Blue Jays Reportedly Release Mat Latos
The Blue Jays have released right-hander Mat Latos from their Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo earlier this week, according to Buffalo broadcaster Ben Wagner (Twitter link). The team has yet to formally announce the move.
The 29-year-old Latos inked a minor league deal with Toronto this offseason and has made three starts for the big league club this season, allowing a total of 11 runs on 19 hits and eight walks with 10 strikeouts in 15 innings. Latos has posted a more favorable 3.80 ERA with a 24-to-13 K/BB ratio in 26 innings with Toronto’s Triple-A affiliate. While a number of players have opt-out provisions in their contract this time of year, Wagner specified in a second tweet that Latos’ release was a team decision.
It’s been a struggle for Latos over the past two-plus seasons, as he now owns a 5.05 ERA in his past 201 1/3 innings. Injuries, beginning with left knee surgery in 2014, have played a role in his decline, as has the fact that his velocity has dipped from the 93-94 mph range to the 90-91 mph range. Latos, who has spent time with the Marlins, Dodgers, Angels, White Sox, Nationals and Jays over the past three years, will now look to join a rather remarkable seventh organization since Opening Day 2015.
Opt-Out Notes: Alvarez, Frieri, Jackson
June 1 is a popular day for minor league contracts to include opt-out provisions, meaning a number of veteran players that have been vying for a big league opportunity down in Triple-A have the option of asking for their release and seeking a new contract in free agency. Former Mets prospect Cesar Puello already did so earlier today, opting out of his deal with the Rangers. Here are a few more opt-out notes from around the league…
- Alvarez confirms to Hall that he and the Orioles have worked out “an extension” of his opt-out date, though he declined to specify the date of his new opt-out clause (Twitter link). At any rate, he’ll remain with the Orioles at Triple-A for a bit longer.
Earlier Updates
- Pedro Alvarez and the Orioles have come to what Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com describes as a “temporary resolution” to his opt-out decision. The 30-year-old slugger, who has been on an absolute tear over the past two weeks, is remaining with the team in Triple-A for now, though Connolly notes that it’s not quite clear exactly what the new arrangement entails. (Restructuring an opt-out date is fairly common, sometimes agreeing to a later opt-out date and in some instances allowing a player to leave the organization should another club offer a Major League opportunity.) Connolly also notes that Alvarez’s experiment in the outfield hasn’t gone well, and the O’s are considering him a left-handed-hitting DH at this point, which makes it even more difficult for him to make his way to the big league roster.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that former big league closer Ernesto Frieri decided not to exercise the June 1 opt-out in his minors pact with the Yankees (Twitter link). Frieri, 32 next month, has turned in a very strong 3.00 ERA with a 24-to-9 K/BB ratio, seven saves and a 33.3 percent ground-ball rate through 21 innings with the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate. The back of the New York bullpen is strong, even with Aroldis Chapman on the DL at present, but the middle-relief scene is a bit more muddled, so it’s conceivable that Frieri could eventually earn a look in the bigs for the first time since 2015.
- Right-hander Edwin Jackson, who is also with the Orioles‘ Triple-A affiliate in Norfolk, told David Hall of the Virginian Pilot this afternoon that he has not yet made a decision (Twitter link). Jackson, who has been working out of the bullpen, tossed three shutout innings of relief last night and is sporting a 3.26 ERA with 15 strikeouts against 10 walks in 19 1/3 innings. He’ll have to make a decision by day’s end unless his representatives can come to some kind of alternative arrangement (as Alvarez appears to have done).
Heyman’s Latest: Managers, Quintana, Royals, Cubs, Holland, Bush
There’ve been an average of 3.4 in-season managerial firings since the 2007, writes Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports in the intro to his latest weekly notes column, but the 2017 campaign may be the rare year where all 30 Opening Day skippers are still at the helm of their respective teams at the conclusion of the regular season. Heyman notes that while there’s been plenty of fan and/or media criticism of high-profile managers like John Farrell (Red Sox) and Terry Collins (Mets), no manager seems to be on a particularly hot seat at the moment. He also runs down a list of nearly half the managers in the league and examines their chances of being dismissed, though again, the primary takeaway is that most seem to be rather safe.
Some highlights from both his American League and National League roundups…
- The GM of a rival club tells Heyman that he doesn’t think the shaky start to the season for White Sox lefty Jose Quintana will negatively impact his trade value all that much. While some have suggested that the Sox missed an opportunity to move him this offseason, there are of course still three and a half very affordable years on Quintana’s contract, and his 8.95 K/9 rate is actually a career-best. In more loosely related ChiSox news, he notes that Brett Lawrie is still waiting for his ailing foot to get back to full health before seeking out a new team.
- Though the Royals recently lost Danny Duffy for the next six to eight weeks, they’re still planning to see if there’s one more run with their longstanding core for the time being. A sale from Kansas City still looks likely to me, given that the Royals have the worst record in the American League and plenty of potential rental pieces to market this summer. It’s worth noting, though, that even with the worst record in the AL, they entered play today a relatively manageable six games back from the division lead and from a Wild Card spot.
- The Diamondbacks have sent out indications that they’re planning to wait until the last minute to determine whether they’re going to add pieces prior to the non-waiver deadline or sell off some shorter-term assets. Arizona is currently a half-game back of the NL West division lead and is in possession of a Wild Card slot at the moment, though it seems that the new front office is understandably not looking to react rashly to the team’s hot start.
- With both Jake Arrieta and John Lackey set to hit free agency (and a shaky mix in the five-spot in the rotation), the Cubs are likely to pursue at least two starters following the 2017 season, per Heyman. He lists Marco Estrada and Derek Holland as some semi-speculative picks, noting that one exec from another club feels they fit the mold of arms the Cubs are likely to eye. Chicago, of course, is certainly a candidate to add some rotation help this summer and could well pick up an arm controllable beyond the current season, which would impact their offseason trajectory.
- The Nationals and Rangers were among the teams to make a play for Greg Holland, Heyman writes, but only the Rockies were willing to take the significant risk of including a vesting player option worth as much as $15MM. Washington GM Mike Rizzo was actually on board with the concept of a vesting player option, but Nationals ownership, on the other hand, was not. The Rangers didn’t come as close in talks as the Nats did, he adds. Holland’s $15MM player option will trigger once he finishes 30 games or appears in 50 (the former will happen first), and barring an injury he seems like a lock to turn that down and reenter free agency in search of a four- or five-year pact.
- Jeb Bush’s departure from the potential Marlins ownership group he’d been assembling with Derek Jeter was due to a disagreement over who’d be the “control person,” Heyman writes. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald recently reported that Bush was set to commit less than $20MM to the sale, and Heyman now adds that Bush was on the hook for just $10MM of his own money, which would understandably make him a curious choice as the point person in the group. It’s still not known how much Jeter is planning to invest if his group is selected, but the Marlins were apparently aware that Bush could be leaving the group and remain interested in working out an agreement with Jeter and his investors.
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Minor MLB Transactions: 6/1/17
Here are Thursday’s minor moves from around the game…
- The Tigers announced that right-hander William Cuevas, who was outrighted to Triple-A Toledo earlier this week, has rejected the assignment and instead elected free agency. The 26-year-old allowed four runs in a third of an inning in his lone appearance for Detroit this season and has made just four total MLB appearances over the past two seasons (three with Boston in addition to this year’s game with Detroit), but he does have a nice track record in Triple-A. Through 216 1/3 innings of work at that level, Cuevas has a 3.87 ERA with 6.5 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9. He’ll look to latch on with another club, presumably on a minor league deal, now that he’s hit the open market.
- The Royals announced a minor roster shuffle on Thursday. Infielder and former first-round pick Hunter Dozier has been reinstated from the MLB 60-day disabled list and optioned back to Triple-A Omaha after spending the first two months of the season sidelined with a strained oblique. The Royals had a full 40-man roster, so in order to clear a spot for Dozier, they’ve recalled outfielder Paulo Orlando and placed him directly onto the Major League 60-day disabled list. Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star tweets that Orlando suffered a fractured tibia a few weeks ago when he fouled a ball into his shin.
Rangers Trade Josh Wilson To Indians, Grant Cesar Puello His Release
The Rangers made a pair of Triple-A moves on Thursday, announcing that veteran infielder Josh Wilson has been traded to the Indians in exchange for cash, while minor league outfielder Cesar Puello has exercised a June 1 out clause in his deal and been granted his release.
Wilson, 36, inked a minors pact with the Rangers back in mid-April and has gotten off to a torrid start with Triple-A Round Rock, slashing an eye-popping .329/.370/.548 with four homers and four doubles through 22 games (82 plate appearances). Obviously, that production isn’t sustainable — especially for a 36-year-old with a career .264/.325/.399 batting line in parts of 12 Triple-A campaigns — but he’ll give the Indians a versatile depth piece that has plenty of MLB experience. Wilson has seen action in parts of eight big league seasons and compiled a .229/.280/.319 triple slash while spending time at all four infield slots (mostly shortstop) and in left field.
Puello, 26, was once one of the top-regarded prospects in the Mets’ farm system and was regarded as a Top 100 prospect by Baseball America in the 2010-11 offseason. Puello had a terrific season with Double-A Binghamton in 2013, though that season was cut short by a suspension tied to the Biogenesis PED scandal. Puello’s bat never really took off at the Triple-A level after returning, as he’s now hit at a .261/.365/.403 clip through 839 career plate appearances at the minors’ top level. Thus far in 2017, he’s hit .247/.307/.420 with six homers and five steals through 179 plate appearances.
Blue Jays Designate Mike Bolsinger
The Blue Jays have designated righty Mike Bolsinger, per a club announcement. His roster spot will go to fellow righty Leonel Campos, who was recalled from Triple-A.
[Related: Updated Toronto Blue Jays depth chart]
Bolsinger, 29, has logged 25 2/3 innings with the Jays this season (five starts) and posted a 5.61 ERA with a 21-to-19 K/BB ratio. That level of control issue is atypical for Bolsinger, who in seasons past has demonstrated solid if unspectacular BB/9 rates. While the righty has struggled in each of the past two big league campaigns, he’s not far removed from a nice 2015 season in which he tossed 109 1/3 innings of 3.62 ERA ball for the Dodgers, averaging 8.1 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9 with a 53.1 percent ground-ball rate.
Bolsinger’s Triple-A track record includes a 3.96 ERA in 307 innings with better than a strikeout per frame, respectable control (3.3 BB/9) and considerably above-average ground-ball tendencies. Bolsinger has already been designated for assignment and cleared waivers once this season, so it’s possible that history will repeat itself in that regard. Of course, even if it does, he’d have the option to elect free agency rather than accept an outright assignment back to Buffalo. And, it also remains possible that a club with considerable rotation deficiencies takes a chance on a change of scenery bringing about a return to the right-hander’s 2015 form.
Any club that claims Bolsinger off waivers or acquires him in a minor trade will need to add him directly to the Major League roster, as he’s out of minor league options and can’t be sent to Triple-A without first clearing waivers.
MLBTR Chat Transcript: 6/1/17
Click here to read a transcript of today’s chat with host Jeff Todd.
Giants To Purchase Contract Of Austin Slater
The Giants will purchase the contract of outfielder Austin Slater, according to Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News. Slater, 24, was taken in the eighth round of the 2014 draft.
A corresponding move has yet to be reported, but the Giants will need to clear roster space to make way for Slater. While that could involve optioning youngster Christian Arroyo, a 40-man move of some kind will be needed regardless.
Slater has thrived in the upper minors since the start of the 2016 season. All told, he owns a .308/.381/.487 slash through 474 trips to the plate at Triple-A, with 48 walks to go with 91 strikeouts.
While the right-handed hitter can play center, it makes sense to expect he’ll find most of his opportunities in left field. San Francisco has struggled to find production from the outfield all year long.
The struggling Giants could ultimately begin cycling in more new faces, Baggarly notes, if the club can’t quickly break out of its season-long struggles. It seems that light-hitting outfielder Gorkys Hernandez is the most likely player to go to make way for Slater, though a few of other roster spots also appear to be less than secure.
NL Central Notes: Reds, Cecil, Cubs, Arrieta
In his latest notes column, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports argues that the Reds have fared better in some recent trades than had been expected at the time. Indeed, the club is receiving significant contributions from a variety of position players who were added in relatively unheralded swaps, including Eugenio Suarez, Scott Schebler, Adam Duvall, and Jose Peraza.
Here’s more from the NL Central:
- It came as something of a surprise when lefty Brett Cecil landed four years from the Cardinals, but Rosenthal says other organizations were also willing to do four-year deals for the 30-year-old reliever. The Cubs and Mariners had such offers on the table, though both are said to have underbid St. Louis. As Rosenthal notes, the scuffling Cecil has shown at least some signs recently of emerging from his malaise.
- Everyone is wondering why the Cubs have failed to break out from their sluggish start, and Dave Cameron of Fangraphs has a look under the hood. The issues aren’t isolated, he finds. Fairly widespread performance dips at the plate, in the field, and on the mound have resulted in a sub-.500 record that is largely deserved based on what the team has done. Though it remains reasonable to expect Chicago to improve its play, Cameron writes, the projections no longer view the current roster as a unique force.
- Clearly, Jake Arrieta isn’t the only Cubs player who is struggling through the first two months of the season, but he’s perhaps the most prominent. With free agency on the horizon, the stakes are particularly high. His agent, Scott Boras, still thinks that Arrieta’s overall body of work compares favorably to a pair of pitchers (David Price and Max Scherzer) who landed over $200MM in free agency, as Jon Heyman of Fan Rag writes. Though Boras argues that Arrieta’s recent struggles and declining velocity shouldn’t outweigh his lofty established ceiling and big-game performances, teams weighing massive investments will surely be taking a close look at Arrieta’s work over the first two months and the rest of the current season.