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Minor MLB Transactions: 11/12/16

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league:

  • The Braves have signed catcher/first baseman David Freitas to a minor league contract, according to Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (Twitter link). Freitas spent last season with the Cubs, his fourth organization since Washington chose him in the 15th round of the 2010 draft. The 27-year-old hasn’t yet cracked the majors, but he has hit a solid .273/.361/.421 across seven seasons in the minors.
  • The Mariners have re-signed righty Ryan Cook to a minor league deal, writes MLB.com’s Greg Johns. Cook signed a one-year, $1.1MM deal with the M’s last offseason but never actually pitched for them, sitting out the season due to injury. He had Tommy John surgery last month and will miss the 2017 season as well. Cook has pitched parts of five seasons in the big leagues, pitching the majority of his innings with the Athletics, and has a career 3.43 ERA, 9.1 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9.
  • The Dodgers have signed lefty Patrick Schuster to a minor league deal, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy tweets. The 26-year-old struggled in 8 2/3 innings with the Athletics and Phillies in 2016, although he pitched well at the Triple-A level, where he had a 1.21 ERA, 9.3 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 and dominated fellow southpaws over 46 2/3 frames. The Phillies outrighted him at the end of the season.
  • The Padres have signed 31-year-old 1B/OF Jamie Romak to a minor league deal, Eddy tweets. Romak played sparingly for the Yokohama Bay Stars in Japan in 2016 and produced just a .113 batting average over 85 plate appearances, but he had been a reliable minor league slugger before that. He has 200 minor league home runs to his name, including 27 in a .284/.363/.549 season with Reno in 2015.

Jerry Dipoto, David Forst On Danny Valencia Trade

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The Mariners’ acquisition of utilityman Danny Valencia from the Athletics in exchange for right-hander Paul Blackburn is likely to end the Seattle tenures of two free agents – first baseman Dae-ho Lee and outfielder Franklin Gutierrez – general manager Jerry Dipoto revealed Saturday (via Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune).

“There’s very little likelihood that both (Valencia and Lee) will fit on the same roster,” Dipoto said. “I (also) don’t think we have to go out and focus on getting a right-handed-hitting outfielder just to have one.”

Valencia expects his role with the Mariners will be “to play first base, probably some right field,” which would make both Lee and Gutierrez superfluous to the club. All three are right-handed hitters, and barring more moves, Valencia is a strong candidate to complement lefty-swingers Dan Vogelbach at first base (previously Lee’s role with now-free agent Adam Lind) and Seth Smith in the outfield (fomerly Gutierrez’s job). Valencia seems likely to see most of his action at first, as Dipoto said Saturday that August acquisition Ben Gamel is slated to start in one outfield corner and Nelson Cruz and Guillermo Heredia will join Valencia in platooning with Smith. However, given that it’s so early in the offseason, Dipoto unsurprisingly isn’t ruling out further acquisitions.

“If we see a good fit, or the ability to go acquire a player who makes us better, we’re not going to hesitate. Valencia’s flexibility allows that,” he commented.

Oakland, having traded an outfielder in Valencia, will now look to strengthen the area, GM David Forst said in the wake of the trade (per Joe Stiglich of CSNBayArea.com).
“We need major league outfielders,” Forst stated. We have to be open to any means of acquiring, whether it’s free agents or trades. It’s certainly not our history to be aggressive at the top end of the free agent market, but we have money to spend and we have some good options. Mark Canha coming back will help fill this gap.”
Canha missed nearly all of 2016 with a hip injury, but he did slash a respectable .254/.315/.426 with 16 home runs and seven steals in a 485-plate appearance 2015 campaign. Oakland also has left fielder Khris Davis, who swatted 42 home runs this year, but the rest of its outfield class is decidedly less impressive. Current options include Brett Eibner, Matt Olson and Jake Smolinski, all of whom are coming off poor seasons. Valencia was far better than those three from an offensive standpoint this past season, though he’s defensively challenged and had clubhouse issues in Oakland. Forst spoke well of Valencia, but he didn’t think the team could pass on a chance to acquire Blackburn.
“He did a nice job in our lineup,” Forst said of Valencia. “This was about an opportunity to get a young starting pitcher we really like.”

Cubs’ Theo Epstein Discusses Offseason Plans

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Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein allocated up to $272MM to free agents Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist and John Lackey last winter. Now, a year later, the architect of the 2016 World Series champions expects a relatively quiet offseason.

[RELATED: Cubs Offseason Outlook]

“We made two offseasons worth of acquisitions last winter, two offseasons worth of spending,” Epstein told Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. “We were very open about that at the time, knowing this winter there wouldn’t quite be the same type of talent available to us.”

Epstein admitted, though, that a loss to the Indians in Game 7 of the World Series might have led to a “different kind of mindset.”

“Sometimes when you do win it, it can allow you to take a little bit of a deep breath and survey the landscape more objectively,” he said.

The Cubs have two high-profile free agents in center fielder Dexter Fowler, to whom they extended a $17.2MM qualifying offer last week, and closer Aroldis Chapman. If Fowler rejects the QO by Monday’s deadline and signs elsewhere on the open market, the Cubs will still have plenty of in-house outfield options in Heyward, Zobrist, Kyle Schwarber, Jorge Soler, Albert Almora and Matt Szczur. Heyward and Almora jump out as potential successors to Fowler in center, though the former has far more experience in right field and Epstein isn’t yet eager to hand the role to the latter. Instead, he’d add someone to “complement [Almora] and allow him to grow into the job” – likely a lefty-swinging center fielder, per Sullivan. As this year’s free agent list shows, center fielders who should come at modest prices and are either left-handed or switch-hitters include Jon Jay, Coco Crisp and Michael Bourn.  Picking up one of them (or anyone else) would further crowd the Cubs’ outfield, perhaps making a Soler trade even more probable than it appears now. Epstein remains bullish on the 24-year-old, but he isn’t ruling out moving him.

“We don’t have any untouchables, but I still think there’s a lot more in there offensively,” stated Epstein. “He hasn’t had the season yet where he has put it all together, hit 30 home runs and been a force in the middle of the lineup. But it’s so obviously in there. We’d like to see him reach his full potential with us, if possible.”

Soler looked like a star in the making late in the 2014 season, his first taste of major league action, when the Cuba native slashed .292/.330/.573 in 97 plate appearances. Soler has tumbled to earth since, having hit .253/.328/.413 in 668 PAs dating back to 2015, though he’s under control through 2020 and could tantalize outfielder-needy teams if Chicago shops him.

It’s possible the Cubs could acquire pitching in a Soler trade, either in the bullpen to help replace Chapman (general manager Jed Hoyer has indicated they’re not looking to spend big money on a reliever) or the rotation. Having declined Jason Hammel’s option last week, the Cubs might be in the market for starting help to complement an enviable top four of Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta, Kyle Hendricks and Lackey. For now, swingman/Game 7 World Series closer Mike Montgomery is the favorite to take over Hammel’s vacated fifth spot. Montgomery told MLB Network Radio earlier this week that he’ll enter spring training as a starter (Twitter link), but it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Cubs at least land more depth for their rotation – whether in a Soler deal or by other means.

Derek Holland Interested In Signing With Pirates

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Free agent starter Derek Holland is interested in signing with the Pirates, although the Bucs have not yet made Holland an offer, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. “I’d say the Pirates are on our short list,” says Holland’s agent, Michael Martini.

“We’d prefer a guaranteed spot, but Derek is not afraid to compete for a job,” says Martini. “We’ll see how the market develops, but we would be open to a one-year deal.”

The Pirates appear likely to hunt for low-cost rotation help, since their starting pitching options beyond Gerrit Cole (including Jameson Taillon, Chad Kuhl, Steven Brault, Drew Hutchison, Trevor Williams and top prospect Tyler Glasnow) are mostly very young. They have a reputation for fixing pitchers, and various hurlers (including J.A. Happ, Edinson Volquez and, later this winter, Ivan Nova) have cashed in, or will cash in, on the free agent market after pitching well in Pittsburgh.

Holland was once an important cog in the Rangers rotation, but missed most of the 2014 and 2015 seasons due to injury and struggled to a 4.95 ERA, 5.6 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 107 1/3 innings in 2016 while also experiencing decreased velocity. The Rangers declined his team option for 2017. Holland would appear to be a candidate for the Pirates to cheaply gamble on this winter if they feel they can help him recapture something resembling his 2011-13 prime, when he pitched nearly 600 innings with an ERA below four.

Mariners Acquire Danny Valencia From Athletics

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The Mariners have acquired Danny Valencia from the Athletics, Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan tweets. In exchange, Oakland will receive righty Paul Blackburn, tweets MLB.com’s Greg Johns.

[Related: Updated Seattle Mariners Depth Chart]

Danny ValenciaThe 32-year-old Valencia has hit well in each of the past two seasons, most recently posting a .287/.346/.446 line in 517 plate appearances with Oakland in 2016. He also logged substantial playing time at three positions (third base, first base and right field), giving him a bit of defensive versatility. He graded poorly at third, though, and got in a clubhouse altercation with Billy Butler that resulted in Butler heading to the 7-day concussion DL.

Butler was released soon after, and although the Athletics said Butler’s release was unrelated to the clubhouse fight, it seemed by season’s end that the A’s were looking to move on from Valencia. Youngster Ryon Healy received the bulk of the Athletics’ available playing time down the stretch at third base. It already looked possible the A’s could look outfield help this winter, and now it looks even more likely that they will.

Valencia has one more year of club control remaining before he’s eligible for free agency, and we project he’ll make $5.3MM next season. The Mariners obviously have a good third baseman in Kyle Seager, but Valencia could be a factor at first base and/or in the outfield. At first, his right-handed bat might pair well with that of lefty Dan Vogelbach.

The 22-year-old Blackburn, who arrived with Vogelbach in the Mike Montgomery deal in July, ranked as the Mariners’ 18th-best prospect, according to MLB.com. The Cubs made him the 56th overall pick in the draft in 2012. He throws sinkers in the low 90s and has what MLB.com describes as solid secondary stuff and a good feel for pitching, so perhaps he could profile as a back-of-the-rotation type in the big leagues. He produced a 3.27 ERA, 6.2 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 143 Double-A innings in 2016.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

5 Key Stories: 11/6/16 – 11/12/16

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Here are the five biggest stories here at MLBTR from the past week.

Braves reach deals with Bartolo Colon, R.A. Dickey. Several key veterans found new teams this week, and the Braves were perhaps the most active team in acquiring them, grabbing 40-something hurlers Colon and Dickey to eat innings for their 2017 staff. Colon will receive one year and $12.5MM, while Dickey will get $7.5MM for 2017, and $8MM or a $500K buyout for 2018. (The Braves got a veteran arm for their bullpen as well, signing injury-ravaged righty Jordan Walden to a minor league deal for a return engagement.)

"<strongPhillies deal for Howie Kendrick. The Dodgers shipped OF/2B/3B Howie Kendrick to the Phillies for the modest price of first baseman Darin Ruf and 2B/OF Darnell Sweeney. (It was the Dodgers’ second trade involving a veteran this week, as they also sent catcher Carlos Ruiz to Seattle for Vidal Nuno.) The rebuilding Phillies cited Kendrick’s versatility as a key to the deal — Kendrick’s ability to play multiple positions gives the team flexibility depending on which young players turn out to warrant regular playing time.

Blue Jays reach deal with Kendrys Morales. The Blue Jays, facing the potential departures of Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista and Michael Saunders, plugged one hole in their lineup Friday by agreeing to terms with veteran DH Kendrys Morales on a three-year, $33MM deal. (The Blue Jays made a second big move this week, signing heralded Cuban infield prospect Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to a seven-year, $22MM deal.)

Cubs decline Jason Hammel’s option. The Cubs made the somewhat surprising decision to pay Jason Hammel a $2MM buyout rather than exercising his $12MM option. Hammel, who pitched 166 2/3 solid innings in 2016, seemingly would have made a good trade chip at that price, but the Cubs said they preferred to let Hammel pick his next team rather than dealing him.

Rockies hire Bud Black. The Rockies replaced Walt Weiss at manager with Bud Black, entrusting the former pitcher, pitching coach and Padres manager to develop young arms like Jon Gray, Jeff Hoffman and Tyler Anderson.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Blue Jays Interested In Steve Pearce

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The Blue Jays have interest in free agent utilityman Steve Pearce, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. Pearce played DH, first base, second base and both outfield spots in 2016, also briefly appearing at third. Rosenthal notes, though, that the Jays could be interested in the right-handed Pearce (a career .269/.353/.499 hitter against lefties) as a platoon partner for Justin Smoak at first base. Pearce could also give the Jays insurance policies at a number of positions, given the potential departures of Edwin Encarnacion, Michael Saunders and Jose Bautista to free agency.

Pearce underwent forearm surgery in September, and his recovery time then was estimated to be four to six months. Any team signing him would surely have interest in how he’s progressing toward a return, since it appears there’s a possibility the injury could delay the start of his season. Even so, Pearce’s versatility and productive bat (he hit .288/.374/.492 in 2016 for the Rays and Orioles) would make him a solid complementary piece for many teams. MLBTR ranked Pearce the 42nd-best free agent available this winter, projecting he would receive two years and $10MM.

Brandon Phillips Increasingly Open To Waiving No-Trade Clause

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Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips has become more willing to waive his no-trade clause than he was last year, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports tweets. Phillips has full no-trade rights as a result of his 10-and-5 status, and he used those rights to seek an extension when the Reds tried to deal him to the Nationals last offseason. Talks between the two teams ended up fizzling.

It appears this offseason might play out differently. Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball wrote last month that the rebuilding Reds intended to let Phillips know about their desire to find more playing time for Jose Peraza, who played a variety of positions in a productive rookie season in 2016. It’s possible the prospect of receiving less playing time himself has caused Phillips to change his tune somewhat.

Phillips is now 35, but he would still make a reasonably attractive target for a team seeking second base help (including, speculatively, teams like the Angels, Dodgers and Mets). He batted .291/.320/.416 in a solid 2016 season (although defensive metrics indicate that his fielding has declined of late), and he only has one year and $14MM remaining on the extension he signed in 2012.

Braves Sign Jordan Walden To Minor League Deal

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The Braves have announced that they’ve signed righty Jordan Walden to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training. He will receive $1M if he’s in the Majors, plus a possible $2MM in incentives, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets.

The 28-year-old Walden had strong seasons in Atlanta in 2013 and 2014 before heading to St. Louis in the Jason Heyward/Shelby Miller deal two years ago. He managed just 10 1/3 big-league innings in two seasons with the Cardinals, however, before being undone by lat, shoulder and biceps issues. He was reportedly healthy coming into Spring Training this season, but he never ended up pitching competitively this year. The Cardinals recently declined his $5.25MM 2017 option, paying him a $250K buyout instead.

When healthy, Walden features a mid-90s fastball and a good slider, and he has a terrific 10.8 K/9 for his career, to go with a 3.00 ERA and 3.9 BB/9. Obviously, though, after two years of injury trouble, it remains to be seen how effective he’ll be once he returns.

Giants Sign Jose Dominguez To Minor League Deal

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The Giants have signed righty reliever Jose Dominguez to a minor league deal, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy tweets. Dominguez split his time between the Padres’ bullpen and that of Triple-A El Paso in 2016, posting a 5.05 ERA, 5.0 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 35 2/3 innings in the big leagues. He also struggled with his control at El Paso, with 25 walks in 35 2/3 innings there. He previously pitched for the Dodgers and Rays, heading from Los Angeles to Tampa Bay in the deal two years ago that sent Adam Liberatore and Joel Peralta to the Dodgers.

Despite his underwhelming numbers in 2016, the 26-year-old Dominguez will surely continue to get chances, since he throws extremely hard (reaching into the upper 90s with his fastball) and has a 90-MPH slider. He’ll provide the Giants with what would appear to be significant upside should he solve his control issues, although his chances of doing so are probably limited.

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