11 on the pre-draft rankings of ESPN’s Keith Law, Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen and Baseball America. Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com pegged him as the draft’s No. 12 prospect. Considered the top prospect in the state of Texas, Baz draws praise for his mid-90s fastball that has already reached 98 mph. He also draws potential plus grades on a cutter, slider and curveball, with each of the listed scouting reports offering varying levels of praise. Baseball America, in particular, suggests that his secondary offerings create a lofty ceiling, writing that Baz “has the ingredients to surpass [Hunter] Greene going forward due to his more potent breaking pitches.”

The 6’3″, 190-pound Baz would’ve played both third base and pitched had he attended TCU — both BA and MLB.com reference his plus raw power — but he’ll focus on pitching now that he’s embarking on his pro career. He’s one of the younger prospects in the top echelon of the draft class, as he has yet to turn 18 years of age. Most of the above-linked reports agree that Baz still needs to refine his command and doesn’t yet feature enough deception in his delivery, though there’s potential for him to develop into a front-line starter down the road. He becomes the first of this year’s first-round draftees to agree to terms.

Rangers Designate Dillon Gee, Activate Tyson Ross, Option Jurickson Profar

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The Rangers announced that righty Dillon Gee was designated for assignment. The move was made to open a roster spot for Tyson Ross, who has been activated off of the 60-day DL to make his debut for the club.

Texas has announced a withering array of other moves as well. Former top prospect Jurickson Profar was optioned to Triple-A along with fellow utility option Ryan Rua, while righty Tony Barnette hit the DL with a sprained right ring finger. Those moves cleared space for the activation of Carlos Gomez and Mike Napoli, as well as the recall of southpaw Dario Alvarez.

Gee, 31, has helped Texas bridge the gap to Ross, who was signed after undergoing thoracic outlet surgery. The Rangers got 13 frames of 4.15 ERA pitching from Gee, though he didn’t inspire much confidence while on the hill. Gee allowed 17 hits and six walks while recording ten strikeouts during his stint.

Hopes are high for Ross, who was once a top-quality starter for the Padres. He’ll take the MLB mound for the first time since Opening Day of 2016, looking to make good on the $6MM commitment he received over the winter from the Rangers while also trying to set himself up for another foray into free agency.

Ross’s rehab had been slowed by lower-back tightness, which extended his DL stint past what had originally been anticipated. He also wasn’t very successful in four outings at Triple-A Round Rock, coughing up 16 earned runs on 23 hits with as many walks (11) as strikeouts through 18 2/3 innings.

Otherwise, the day’s maneuvering is most notable for the 24-year-old Profar. The former top prospect has struggled mightily this year, slashing an anemic .137/.279/.137 in 62 plate appearances. While his defensive versatility remains appealing, the ongoing failures at the plate have significantly clouded Profar’s future in Texas.

Victor Martinez Diagnosed With Irregular Heartbeat

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Veteran Tigers slugger Victor Martinez has been diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat, according to manager Brad Ausmus (via Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press, on Twitter). Martinez will be placed on the 10-day DL.

Martinez left last night’s game with symptoms of illness, though at the time there was no indication of a significant problem. He ended up requiring an overnight stay in the hospital, and Ausmus suggests that he may do so again tonight, as Evan Woodberry of MLive.com tweets.

Further details are not available at this time, and obviously the primary concern lies with the 38-year-old’s overall well-being. MLBTR extends its best wishes for a full and speedy recovery.

Nationals, Edwin Jackson Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Nationals have agreed to a minor league contract with right-hander Edwin Jackson, reports Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (via Twitter).  The 33-year-old Jackson, who is represented by the Legacy Agency, will report to Triple-A Syracuse for the time being.

This will mark the second tour of duty for Jackson with the Nationals, as he previously enjoyed a solid 2012 season as a member of the Nats’ rotation back in 2012. That year — the last in which he turned in quality results as a starter over the course of a full season — saw Jackson toss 189 1/3 innings with a 4.03 ERA, 8.0 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 47.4 percent ground-ball rate.

Jackson parlayed that season into an ill-fated four-year, $52MM contract with the Cubs, though he only made it through two and a half seasons in Chicago before being released. During the third season of that contract (2015), Jackson did manage to post a very respectable 3.07 ERA through 56 2/3 innings between the Cubs and Braves while working exclusively out of the bullpen. His secondary stats were a bit more questionable, however, and he wasn’t able to repeat that success in 2016 with the Padres.

The Nats will hope that Jackson can prove to have something left in the tank, possibly to help out a beleaguered bullpen that has been the club’s definitive Achilles heel all season.

Braves Sign Kyle Wright

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12:42pm: The Braves have now announced the signing. Heyman tweets that Wright’s bonus is exactly $7MM, which tops Kris Bryant ($6.7MM) as the largest bonus given under the current draft structure..

7:45am: The Braves have reached an agreement with No. 5 overall pick Kyle Wright, reports MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. The Vanderbilt right-hander will receive a bonus worth a bit more than $7MM, placing him well above the $5,707,300 value of his draft slot. FanRag’s Jon Heyman reported yesterday that the two sides were discussing a deal worth close to $7MM. Wright is represented by CAA.

Wright, at one point, was considered to be the likely first overall pick, but draft-day rumors suggested that the Twins had narrowed their choices to Royce Lewis and Brendan McKay, with Lewis ultimately going first. That allowed Wright to drop to the Braves with the fifth overall selection, giving Atlanta the opportunity to pick the player that they had ranked No. 1 on their board, according to scouting director Brian Bridges.

“It’s far-fetched when you get the guy who is still on the board who shouldn’t still be on the board who is advanced for his age,” Bridges said to Bowman. “He brings everything we want to see. He was definitely No. 1 on our board, so we feel really good about where we are.”

Wright was a consensus top five talent, per the pre-draft rankings of Baseball America, ESPN, MLB.com and Fangraphs. The 6’4″, 220-pound righty has drawn praise for a mid-90s fastball that he can run up to 97 mph — the best of his four-pitch mix. Wright is also said to have a curveball that ranges from above-average to plus as well as a slider and a changeup, both of which can be average or better big league offerings. He still has some work to do when it comes to consistently locating his pitches, but most scouting reports on him feel that he’ll ultimately have average or better command in the Majors as well.

Wright joins high school right-hander Shane Baz among first-round picks to reach agreements with their teams already just days after the draft. (Baz agreed to a deal with the Pirates yesterday.) The Braves will spend “approximately $8.7MM” between Wright and their second-round pick, Drew Waters, according to Bowman, which should mean that Waters will agree to a deal in the general vicinity of his $1.675MM slot value.

Trade Chatter: Pitching Market, Nats, Quintana, Rangers, Rox, A’s

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The market for starting pitchers has more question marks than certainties this summer, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports observes. Rosenthal runs down a number of potentially available arms, noting that injuries and/or significant contracts make many of them tough sells. Regarding Zack Greinke, Rosenthal notes that while his contract always made an in-season trade seem like a long shot, the fact that the D-backs are contending and are in current possession of a Wild Card spot all but eliminates the possibility that he’ll be traded this summer.

With the draft out of the way, trade talk should slowly begin to heat up in the coming weeks. Here are a few more items of potential interest…

  • FanRag’s Jon Heyman runs down a number of possible needs on clubs that are in contention, beginning with the Nationals. While there’s been much made of the team’s obvious need for bullpen help, Heyman suggests that the Nats won’t simply acquire a closer and consider their relief corps to be fixed. “We don’t need just one big reliever, we need two,” a Nationals source tells Heyman. One potentially available name on which the Nationals don’t appear to be especially keen, however, is closer A.J. Ramos of the division-rival Marlins. Heyman reports in his weekly National League roundup that Ramos is a ways down Washington’s list of potential targets.
  • On the American League side, Heyman focuses on the White Sox, who have quite a few interesting trade pieces, as recently examined by MLBTR’s Jeff Todd. He suggests that there are indications the Sox do intend to move lefty Jose Quintana this summer — and they don’t think they’ll need to accept a sub-par return despite his struggles so far. There’s some “belief” that Chicago could be hoping to draw interest in Quintana from the Dodgers, Heyman notes in the N.L. post. Meanwhile, the organization isn’t as interested in fielding offers for first baseman Jose Abreu, per the report.
  • Prior to trading designating Sam Dyson for assignment and trading him to the Giants, the Rangers also gave consideration to cutting right-hander Jeremy Jeffress loose, Heyman writes. However, Texas deemed Jeffress more likely to rebound from his struggles and kept him on the roster. I’d imagine that as was the case with Dyson, Jeffress would draw trade interest elsewhere based on his track record and 2016 success.
  • Nick Groke of the Denver Post fielded some Rockies trade questions in his latest chat with readers, noting that there’s virtually no chance that the Rockies would even consider moving top shortstop prospect Brendan Rodgers this summer. Groke does, however, feel that outfielder Raimel Tapia is a plausible trade chip. The 23-year-old outfielder entered the season widely ranked among baseball’s top 100 prospects and is hitting .286/.375/.357 through a small sample of 32 plate appearances in a limited role.
  • With the Athletics progressing into a youth movement, John Hickey of the San Jose Mercury News writes that top infield prospect Franklin Barreto likely isn’t far from getting his first big league promotion, though Hickey suggests that in order to create playing time for Barreto, Oakland would first have to trade Jed Lowrie. Hickey also notes that the A’s feel confident that Trevor Plouffe, who was designated for assignment yesterday to clear a spot for top third base prospect Matt Chapman, will catch on with another club. It’s not clear, though, if the A’s expect to trade him or are preparing to release the 31-year-old.

Jair Jurrjens Suspended 80 Games For Failed PED Test

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Veteran right-hander Jair Jurrjens, who was making a comeback attempt with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate, has been suspended for 80 games after testing positive for testosterone, the league announced yesterday. In a statement following the suspension, Jurrjens states that a prescribed substance that he’d been using to treat depression over the offseason is what triggered the positive test back in April. He had appealed the suspension, but that appeal has been denied.

Jurrjens, still just 31 years of age, hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2014 and has just 16 2/3 big league innings under his belt since the completion of the 2012 campaign. Once a promising prospect with the Tigers and then the Braves, Jurrjens finished third in the 2008 NL Rookie of the Year voting — the beginning of an excellent four-year run with Atlanta. From 2008-11, he pitched 674 2/3 innings with a 3.34 ERA, 6.3 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9, making the All-Star team in 2011. However, a series of knee injuries torpedoed that promising start to his career, and he’s bounced around the league on a handful of minor league deals since that time.

The Dodgers possess a sizable crop of pitching depth — as can be seen on their depth chart — so it might’ve been a long shot for Jurrjens to resurface in the Majors anyhow. He’s still young enough to latch on with a new organization this offseason and attempt to break camp on a Major League roster, though, and his statement suggests that he plans to continue to pursue a return once his suspension has been served.

Through 54 1/3 innings with Triple-A Oklahoma City this year, Jurrjens had pitched to a 4.64 ERA with 7.3 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 42.4 percent ground-ball rate.

Pitching Health Notes: Gray, ERod, Urias, MadBum, Chargois

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Rockies righty Jon Gray made his first rehab start, as Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports. He may need only one or two more minor league outings before rejoining the Colorado rotation, but holds out the promise of providing a significant boost upon his return. Likewise, southpaw Tyler Anderson is making his way back toward the big leagues, meaning the Rox will face some rotation questions in short order.

Here’s more on a few other pitching health matters from around the league:

  • It’s possible that the Red Sox may soon welcome back lefty Eduardo Rodriguez. per an update from manager John Farrell (h/t Peter Abraham of the Boston Glove; links to Twitter). Rodriguez was “ecstatic” after a 33-pitch pen session today, says Farrell, who indicated that the southpaw may be only one rehab start away from returning to the majors. That would surely be excellent news for Boston; Rodriguez’s knee issue seemed rather frightening when it arose, since he has dealt with significant problems in the joint in the past.
  • Likewise, the Dodgers got good news on young southpaw Julio Urias, as Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reports (Twitter links). While he’ll still be shut down until the soreness in his shoulder subsides, Urias did not exhibit any structural issues in an MRI.
  • With the Giants back in Colorado, the team is seeing continued progress from ace Madison Bumgarner, who is still recovering from the shoulder injury he suffered in an off-day dirtbiking accident during the team’s prior trip out to Denver. As John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets, Bumgarner is set to face live hitting on Sunday and report to the organization’s spring facility. After that, he’d only be a rehab assignment away from a return, though the club will undoubtedly exercise ample caution given the club’s unenviable position in the standings.
  • As the Twins continue to hold onto a surprising AL Central lead, despite one of the league’s worst bullpens, the front office is surely at least thinking of ways to bolster the MLB roster while also remaining mindful of the broader organizational mission. Unfortunately, the club seemingly won’t be able to call upon relief prospect J.T. Chargois, per Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN, who tweets that a “stress reaction on the outside of his elbow” will keep the young righty out for some time. The fireballer already missed significant time earlier in his career with elbow problems. Minnesota already lost out on another possible mid-season boost to the bullpen when Nick Burdi required Tommy John surgery earlier this year.

Angels To Sign First-Rounder Jo Adell

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The Angels have agreed to an at-slot, $4,376,800 bonus with tenth overall draft selection Jordon “Jo” Adell, according to Hudson Belinsky of Baseball America (via Twitter). Adell has already passed his physical, with the deal set to be made official in short order.

Adell, an outfielder out of Louisville’s Ballard High School, is said to possess eye-popping tools. But pundits split on his value as a draft prospect due to the uncertainty that scouts see in his game.

Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs joined the Baseball America prospect evaluators in ranking Adell as the seventh-best prospect available, citing his speed, power, and arm strength. But he has also shown plenty of glitches at times, and all acknowledge the risk. MLB.com (#21) and especially ESPN.com’s Keith Law (#50) were much more bearish on Adell’s outlook.

Clearly, the Halos will have a lot of work to do in developing Adell, who is also a notable prospect as a pitcher. While he won’t be expected to contribute in the majors for quite some time, Adell will become one of the top prospects in a weak Angels farm system from the moment he joins it.

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