Eric Gagne, Dodgers Discussing Minor-League Deal
Former Dodgers closer and 2003 NL Cy Young winner Eric Gagne is discussing a minor-league deal with his former organization, Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith tweets. Gagne says he has interest from two other teams as well, but is focused on receiving a deal from the Dodgers. In February, Gagne appeared in Dodgers camp as a guest instructor and threw in the presence of top team executives.
The 41-year-old Gagne appeared in one game with Canada in the World Baseball Classic, striking out two and walking one over 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Gagne also briefly pitched in Canadian independent ball in both 2015 and 2016. The last time he’s pitched more than ten competitive innings in a season was 2009, though, and the last time he appeared in the big leagues was all the way back in 2008. By that point, his career had already unraveled amidst a series of injuries.
It would appear, then, that Gagne would be a longshot to return to the Majors — although, of course, it would be a great story if he did so, particularly if he returned as a Dodger. Gagne posted 161 saves with Los Angeles in eight seasons there, finishing in the top ten in Cy Young balloting three times and making three All-Star games.
Padres Place Three Rule 5 Picks On 25-Man Roster, Designate Keith Hessler
The Padres have announced their Opening Day roster, and, in an example of unusual roster management, it includes three Rule 5 Draft picks. Those three were the first three selections in the draft — the Padres got the No. 1 pick, righty Miguel Diaz, in a trade with the Twins, and the No. 2 pick, catcher Luis Torrens, in a deal with the Reds. They also took shortstop Allen Cordoba with their own pick, the third overall selection.
Diaz headed into the Rule 5 Draft as a member of the Brewers organization, while Torrens was with the Yankees and Cordoba with the Cardinals. Obviously, the Padres have no immediate plans to clear any of the three from the roster, meaning they won’t be offered back to their previous organizations anytime soon. The three will join a young Padres 25-man that includes four other players who haven’t yet turned 24: top outfield prospect Manuel Margot, infielder Luis Sardinas, righty Luis Perdomo and lefty Jose Torres.
[Related: Updated San Diego Padres Depth Chart]
Diaz will take a spot in the bullpen. Torrens will be one of four catchers listed on the roster, along with Austin Hedges, Hector Sanchez (whose contract the Padres selected today) and Christian Bethancourt. (Bethancourt can also pitch out of the bullpen.)
The Padres have also optioned infielder Cory Spangenberg to Triple-A El Paso. The idea is for him to play every day, as Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets, and Spangenberg missed most of the 2016 due to a quad injury. It’s perhaps worth noting, though, that Spangenberg would have given the Padres a more experienced infield option than Cordoba, who played in the short-season Appalachian League in 2016 and posted a .179/.247/.194 line in camp. Both he and Torrens stand out as highly sub-optimal roster choices for the Padres’ immediate needs. But the team’s inclusion of three Rule 5 picks suggests the Padres are more interested in protecting potential long-term assets than winning games in 2017, which perhaps should come as no surprise — the Padres don’t project to contend this season, given the weakness in their rotation and elsewhere on their roster.
To clear space on the 40-man roster for Sanchez, the Padres designated lefty Keith Hessler for assignment. The 28-year-old pitched 18 2/3 innings of relief with San Diego after arriving from Arizona via a waiver claim, and posted a 3.38 ERA, albeit with 11 walks and just nine strikeouts. The Padres also announced that they placed lefties Christian Friedrich and Buddy Baumann, righty Carter Capps and outfielder Alex Dickerson on the 10-day disabled list.
Blue Jays Sign Chris Coghlan To Minor-League Deal
The Blue Jays have announced that they’ve signed outfielder Chris Coghlan to a minor-league deal. Coghlan will report to Triple-A Buffalo.
The Phillies released Coghlan earlier this week after he reportedly declined to sign a 45-day advance consent form that would have allowed the team to cut or option him within the first 45 days of the season. He posted a .231/.319/.282 line in camp, carrying over his struggles from last season, when he batted a combined .188/.290/.318 with the Athletics and Cubs. (To be fair, Coghlan mostly just struggled in the early part of the season with the A’s, batting .252/.391/.388 in 128 plate appearances after he was traded to Chicago in June.)
The 31-year-old Coghlan is, however, just two years removed from a .250/.341/.443 season that produced a full 3.0 fWAR with the Cubs. He’s also reasonably versatile — he can play either corner outfield position, and has also played a bit at second, third and first in recent years. The Blue Jays’ plans for him are unclear, but it wouldn’t be impossible to see him eventually taking at-bats in Toronto’s left field should fellow lefty swinger Ezequiel Carrera falter.
Rays Designate Nick Franklin For Assignment
The Rays have designated utilityman Nick Franklin for assignment, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Jumbo Diaz, Daniel Robertson, Mallex Smith and Peter Bourjos have all made the Rays’ Opening Day roster.
The 26-year-old Franklin batted a solid .270/.328/.443 in 191 plate appearances with the Rays in 2016, but he posted subpar defensive numbers and was out of options. He also rarely plays shortstop and therefore doesn’t make an ideal utility infielder, and Rays manager Kevin Cash pointed to Robertson’s ability to back up the shortstop position better than Franklin as a factor in the decision, via a tweet from Topkin. With Smith and Bourjos to back up Colby Rasmus, Kevin Kiermaier and Steven Souza Jr. in the outfield (where Franklin also plays), there was no space for Franklin on the Rays’ roster.
Still, it wouldn’t be a shock if Franklin were claimed on waivers. His versatility, experience, relative youth and modestly useful bat could make him a potential fit for teams seeking to fill out their rosters as Opening Day approaches.
Franklin arrived in Tampa via the Rays’ 2014 three-team trade of David Price — the Rays got Franklin from the Mariners and Drew Smyly and top prospect Willy Adames from the Tigers, with veteran outfielder Austin Jackson heading from Detroit to Seattle. Franklin, though, spent a significant portion of his tenure in the Rays organization in the minors. He has posted a .219/.288/.371 line in parts of four seasons in the big leagues.
Tigers To Re-Sign Daniel Stumpf
The Tigers have agreed to re-sign lefty Daniel Stumpf to a Major League deal and added him to their 40-man roster, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press tweets. Stumpf, who the Tigers had placed on waivers earlier this week, elected free agency after clearing waivers and before agreeing to his new deal.
The Tigers took Stumpf from the Royals in last winter’s Rule 5 Draft. He became eligible for free agency after clearing waivers because he had previously been selected in the Rule 5 Draft and returned — he pitched five innings for the Phillies in 2016 before being offered back to the Royals. It appears, then, that the Tigers were willing to re-sign him to a big-league deal after he declared free agency because they could then option him to the minors, despite his having been a Rule 5 pick previously and the fact that he will again occupy a spot on their 40-man.
Stumpf pitched a total of 41 1/3 innings of relief in the minors last season, posting a 2.83 ERA, 8.5 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 with four separate affiliates in two organizations. He has a history as a starter and has shown the ability to pitch multiple-inning stretches. He threw his fastball in the 92-MPH range in his stint with the Phillies last season, also throwing a slider and change.
Pirates Return Tyler Webb To Yankees
The Pirates have returned lefty reliever and Rule 5 pick Tyler Webb to the Yankees, the Yankees have announced. An impending transaction involving Webb seemed inevitable yesterday, when the Pirates opted to place Tyler Glasnow in their rotation and gave Wade LeBlanc and former rotation candidate Trevor Williams the last two spots in their bullpen.
The 26-year-old Webb did his best to impress the Pirates in camp, posting a 2.77 ERA with 11 strikeouts and just one walk in 13 innings. But his chances of making the team seemed limited given the Bucs’ heavily left-handed bullpen, which currently includes Felipe Rivero, Antonio Bastardo and LeBlanc, along with closer Tony Watson. Webb posted a 3.59 ERA, 10.2 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 72 2/3 innings with the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate in 2016.
5 Key Stories: 3/25/17 – 3/31/17
Here were this week’s top stories here at MLBTR:
Cardinals to extend Yadier Molina. The Cardinals took steps to keep their franchise catcher, agreeing to a new extension worth $55MM-$65MM over three years. The deal, which isn’t yet official, will make Molina one of the game’s highest-paid catchers through his age-37 season, while blocking a key prospect, Carson Kelly.
Rangers extend Rougned Odor. Molina wasn’t the only key player to receive an extension this week — the Rangers signed second baseman Rougned Odor to a six-year deal that will guarantee him $49.5MM while buying out his first two free-agent years, with an option for a third. The Rangers have also had extension talks with young outfielder Nomar Mazara, although they do not appear to have gone far to this point. They’ve tabled new contract talks with catcher Jonathan Lucroy.
Key pitcher injuries. The end of Spring Training brought a couple significant injuries to AL pitchers this week, with Mariners lefty Drew Smyly set to miss six to eight weeks with a left arm flexor strain and Giants reliever Will Smith having Tommy John surgery. Ariel Miranda will join the Mariners’ rotation in Smyly’s place. The loss of the very effective Smith looks to be a tough one for the Giants’ bullpen.
Indians extend Jose Ramirez. The Indians agreed to a new four-year deal with their infielder to buy out one of his potential free-agent years, with options for two more. An extension for shortstop Francisco Lindor would surely be even more welcome news for Cleveland fans, although it appears there’s been no progress on that front.
Teams release veterans. Spring Training’s end also brought the release of a number of MLB veterans, who now face decisions about how best to continue their careers. Veterans who became free agents this week include Jimmy Rollins (Giants); Jared Hughes (Pirates); James Loney (Rangers); Desmond Jennings and Ryan Raburn (Reds); Mike Pelfrey and Mark Lowe (Tigers; Lowe agreed to a minor-league deal with the Mariners); Michael Bourn (Orioles); Vance Worley and Joe Nathan (Nationals); Bryan Holaday, Ryan Hanigan and Chris Coghlan (Phillies; Holaday signed with the Tigers, while Hanigan signed with the Rockies); Paco Rodriguez and Blaine Boyer (Braves); Kevin Jepsen (Diamondbacks); and Munenori Kawasaki (Cubs; Kawasaki is heading back to Japan). Also, the Rockies designated veteran reliever Jason Motte.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Blue Jays Extend Manager John Gibbons
APRIL 1: The deal is now complete, as Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi tweets.
MARCH 22, 7:54am: An agreement is in place, with the full deal “basically finished,” according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca.
MARCH 21, 4:23pm: The extension would cover the 2018 and 2019 seasons, according to the MLB Network Radio Twitter feed. The Jays would also have a club option on Gibbons for 2020.
11:58am: The Blue Jays are “finalizing” a new contract with skipper John Gibbons that will keep him in Toronto for multiple future seasons, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag. Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun reported last week on Twitter that the club believed it would likely strike such a deal with the manager.
Gibbons, 54, is in his second stint as the head of the Jays’ field staff. He has delivered three consecutive winning campaigns and guided the club to the postseason in each of the past two seasons, both of which ended with ALCS losses. All said, Gibbons carries a 644-614 record over parts of nine seasons as the Toronto skipper.
When the Jays changed front-office leadership last winter, the organization renegotiated its agreement with Gibbons to eliminate the anti-lame duck provision that had previously governed. Under the earlier deal, the team faced a decision on January 1st of each year. If Gibbons was still in his position at that point, the following year’s option would be picked up automatically and a new option year would arise.
With that new arrangement in place, 2016 figured to represent an important campaign as president Mark Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins assessed the organization and Gibbons’s leadership. As it turned out, the skipper drew high praise from Shapiro at the close of the campaign, when it was announced that Gibbons would return. Now, it seems there’ll be a lengthier commitment binding Gibbons to the Jays.
Offseason In Review: San Diego Padres
This is the latest entry in MLBTR’s Offseason In Review series. The full index of Offseason In Review posts can be found here.
While the rebuilding Padres still owe a ton of money to high-priced veterans Matt Kemp and James Shields, who were traded away last season, the players on the current team will make approximately $30MM in 2017. That’s less than the salary of Clayton Kershaw, who they’ll face off against on Opening Day and likely several more times during the season. It’s no surprise that they’re the favorite to land the No. 1 pick in the 2018 Amateur Draft, but that’s all part of the plan.
Major League Signings
- Trevor Cahill, SP: One year, $1.75MM
- Jhoulys Chacin, SP: One year, $1.75MM
- Clayton Richard, SP One year, $1.75MM (re-signed)
- Jered Weaver, SP: One year, $3MM
- Total spend: $8.25MM
Notable Minor League Signings
Trades And Claims
- Traded C Derek Norris to Nationals for P Pedro Avila
- Claimed P Tyrell Jenkins from Reds
- Claimed P Zach Lee from Mariners
- Lost RP Leonel Campos off waivers to Blue Jays
Rule 5 Draft
- Selected INF Allen Cordoba from Cardinals
- Selected P Justin Haley from Red Sox; traded to Brewers
- Acquired C Luis Torrens from Reds via Yankees
- Acquired RHP Miguel Diaz from Twins via Brewers
Extensions
- 1B Wil Myers: Six years, $83MM, plus $20MM club option in 2023 ($1MM buyout)
- 2B/3B Yangervis Solarte: Two years, $7.5MM, plus $5.5MM club option in 2019 ($750K buyout) and $8MM club option in 2020 ($750K buyout)
Notable Losses
- Alexi Amarista, Jon Jay, Derek Norris, Adam Rosales, Tyson Ross, Carlos Villanueva
Needs Addressed
Despite having one of the best farm systems in baseball, the Padres are light on pitching prospects who are ready to contribute at the Major League level in 2017. With a talented (if largely unproven) core of young position players, led by first baseman Wil Myers, and a strong bullpen, the top priority of this offseason was to fill out the starting rotation with inexpensive veterans who can eat innings and possibly pitch well enough to draw trade interest.
At a cost of just over $8MM, they were able to fill four rotation spots for the upcoming season by signing free agents Trevor Cahill, Jhoulys Chacin, Clayton Richard and Jered Weaver to one-year deals. This rotation won’t make them a contender or even a .500 team. But each has experienced a good level of Major League success and should be able to keep games from getting out of hand on a consistent basis. At least that’s what the Padres are hoping for.
Cahill was once on his way to being one of the better young pitchers in baseball—he finished 9th in the AL Cy Young race in 2010—but his career quickly went south. He bounced back in 2016 with a terrific season out of the ‘pen for the World Champion Cubs and now the Padres are giving the 29-year-old a chance to prove he can maintain that success while returning to a starting role. Chacin, also 29 years old and a once-promising pitching star for the Rockies, is trying to resurrect his career with a return to the NL West. He had a strong finish to the 2016 season (0.75 ERA over last four starts) and has a strong track record against the Padres’ division opponents. Richard signed with the Padres late last season after being released by the Cubs and impressed with a 2.52 ERA over 53.2 innings. He has not started more than nine games in a season since 2013, the last year of a four-season stint with the Padres. In Weaver, the Padres brought in a former ace who is trying to succeed with a low-80’s fastball.
Luis Perdomo, a Rule 5 success story in 2016, will be the No. 5 starter, although he’ll likely have an innings limit after logging less than 150 innings as a rookie. Former prospects Jarred Cosart, Tyrell Jenkins and Zach Lee could also work their way into the mix at some point, as will rookies Dinelson Lamet and Walker Lockett. The Padres’ pair of elite pitching prospects, Anderson Espinoza and Cal Quantril, are likely slated for High-A and won’t reach San Diego anytime soon.
The team’s highly suspect rotation will likely be one of, if not the worst, in baseball. But when they do hand a lead over to the bullpen, as rare as that might be, the Padres should be able to hold on for the win on most occasions. If Carter Capps can return to his pre-injury form—he had a 1.16 ERA, 2.0 BB/9 and 16.8 K/9 in 31 innings in 2015 before an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery—the Padres could have themselves quite an effective group of late-inning arms. Along with Capps, who is expected to start the season on the DL, closer Brandon Maurer and lefty setup men Ryan Buchter and Brad Hand will all be highly-coveted by playoff contenders and could prove to be valuable trade chips in July. Veteran Craig Stammen, signed to a Minor League contract in the offseason, could also end up attracting trade interest if his spring performance (11.2 IP, ER, 12 K) is any indication of a return to form.
While the Padres are mostly sticking with their young position players, they did make one notable offseason addition in veteran Erick Aybar, who came to camp on a Minor League deal and ended up beating out Luis Sardiñas for the starting shortstop job. He’ll be yet another one-year stop-gap—Clint Barmes and Alexei Ramirez were the team’s Opening Day shortstops in 2015 and 2016, respectively—as Preller continues his search for the team’s shortstop of the future.
Aybar’s double-play partner will be Yangervis Solarte, who is shifting over from third base, while Ryan Schimpf (.533 slugging percentage in 330 MLB plate appearances) and former 1st Round draft pick Cory Spangenberg are competing for time at the hot corner. Top prospects and NL Rookie of the Year candidates Manuel Margot and Hunter Renfroe, who each had late-season MLB auditions in 2016, are expected to step into regular roles in the Padres’ outfield with Jabari Blash, Alex Dickerson—once he returns from the disabled list—and Travis Jankowski each getting plenty of opportunities to prove that they should be a part of the team’s future.
Behind the plate, Padres fans will finally get to see Austin Hedges, one of the most highly-touted defensive catching prospects in recent memory, on a regular basis. After spending 2015 as Derek Norris‘ backup and most of last season in the minors, he’ll get the bulk of playing time in 2017 with Norris out of the picture, Christian Bethancourt splitting time between the bench and the bullpen, and 20-year-old Rule 5 draftee Luis Torrens expected to mostly watch and learn, having never played a game above Low-A ball.
More analysis after the break …
Notable Roster Decisions: Friday
As Spring Training draws to a close, the final determinations about each team’s roster will be continue to come into focus. Here are some of the day’s more notable roster decisions…
- Prized righty Tyler Glasnow will take the final spot in the Pirates rotation, Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on Twitter. He had been competing with Trevor Williams, who’ll head to the bullpen, Adam Berry of MLB.com adds on Twitter. With southpaw Wade LeBlanc also taking a job, that seems to set the stage for Rule 5 pick Tyler Webb to hit the waiver wire.
- The Giants have nailed down their bench and rotation, as Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports. Aaron Hill and Chris Marrero will round out the bench. The veteran Hill figures to share the infield reserve duties with Conor Gillaspie, while Marrero will surprisingly open the season as a part of a left field platoon with the left-handed-hitting Jarrett Parker. Meanwhile, Matt Cain will keep a rotation spot, though Ty Blach will also make the club as a reliever — where he could often spell Cain in lengthier outings.
- With injuries and young arms entering the picture, the Rockies‘ pitching plans were interesting to watch this spring. As Nick Groke of the Denver Post tweets, the team will roll with lefty Kyle Freeland and righties Antonio Senzatela and German Marquez to fill out their starting staff. It seems likely that the former two will open the year in the rotation, with Marquez heading to the pen and staying on hand if a need arises.
Click to read earlier updates …