Brewers Designate Damien Magnifico For Assignment
The Brewers have selected the contract of right-hander David Goforth and designated right-hander Damien Magnifico for assignment in a corresponding 40-man roster move, the club announced via Twitter.
Goforth, a seventh-round pick for the Brew Crew in 2011, has a 6.11 ERA over 35 1/3 career innings with the club and a 3.95 ERA, 6.5 K/9 and 1.65 K/BB rater over 481 1/3 frames in the minors. Southpaw Brent Suter was optioned to Triple-A yesterday, so with Goforth taking his place, Milwaukee now has an all-righty bullpen.
Magnifico made his big league debut last season, notching three innings over a three-game cup of coffee with the Brewers. The 25-year-old righty was selected in the fifth round of the 2012 draft and he has a 3.71 ERA, 7.0 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 over 339 2/3 career innings in Milwaukee’s farm system.
Nationals Designate Jeremy Guthrie For Assignment
The Nationals announced that right-hander Jeremy Guthrie has been designated for assignment, and in a corresponding move, righty Matt Albers‘ contract has been selected from Triple-A to fill the spot on the 25-man roster.
Guthrie signed a minor league deal with the Nats in February and got an opportunity to start yesterday due to something of a rotation crunch (Stephen Strasburg was given an extra day of rest and Joe Ross wasn’t yet eligible to be called back up after being optioned to Triple-A). Unfortunately for Guthrie and the Nationals, the start was a disastrous one — Guthrie allowed 10 earned runs over just 2/3 of an inning in an eventual 17-3 loss to the Phillies. Adding insult to injury, yesterday was also Guthrie’s 38th birthday.
The outing was Guthrie’s first MLB appearance since 2015, as the veteran posted a 5.95 ERA over 148 1/3 innings for the Royals and didn’t make the postseason roster for the eventual World Series’ champions. Guthrie also struggled in 2016 pitching at the Triple-A level for the Padres and Marlins, posting a 7.17 ERA over 86 2/3 IP within the two organizations. Given Guthrie’s age and lack of recent effectiveness, it seems questionable whether he could catch on with another team, though a move to relief pitching seems necessary for the longtime durable starter. Guthrie averaged 201 innings per season from 2008-14 with the Royals, Rockies and Orioles, and he owns a career 4.42 ERA over 1765 1/3 innings in parts of 13 big league seasons.
Albers also signed a minor deal with Washington in February, though the Nats released him at the end of Spring Training and re-signed the righty to a new contract. Both deals were for the same terms — a $1.15MM base salary for making the MLB roster and another $600K available in incentives. Albers suffered through a rough 2016 season with the White Sox (6.31 ERA in 51 1/3 IP) but the pitch-to-contact specialist posted a 2.32 ERA, 6.1 K/9, 2.02 K/BB rate and a 59.2% ground-ball rate over 170 2/3 IP from 2012-15.
MLBTR Originals
Here is this week’s original content from MLB Trade Rumors’ writing staff and contributors…
- MLBTR contributor Chuck Wasserstrom looks back at the White Sox 1998 draft with former Sox scouting director Duane Shaffer. While Chicago’s first four picks from that draft (Kip Wells, Aaron Rowand, Gary Majewski, Josh Fogg) went on to enjoy lengthy big league careers, the Sox 1998 draft class was a rare example of a team striking gold with a 38th-round pick — longtime White Sox rotation staple Mark Buehrle. “The level of satisfaction with this draft is tremendous. When you’re right on the top end of your draft, that’s basically what you get paid for. You have to be right on those guys,” Shaffer said. “When you get a guy like Mark Buehrle down in the draft – he makes that draft that much better.”
- Tim Dillard (a.k.a. @DimTillard) takes us inside the clubhouse of the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate in his latest Inner Monologue , covering everything from Tim Tebow and vanity plate etiquette to 50 Cent and on-field wedding proposals.
- MLBTR’s Offseason In Review series continued with Steve Adams examining the Royals, Connor Byrne looking at the Mariners, Charlie Wilmoth covering the Angels, and Jeff Todd breaking down the Rockies’ and Phillies’ winter moves.
NL Notes: Cubs, Mets, Nationals
Ben Zobrist started the majority of the Cubs’ regular-season games at second base in 2016, but Javier Baez is now in the process of becoming the team’s everyday option at the keystone, writes Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago. Baez started all 17 of the Cubs’ playoff games at second last fall and has opened 2017 by lining up there in four of five contests, which has pushed Zobrist into a super-utility role. Manager Joe Maddon isn’t ready to declare Baez the Cubs’ starter at second, largely because of “all the versatility” the team’s position players possess. However, he admitted that “pretty much what you’ve seen to this point, I think, is like a good indicator of what we’re going to be able to do with everybody being healthy.”
More on two other potential National League contenders:
- Although Travis d’Arnaud is not among the 10 Mets who are scheduled to hit free agency after this season, this is nonetheless a crucial year for the catcher, observes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Mets will need to allocate a large portion of their offseason spending to positions other than catcher next winter, meaning they’d like to avoid having to upgrade behind the plate. The club eschewed free agent catchers this past winter in order to give d’Arnaud another chance to establish himself as a legitimate starter. That came in spite of the fact that the former top prospect has consistently dealt with injury problems, and he only hit .247/.307/.323 in 276 plate appearances last season. The 28-year-old was quite useful in 2015, though (albeit over only 268 PAs), and still regards himself a long-term piece for the Mets. “Big time,” said d’Arnaud, who’s controllable via arbitration through 2019.
- Shortstop Trea Turner departed the Nationals’ loss to the Phillies on Saturday with a hamstring issue, but it seems he dodged a major injury. Manager Dusty Baker only expects Turner to miss a couple days, Dan Kolko of MASN was among those to report (Twitter link). That’s the lone good news of the night for the Nationals, who were on the wrong end of a football-like score (17-3) in Philadelphia.
- Right-hander Jeremy Guthrie got the start for the Nationals on Saturday, his first major league action since 2015, but probably won’t be long for their rotation. Baker stated before the game, via Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com, that the demoted Joe Ross “will be back.” The skipper also insisted Ross and Guthrie aren’t competing for the fifth spot in the Nats’ rotation. Regardless, Guthrie didn’t exactly make his case for the role. In a nightmarish showing, the 38-year-old yielded 10 earned runs on six hits and four walks over just two-thirds of an inning. Ross will be eligible to return to the majors next week.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Jays, Bucs, Cubs, Twins, Rays, D-backs
This week in baseball blogs:
- Jays From the Couch interviews Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro.
- The Point of Pittsburgh could see Pirates right-hander Tyler Glasnow eventually becoming their version of Dellin Betances.
- Unsung Zeroes, in the wake of Betances’ offseason clash with the Yankees, calls for changes to the arbitration system.
- Clubhouse Corner compares Cubs left fielder Kyle Schwarber and Twins third baseman Miguel Sano.
- Sports Talk Florida chats with Rays owner Stuart Sternberg.
- Inside the ‘Zona is optimistic about Diamondbacks right-hander Archie Bradley‘s transition to the bullpen.
- Underthought analyzes the first week of the season.
- The UCB Podcast discusses the Cardinals’ extensions of Yadier Molina and Stephen Piscotty.
- Wayniac Nation is a fan of the Braves’ minor league signing of Ryan Howard.
- The First Out At Third offers its own projections for the Brewers’ pitching staff.
- The K Zone ranks the top 10 players at each position.
- Call To The Pen lists the majors’ 30 best second basemen.
- Pinstriped Prospects talks with Yankees star infield prospect Gleyber Torres.
- Cascaudio chats with former major league catcher and current Cubs mental skills coordinator John Baker.
- Notes From the Sally scouts Red Sox third base prospect Bobby Dalbec.
- Pirates Breakdown delves into Bucs righty Jameson Taillon‘s terrific 2017 start.
- Sports Talk Philly wonders which player will represent the Phillies in this year’s All-Star Game.
- South of the 6ix heaps praise on Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson.
- Chin Music Baseball is optimistic about Rays ace Chris Archer after watching his season debut.
- The Runner Sports has high hopes for Astros righty Charlie Morton.
- MLB451 likens Athletics slugger Ryon Healy to Mark McGwire.
- The 3rd Man In has a mock amateur draft.
- The Unbalanced suggests that drafting high school players is a bad idea.
- Real McCoy Minor News interviews Padres outfielder Jabari Blash.
- Motor City Bengals names some Tigers who didn’t make the team’s Opening Day roster but could still contribute this season.
- Two Strike Approach: A Baseball podcast (link to iTunes page) talks with Eric Roseberry of Baseball Prospectus and SB Nation’s Reds Reporter.
- Everything Bluebirds and Dan Grant of Same Page Team have pieces focusing on the Blue Jays’ decision to release Melvin Upton Jr.
- Outside Pitch MLB argues that Yankees pitching prospect James Kaprielian‘s injury issues make Luis Severino all the more important to the organization.
- District On Deck searches for the reasons for Nationals righty Joe Ross‘ demotion to the minors.
- Nyrdcast looks at some under-the-radar Cardinals stats.
- Clubhouse Corner reviews Angels righty Garrett Richards‘ return to action.
- MetsMind writes that infielder Wilmer Flores will have chances to prove he’s an everyday-caliber player this year.
- Ladodgerreport shares 10 predictions for the Dodgers’ season.
- Jays Journal updates the statuses of some former Blue Jays.
- Call To The Pen details how the Phillies came to be.
- Mets Daddy isn’t a fan of the club’s Opening Day lineup.
- The Runner Sports previews the now-in-progress Yankees-Orioles series.
- Clutchlings profiles Brazilian right-handed prospect Eric Pardhino, whom the Blue Jays could be on their way to signing.
- rascalsoftheravine recaps the Dodgers’ season-opening series against the Padres.
- MetsRewind revisits shortstop Kazuo Matsui‘s time with the Mets.
Please send submissions to ZachBBWI @gmail.com.
West Notes: Padres, Astros, Dodgers, Rangers
This year’s Padres are turning “tanking” into an art form, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. The Padres feature three players selected in the Rule 5 Draft, plus an incredibly inexperienced outfield and three starting pitchers who have recently been released. GM A.J. Preller’s strategy this season, Sherman writes, amounts to a “more extreme version of, say, what the Astros and Cubs did” — essentially, being indifferent to winning in the short term in order to get choice draft picks. Notably, Sherman detects a personal tone to criticism of the Padres’ strategy from employees of other organizations, in part because of Preller’s failure to disclose some relevant medical information in past trades, including the deal last season that sent Drew Pomeranz to Boston.
- The Astros have liked what they’ve seen so far of Charlie Morton, who signed a two-year, $14MM deal with the team last winter, Tyler Kepner of the New York Times writes. “I do believe that Charlie Morton isn’t a back-of-the-rotation guy,” said GM Jeff Luhnow during Spring Training. “He hit 97 three times in the first inning yesterday, with a lot of sink on his pitches and good secondary stuff. A healthy Charlie Morton could work himself into the conversation with Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers at the top of our rotation.” Morton allowed just two runs and two walks while striking out six in his first start of the year against the Mariners this week, although, uncharacteristically, he allowed 11 fly balls. Morton is excited about his new team’s prospects, Kepner writes. “The whole team is strong,” he says. “I just don’t see how we’re not set up to win.”
- With Rich Hill on the disabled list, the Dodgers will reinsert left-hander Alex Wood into their rotation for Monday’s game against the Cubs, manager Dave Roberts announced Saturday (via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com). Wood wasn’t able to crack the Dodgers’ season-opening rotation, but he has enjoyed plenty of success as a starter. The 26-year-old has racked up 458 1/3 frames from the rotation and recorded a 3.40 ERA, 8.01 K/9 and 2.88 BB/9.
- Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre is eligible to come off the 10-day DL on Sunday, but the team is unsure if it will activate him, per T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. “The bottom line is, we are in the information-gathering stage, and how he feels,” manager Jeff Banister said of Beltre, who’s sidelined with a calf injury. “We’ll go from there.” Beltre took live batting practice Saturday, though he’s not yet able to run at full speed. Considering they’re off Monday, the Rangers could opt against activating the 38-year-old in favor of a couple more days of rest.
Yankees To Place Gary Sanchez On 10-Day DL
The Yankees will place catcher Gary Sanchez on the 10-day disabled list with a right biceps strain, Jack Curry of the YES Network was among those to report (Twitter link). Sanchez suffered the injury during the Yankees’ 5-4 loss to Baltimore on Saturday. He’ll see a doctor Monday or Tuesday, per Marly Rivera of ESPN.com.
New York has gotten off to a sluggish start even with the heralded Sanchez in its lineup, having dropped four of five to begin the season. Sanchez hit just .150/.190/.300 with a home run, four strikeouts and a walk during those five games, but the 24-year-old figures to rebound when he returns to action.
Sanchez slashed .299/.376/.657 with 20 homers in 299 plate appearances as a rookie last season, and while he won’t be able to replicate those numbers over a full campaign, he could nonetheless firmly establish himself as an elite catcher as early as this year. Further adding to Sanchez’s appeal is the fact that he cut down a whopping 41 percent of would-be base stealers in 2016. Given that the injury is to his impressive throwing arm, the Yankees will be extra careful with his recovery, according to manager Joe Girardi (via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, on Twitter).
With Sanchez out of action, the Yankees will try to escape their early season swoon using the uninspiring combination of Austin Romine and Kyle Higashioka behind the plate. Romine has batted an ugly .222/.256/.329 in 359 major league PAs, while the 26-year-old Higashioka hasn’t yet debuted in the bigs. He’ll join the Yankees on Sunday, tweets Hoch.
Minor MLB Transactions: 4/8/17
Saturday’s minor moves:
- The Blue Jays have selected the contract of right-hander Casey Lawrence and moved right-hander Bo Schultz from the 10-day disabled list to the 60-day DL, per a team announcement. Lawrence, who has been with the Jays organization since signing as an undrafted free agent in 2010, could now be in position to log his first major league action. The 29-year-old saw significant time at the Triple-A level last season, when he posted a 3.83 ERA, 6.0 K/9 and 2.48 BB/9 in 87 innings and 15 appearances (all starts). Most of Lawrence’s work has come at Double-A, where he has pitched to a 4.23 ERA with 5.4 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in 410 1/3 frames (70 appearances, 65 starts).
Rosenthal’s Latest: Yankees, Rockies, L. Robert, Orioles, Mariners
Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez left Saturday’s game in Baltimore with a right biceps strain, per a team announcement. There’s no timetable for his return, tweets FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, but it’s worth noting that Angels righty Garrett Richards landed on the 10-day disabled list Friday with a right biceps strain. It’s possible Sanchez’s injury will be more severe, of course, which would be a terrible development for the Yankees. The 24-year-old deservedly entered the season with significant hype surrounding him after hitting an astounding .299/.376/.657 with 20 home runs in 229 plate appearances as a rookie in 2016.
More from Rosenthal:
- When it comes to potentially acquiring starting pitching help this summer, the Rockies could be a team to watch, says Rosenthal (video link). Colorado might have enough young talent to swing a deal for White Sox left-hander Jose Quintana or Athletics right-hander Sonny Gray, posits Rosenthal, who notes that Baseball America regards its farm as the 10th-best system in the majors (ESPN’s Keith Law ranks it an even better ninth).
- The White Sox, Astros, Padres, Reds and Cardinals are the teams with the most interest in highly touted outfield prospect Luis Robert, reports Rosenthal. If he’s cleared to sign by June 15, the 19-year-old will go down as the last Cuban amateur to sign for big money – should the new collective bargaining agreement rules remain in place for a while, that is. Ben Badler of Baseball America has reported on multiple occasions that the White Sox are the favorites to land Robert. Unlike the ChiSox, all of the Astros, Padres, Cardinals and Reds have already exceeded their 2016-17 international bonus pools.
- With Manny Machado, Zach Britton and Adam Jones slated to become free agents after next year, the Orioles might look far different on the field by the 2019 season. Changes could be coming off the field, too, as both GM Dan Duquette and manager Buck Showalter will also see their contracts expire when the 2018 campaign concludes, per Rosenthal. Showalter isn’t looking to leave Baltimore, according to Rosenthal, though he’ll turn 61 next month, leading to questions as to whether he’ll transition to a front office job sometime soon.
- The Mariners’ competitive window might only stay open through next season, observes Rosenthal, who points out that Nelson Cruz, Jean Segura, Drew Smyly, Hisashi Iwakuma and Leonys Martin are scheduled to hit free agency after the 2018 campaign. General manager Jerry Dipoto made it clear over the winter that the Mariners are in “win-now” mode, which makes sense considering those soon-to-be free agents, not to mention that integral players such as Robinson Cano, Kyle Seager and Felix Hernandez are either in their 30s or will be soon. The Mariners don’t have a deep farm system, either, as both Baseball America and Law place it in the majors’ bottom 10.
The Inner Monologue of @DimTillard Clubhouse Edition
It’s 11:30am on Saturday, April 8th, 2017. My name is Tim Dillard. Two days ago, I started my 15th season in professional baseball. And even though I’m SUPER underqualified, I’ve journaled my Inner Monologue in three other posts for MLB Trade Rumors (Part 1) (Part 2) (Opening Day).
11:34am I’m currently at the ballpark in Triple-A Colorado Springs, and have relief pitcher stretch at 1:00pm. But until then, I’ve decided to jot down some thoughts.
11:36am The multiple clubhouse TVs are showing baseball games while the clubhouse speakers are pumping out rapper 50 Cent’s music playlist. In fact, he just told Shawty that it’s his birthday. Congrats Shawty!
11:37am One of the TVs has Tim Tebow coverage … looks like congratulations are in order again! It appears Tebow hit a two-run home run the other day in his first-ever professional minor league at bat! WOW! Watching the replay of his post-game SportsCenter interview, reminds me of the two-run home run I hit last year in my first minor league at bat of the season. Though … his post-game SportsCenter interview ran a bit longer than mine did.
11:43am Okay, I was wrong — one TV has golf on it. The Masters is on, I’m being told. I’m also being told that I look like the homeless caddy from Happy Gilmore. Must be this mesmerizing BEARD I’m parading around.
11:45am Every year I’m impressed how versatile and knowledgable baseball players really are! Right now golf advice is running rampant. But next week, hockey sticks and body checking will start creeping into the locker room. And after that usually comes overly-giant hats and jockey evaluating in honor of the Kentucky Derby.
11:52am And whenever something is being thrown away in the clubhouse, you’ll always hear a “Jordan!” or “Kobe!” … or maybe it’s “Curry!” now. Players talk basketball the entire baseball season … probably ’cause the NBA Playoffs last five months.
11:53am But every four years, I daresay the FIFA World Cup takes over everything! Complete with jerseys, reenactments, and multiple soccer balls! And I bet there’s a spike in the sale of soccer cleats as well!
11:55am FIFA is a big deal because a baseball clubhouse is home to so many backgrounds and nationalities. It’s just a beautiful melting pot of pride and awesome!
11:57am 50 Cent is still at it … “I love you like a fat kid love cake.” Probably my favorite 50 Cent lyric!
12:01pm Remember a few years ago when 50 Cent threw out the ceremonial first-pitch at a Mets game? And it was just the worst first pitch ever? And everybody was making fun of him? I didn’t … I’ve thrown pitches that bad before, and I’ve done it without being shot nine times.
12:04pm The ceremonial first pitch in baseball dates back over a hundred years! (At least I think — Google if you care enough.) What a special tradition, though! I’ve witnessed hundreds over my career. In fact, I was actually going to propose to my wife during a ceremonial first pitch!
12:10pm I was pitching for the Class A+ Brevard County Manatees in 2005, and decided to propose at one of our games! My plan was to get stadium management to trick my now-wife into throwing the first pitch, and I was going to disguise myself as the catcher. So after catching her throw, I was going to run out to the mound to give the ball back. But then drop to a knee, remove my catcher’s mask, and whip out the ring!
12:16pm Now, I know what you’re thinking… “WHAT AN AWESOME IDEA!” right? Well, about a week before the plan was to be executed, my now-wife and I see a sports proposal on TV. Then she turns to me and nonchalantly says, “If you ever tried something like that, I’d say no.”
12:19pm Okay so I’m not the brightest tool in the drawer, but kinda got the feeling an on-field proposal could be a bad idea. “Now I know, and knowing is half the battle.” -G.I. Joe
12:23pm But I have learned a lot over my many years in baseball. Simple things. For instance: don’t put a “BRU CRU” vanity plate on your car just because you’re in the Milwaukee Brewers organization. And don’t get a tattoo of a flaming baseball on your arm, just in case you stop throwing hard one day. (I’ll admit I’ve done one of these.)
12:28pm Being around baseball for a long time also has its perks. Like: no matter what clubhouse I’m in … my phone already has the password, and automatically connects to the wi-fi. And of course, infinite access to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
12:33pm Thanks to a generous teammate sitting next to me, I can safely say that the local gas station’s Rice Krispy treats are on point!
12:34pm Clubhouse manager is walking around delivering the daily packages. I don’t get a lot of mail these days. But all the young prospects get boxes everyday! Stuff like spikes, batting gloves, shower shoes, portable chargers, Bruce Lee shirts, candy, disco ball, camo tights, Quench Gum, cribbage board, Aerobies.
12:36pm Hey I actually did get mail! Crap. It’s from my bank. Says my credit card was compromised again and sent me a new card. Looks like they got suspicious from purchases made last week in Arizona, Wisconsin, and Colorado… and one online order for exotic beard oil.
12:38pm CRAP! I need to hurry up. Don’t want to be late for stretch!
12:38pm Come to think of it, when I was a kid, my brothers and I weren’t allowed to use the word crap. It was on the bad word list. My mom would wash our mouths out with soap if we let the crap word fly. I still have a hard time using Dial soap.
12:41pm Ah yes, the clubhouse… so full of life and sound. Like a cross between Chuck E. Cheese and a Play It Again Sports.
To Be Concluded…