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Padres Claim Oswaldo Arcia From Marlins

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The Padres have claimed Oswaldo Arcia from the Marlins, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets. Arcia will start in the Padres’ outfield tonight. The team has optioned outfielder Patrick Kivlehan to make room for Arcia on its active roster.

The last two months have been something of a whirlwind for Arcia. The Twins designated him for assignment in mid-June, then traded him to the Rays. After 61 plate appearances, the Rays designated him, and the Marlins claimed him this week before designating him for assignment Thursday.

It’s not hard to see why many teams find Arcia somewhat appealing, just as it’s easy to see the flaws that have prevented him from sticking with a team this season. He’s just 25 and has obvious power, with 42 home runs in 1,030 career big-league plate appearances. Unfortunately, he’s also struck out in over 30% of his plate appearances and doesn’t walk much, leading to low batting averages and on-base percentages. It appears he’ll get another shot in San Diego, where he’ll join an outfield that’s been depleted by a host of recent injuries (Jon Jay, Jabari Blash) and recent trades (Matt Kemp, Melvin Upton).

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/27/16

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

  • The Reds have selected the contract of catcher Rafael Lopez from Triple-A Louisville, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. To clear space on their active roster, they’ve optioned infielder Tony Renda to Louisville. The Reds needed an extra catcher due to a minor hand injury to Tucker Barnhart. The 28-year-old Lopez appeared briefly in the big leagues with the Cubs in 2016, but has not done so since. He’s hit a modest .213/.262/.297 for Louisville this season.
  • The Mariners today announced a bevy of roster moves — they selected the contract of righty Dan Altavilla from Double-A Jackson, recalled first baseman Dae-Ho Lee and switch-pitcher Pat Venditte from Triple-A Tacoma, and placed righty Tom Wilhelmsen on the 15-day disabled list with lower back spasms. (They also optioned outfielder Nori Aoki and infielder Michael Freeman to Tacoma, as had previously been reported.) The 23-year-old Altavilla, a fifth-round pick in 2014, has never pitched above the Double-A level, but he’s had success there this season, posting a 1.91 ERA, 8.8 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 56 2/3 innings.
  • The Twins have selected the contract of righty Alex Wimmers, as Ted Schwerzler of Off The Baggy was first to tweet. Wimmers made his big-league debut with a scoreless inning yesterday. The 27-year-old was the 21st overall pick in the 2010 draft, but his path to the big leagues was slowed by injury. He’s had a solid season in the bullpen at Triple-A Rochester, with a 3.62 ERA, 9.1 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 49 2/3 innings.
  • The Orioles announced that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Julio Borbon and optioned righty Mike Wright to Triple-A Norfolk. The 30-year-old Borbon briefly played for the Orioles this season but has spent most of the year with Double-A Bowie, where he’s batted .275/.336/.362 with 28 stolen bases. He’s hit sparingly in parts of five seasons in the big leagues, but his speed might make him an effective tactical player if the O’s opt to stick with him until rosters expand.

Tigers Activate Jose Iglesias, Designate Alex Presley

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The Tigers have announced that they’ve activated shortstop Jose Iglesias from the 15-day disabled list. To clear roster space for him, they’ve designated outfielder Alex Presley for assignment.

[Related: Updated Detroit Tigers Depth Chart]

Iglesias had missed two weeks with a hamstring strain. The 26-year-old is hitting just .249/.297/.328 in 399 plate appearances this season, although he remains one of the game’s finer defensive players, with UZR pegging him as 10.4 runs above average at short this year.

The Tigers signed Presley to a minor league deal in July after he opted for free agency rather than accepting an outright assignment from the Brewers. The Tigers called him up last week, and he collected just five plate appearances for them. The 31-year-old has hit just .198/.269/.289 in 134 plate appearances so far this season, although he’s hit fairly well at the Triple-A level. Over parts of seven big-league seasons, he’s batted .253/.295/.382 while playing all three outfield positions.

Ervin Santana Clears Trade Waivers

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Twins righty Ervin Santana recently cleared trade waivers and can be dealt to any team in the coming days, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press reports. Teams have until Wednesday to deal for players they wish to include on their postseason rosters.

Acquiring the 33-year-old Santana would be a considerable investment for any team — he’s making $13.5MM this season and will make the same amounts in both 2017 and 2018 as well. (He also has a club/vesting option for 2019.) Santana has pitched quite well this season, however, posting a 3.33 ERA, 7.0 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 140 2/3 innings. That includes a 1.89 ERA, 7.7 K/9 and a miserly 1.5 BB/9 in what has so far been a terrific second half. After an 80-game PED suspension last year in the first season of his four-year deal with Minnesota, Santana has reestablished himself as a reliable rotation option. As Berardino points out, the fact that Santana cleared waivers might indicate that the Twins might have to take on some salary to deal him. If they are willing to do so, however, they should be able to get legitimate talent in return.

The Twins are 49-79, miles out of the playoff race, and it stands to reason they would consider trading productive veterans. Last month, though, interim GM Rob Antony told MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger that the Twins were in no rush to trade Santana, pointing out that Santana’s remaining contract (basically, a two-year deal with an option) would make him a very attractive trade candidate amidst a weak free agent market next offseason and declaring that the Twins have no need to move Santana’s salary.

Still, expect to hear Santana’s name bandied about in the coming days. The ability to acquire a solid starting pitcher on a seemingly reasonable contract on the August trade market isn’t particularly common, and Santana’s talent and controllability would make him an attractive asset for any number of contenders.

Reactions To And Effects Of The Carlos Ruiz Trade

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Here are a few reactions to the Phillies and Dodgers’ recent catcher swap, in which Carlos Ruiz headed to Los Angeles while A.J. Ellis, pitcher Tommy Bergjans and a player to be named or cash went to Philadelphia.

  • The Phillies have two good catching prospects in Jorge Alfaro and Andrew Knapp, but GM Matt Klentak says it was still important that they receive the veteran Ellis in the deal, as Philly.com’s Matt Gelb writes. (Alfaro was recently promoted to the Majors, but is expected to return to the minors once Ellis arrives.) “It was important as this team parts ways with Carlos, who has been such an important leader for so long, that we add a player with a tremendous reputation as a leader and worker,” says Klentak. “We were adamant A.J. be in it.” Ellis is expected to back up Cameron Rupp in Philadelphia.
  • Ruiz could have used his no-trade clause to block the deal, and he didn’t want to leave the Phillies, the team that signed him all the way back in 1998. But he says the possibility of competing for a championship was too tempting to pass up, as MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes. “My heart and everything was in Philly,” says Ruiz. “It was tough to make that decision. It’s sad to leave, but another part of me is happy, because I’ve got an opportunity to go to the postseason and the playoffs and have a chance to go back to the World Series.”
  • From the Dodgers’ perspective, Ellis’ inclusion in the deal is confusing, writes Dave Cameron of Fangraphs. With September callups approaching, one would think the Dodgers could have kept Ellis and still traded for Ruiz, assembling some other package that would have worked for the Phillies (Klentak’s protestation above notwithstanding). Instead, they traded Ellis, who doesn’t hit well but has a terrific clubhouse reputation, in a deal that appears to be a marginal upgrade — Ruiz, after all, will be a backup who will only get so many plate appearances down the stretch. If the Dodgers don’t succeed this year, it will be easy to blame their failures on Ellis’ departure, whether or not that’s fair.

NL Notes: Collins, Reyes, Barrett, Maeda

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Manager Terry Collins led the Mets to a World Series just last year, but he acknowledges he could be fired after the season, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes. “They may fire me at the end of the year,” says Collins. “Whatever happens at the end of the year, I’ll walk out of here with a smile on my face, and get ready for spring training, or get ready to play golf, either one.” The Mets have had a tough, injury-riddled season, with Lucas Duda, David Wright, Matt Harvey, Steven Matz, Zack Wheeler and others missing or set to miss significant time. “We had no idea we’d break down like this. None. It’s hard to believe,” says Collins. Here’s more from the National League.

  • Cardinals righty Alex Reyes will get his first major league start Saturday in place of Mike Leake, who is sick, the club has announced (via Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, on Twitter). Reyes, the team’s top-rated prospect, was promoted earlier this month and has made five relief appearances, striking out 13 batters and walking four in 9 1/3 innings while throwing in the high 90s.
  • Nationals reliever Aaron Barrett suffered a significant setback in his return from Tommy John surgery, as Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington.com notes on Twitter. He broke his elbow five weeks ago while working his way back. That obviously takes the talented righty out of the mix for a late-season return, and further clouds his future. The 28-year-old has swing-and-miss stuff, but will now need to overcome a second major surgery.
  • The Dodgers have demoted righty Kenta Maeda in order to gain an extra pitcher until his next start, as MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick tweets. The move appears to be procedural in nature. Maeda will be assigned to the club’s Rookie ball affiliate; with that season coming to a close, he can permissibly be brought back before the typical ten-day waiting period.

Blue Jays Designate Aaron Loup For Assignment

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The Blue Jays have designated lefty Aaron Loup for assignment, Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith tweets. The move clears space on the Jays’ active roster for righty Bo Schultz, and it likely also creates room on the 40-man for Dioner Navarro, who was recently also acquired via trade.

Loup was once a fixture in the Jays’ bullpen, with a series of mostly successful seasons from 2012 through 2015, but he struggled with an elbow injury to start the 2016 season and hasn’t really made his way back, pitching just 9 2/3 innings in the big leagues this year and allowing eight runs while throwing markedly slower than he had in the past — his average fastball came in at 93.2 MPH last season, and this year it’s down all the way to 90.7 MPH. (He struck out 11 and walked only two in those 9 2/3 innings, however, and pitched very well for Triple-A Buffalo.) Loup was due to be eligible for arbitration after the season after making $1.05MM this year, and the Jays might have figured that if they didn’t plan to tender him, there would be little risk in designating him for assignment now.

5 Key Stories: 8/20/16 – 8/26/16

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Here’s a look back at MLBTR’s biggest stories from the past week.

MLB: Philadelphia Phillies at Pittsburgh PiratesDodgers trade A.J. Ellis and prospects for Carlos Ruiz. The Dodgers’ decision to trade backup catcher A.J. Ellis, righty Tommy Bergjans and a player to be named later or cash to the Phillies for Carlos Ruiz might not have an obviously huge on-field impact, but it’s an interesting deal, given Ellis’ clubhouse reputation and close relationship with ace Clayton Kershaw. The Phillies, meanwhile, promoted top prospect Jorge Alfaro in the wake of Ruiz’s departure.

Ellis and Ruiz weren’t the only veterans to head to new teams this week. Also on the move were Dioner Navarro (who headed from the White Sox back to the Blue Jays for lefty Colton Turner), Marc Rzepczynski (who went with cash from the Athletics to the Nationals for infielder Max Schrock) and Jeff Francoeur (who is now a Marlin after a complex three-team deal with the Braves and Rangers).

Rangers sign Carlos Gomez. The Rangers agreed to a minor league deal with the veteran outfielder, who had previously been with the Astros. Texas GM Jon Daniels has said he hopes the club bought low on a still-talented player. “He’s 30 years old; he’s still in his physical prime,” says Daniels. “We’re taking a chance on him thinking he’s better than his most recent performance.” To clear space on their roster for Gomez, the Rangers designated another veteran outfielder, Drew Stubbs.

Pirates extend David Freese. Freese had been having a strong season as a role player at first base and third base, but the Bucs removed him from the 2016-17 free agent market, signing him to a two-year, $11MM extension that includes a team option for 2019. Both the Freese deal and the recent promotion of Josh Bell would seem to bode poorly for incumbent first baseman John Jaso, who’s batting a modest .259/.346/.369 and has a year left on his contract.

Astros promote Yulieski Gurriel. The Astros promoted Cuban infielder Yulieski Gurriel to the Majors last Sunday. The Serie Nacional superstar has played sparingly so far, batting 2-for-7 in four games. At the very least, though, he provides the Astros with a bit of insurance in light of the recent news that third baseman Luis Valbuena will have season-ending hamstring surgery.

Rays to release Desmond Jennings. The Rays are set to part ways with longtime outfielder Desmond Jennings, who has had knee troubles and experienced a recent decline in performance. The 29-year-old, a former top prospect, was batting just .200/.281/.350.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

AL Notes: Davis, Aoki, Jones, Ondrusek, Angels, A’s

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Wade Davis is making progress on his way back to the Royals, as he’s set for an inning of action at Triple-A, as MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan tweets. Kansas City has thrived without their 30-year-old closer, but that doesn’t mean his return doesn’t come with anticipation. The defending World Series champs have clawed their way back into the postseason picture — no surprise for this group — but still sits four games out of Wild Card position and need every advantage that can be found.

Here’s more from the American League:

  • The Mariners optioned outfielder Nori Aoki to Triple-A tonight as part of a series of roster moves, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times was among those to tweet. While he has struggled for much of the year, Aoki has actually been quite useful at the plate in August with a .338/.392/.426 batting line for the month. But Seattle needed fresh arms, and so took advantage of the ability to remove the veteran from the active roster for the time being. He’ll surely be back shortly with rosters expanding in a few days.
  • Orioles outfielder Adam Jones left tonight’s action with what the team is calling a hamstring strain. That could be a big problem for the O’s, who not only need Jones’s bat in the lineup but don’t have any ready replacements on their depth chart. But skipper Buck Showalter says that he doesn’t believe Jones will require a DL stint, as Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com tweets.
  • Earlier today, the Orioles designated righty Logan Ondrusek off of their active roster. Unlike a typical DFA, the move simply puts the player on ice while he is passed through optional assignment waives. The procedural step was taken to enable the team to reinstate lefty T.J. McFarland from the DL.
  • The Angels have hired a new amateur scouting, adding former Cardinals cross-checker Matt Swanson, as ESPN.com’s Keith Law reported on Twitter. Los Angeles has continued to experience change in the upper levels of its player intake and development departments, which is no surprise given that GM Billy Eppler only took the helm last October.
  • Just like their AL West rivals, the Athletics are engaged in a complicated ballpark situation, though their’s may be trending away from their current digs at the O.Co Coliseum. The San Francisco Chronicle’s Matier & Ross recently provided a look at the latest on the search for a new site, with quiet majority owner John Fisher said to be looking closely at a spot in Oakland’s Howard Terminal that is the preferred spot of mayor Libby Schaaf.

Padres Interested In Re-Signing Jon Jay

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The Padres are interested in retaining outfielder Jon Jay beyond this season and have engaged in preliminary discussions with him about a return, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. The veteran is scheduled to reach free agency this fall.

Jay, 31, was in the midst of a productive campaign for San Diego before a wayward pitch fractured his forearm. Generally regarded as a solid defender in center, Jay also ran up a useful .296/.345/.407 slash with a then-league-leading 24 doubles over 291 plate appearances. He has been working his way back since hitting the DL in late June, and is expected to return in early or mid-September.

Prior to the injury, Jay seemed like a quality trade piece for the Friars. And there still seems to be at least an outside shot at a deal materializing over the next five days. (He could still be traded after the calendar flips to September, but an acquiring team would not be able to use him on its postseason roster.) This latest news, however, suggests that San Diego may instead keep Jay around — though he could certainly be dealt and then re-signed.

It’s not immediately clear whether the club is interested in keeping Jay from reaching the open market, or instead hopes to get a head start on free agent talks. Manager Andy Green suggested the latter, labeling it “an offseason discussion” to be had at year end. And Jay seems to be inclined to test the free agent waters, even if he sees a return to San Diego as a desirable possibility.

While Jay said it was “great” to be approached, he went on to explain that he’d likely need to weigh the alternatives. “Obviously, with free agency, you wait so long to get to this point as a player, you want to see what’s out there,” said Jay. “But at the same time, I feel very comfortable here. I do like it a lot here, so this is definitely something my wife and I will discuss when we’re making those decisions.”

As Lin well explains in the above-linked post, it is a bit surprising at first glance to learn of the Padres’ interest in retaining Jay. The organization has a fair number of untested but rather intriguing outfielders kicking around at or near the major league level, and doesn’t seem primed to contend in 2017. It seems, though, that Jay made quite an impression both on and off the field.

And while the injury was certainly a freak occurrence, it may limit his earning power somewhat and leave an opportunity for the team to realize some value if it does ultimately strike a deal. Though the overall free agent market is rather thin, there are a number of quality outfielders available, so it’ll be interesting to see how things develop with regard to Jay, who ought to draw fairly wide interest from a variety of teams.

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