Diamondbacks Sign Michael Bourn
The Diamondbacks have signed center fielder Michael Bourn to a minor league deal, per a club announcement. He’ll be assigned to Double-A to start with Arizona.
Bourn, 33, was cut loose by the Blue Jays over the weekend after previously receiving his release from the Braves. The veteran will only cost his new team a pro-rated portion of the league minimum salary, as the final year of his free agent contract with the Indians remains on Atlanta’s payroll.
It’s been quite some time since Bourn was a productive regular, but the D-Backs will hope there’s still a renaissance left. Arizona has struggled to fill in for injured star A.J. Pollock, who left a massive void in center field and isn’t expected back any time soon.
At his best, Bourn was a major threat on the bases, excellent defender, and good-enough hitter who conveyed plenty of overall value. But he’s mostly been injured and/or ineffective since going to Cleveland after a strong 2012 walk year.
Bourn will still need to earn another major league opportunity, and has to climb the ladder a bit after playing only at the High-A level in the Toronto organization. In his 41 plate appearances there, he put up a solid but hardly exciting .257/.366/.371 batting line and swiped one base in a single attempt.
Reactions To The Stephen Strasburg Extension
The Nationals’ move to lock up Stephen Strasburg came out of nowhere, at least so far as public knowledge is concerned, and it’ll have wide-ranging repercussions for the organization and the broader market. Strasburg bypassed a chance at a major free agent sweepstakes to stay in D.C. for at least three seasons — that’s when he’ll have the first of two opt-out chances — and pick up a guarantee of $175MM over seven years. It’s a highly significant contract for many reasons, so it’s no surprise to see plenty of reactions rolling in:
- Agent Scott Boras provides some interesting details on the signing to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. After both sides gauged interest this spring, the agent and owner Ted Lerner hammered out the agreement over the weekend, per the report. Strasburg and his wife wanted to ink long-term with the Nats, said Boras, “so I really moved aggressive[ly] to get this deal done.” The super-agent says that the contract rewarded the organization for its “ethically and medically driven” handling of Strasburg through the Tommy John process, which also “has to do with why Stephen is so comfortable in Washington.” From the player’s side, the deal obviously keeps him where he wants to be, but also holds onto some upside. “For me, the big thing was the flexibility of the contract,” said Boras. “Stephen has a lot of security, and the opportunity to stay or leave. It works out well for both parties.’’
- Dave Cameron of Fangraphs echoes that sentiment from an analytical perspective. He likes the idea of Strasburg taking the risk of pitching out the 2016 season off of the table, but also sees the merit in the club’s investment. As Cameron notes, Strasburg is younger than most free agent arms, and he could deliver plenty of value on the deal even if he ends up missing time over parts of it — particularly once the deferrals are accounted for.
- One notable element of this contract is that it sets a record for a Tommy John patient, as Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports notes. In the latest example of the Nationals’ investment in questionable elbows, Passan asks whether the organization is going against its own views of UCL replacement durability in making such a deal at this point in time. Jonah Keri of CBSSports.com also offers his thoughts, focusing in particular on the role of Boras and his cozy relationship with Nationals’ ownership.
- Jon Morosi of MLB Network argues that Strasburg’s absence from the coming free agent market could spur trade activity “far earlier than anyone expected.” ESPN.com’s Buster Olney likewise suggests that there’ll be increased focus on controllable starters from other clubs as a result of the move.
- I’m not sure I agree that the extension has a significant impact on this summer’s trade season, which already was likely to feature questions about high-quality starters who are currently under long-term control. Teams weighing deadline deals for starting pitching likely would not have changed their approach very much based upon the mere chance of landing Strasburg over the winter; after all, he would’ve been the clear prize and had multiple suitors, and his price tag would’ve been both astronomical and uncertain. Meanwhile, organizations with desirable trade assets may now actually see greater value in holding onto their arms, comfortable in the knowledge that there’ll be lots of demand even after the season. Plus, the Nats might well have been in the market for a rotation piece — and likely would’ve pursued Strasburg — had he not inked this contract, so the overall level of demand may not have changed much.
Minor MLB Transactions: 5/10/16
Here are the day’s minor moves:
- Righty Vin Mazzaro has accepted an outright assignment with the Giants after clearing waivers, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports on Twitter. Mazzaro, who was recently designated for assignment after a dreadful outing, would have had the option of declining the assignment given his prior outrights and service time. Instead, the 29-year-old will head to Triple-A, where he’ll wait for another major league opportunity. He was solid there in the early going this season, allowing just one earned run in 14 1/3 innings prior to his brief call-up.
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Free Agent Notes: Lincecum, Nathan, Oviedo
Fielding questions about the Orioles‘ interest in Tim Lincecum, executive VP Dan Duquette downplayed that likelihood and provided some hints as to the market’s development, as Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore Sun reports. In Duquette’s view, Lincecum is likely to sign with a west coast club and is likely to get a shot at a rotation. “He’s going to sign with a club that needs a starter,” said the O’s top baseball decisionmaker. “That’s what he wants to do, and I’m confident he’s going to get that opportunity.”
- The Diamondbacks are a theoretical suitor with a geographic match, but the club does not appear likely to get involved on Lincecum, as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets. While GM Dave Stewart says that the organization had scouts on hand for the showcase, he went on to say, “I don’t see us going any steps further.” Lincecum appears to be drawing fairly wide interest, but it’s still not clear which team will make him a handshake agreement of a starting role. We had heard that the 31-year-old could reach a decision over the weekend after his showcase on Friday, but that obviously didn’t happen.
- Last we checked in, veteran reliever Joe Nathan was still set on a comeback, and Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets an update. Nathan, who’s recovering from Tommy John surgery, is beginning a throwing program. There’s apparently at least some hope that he’ll be ready for game action by July 1st, though it would be pretty surprising to see him in the majors anywhere near that soon if he’s only now ramping up.
- Cuban righty Johan Oviedo is opening some eyes, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez tweets. An 18-year-old with a big frame, Oviedo is said to be working in the mid-nineties with his fastball, though of course scouts will be looking for quite a bit more than just that. He’s eligible to sign, but will be subject to bonus pool restrictions.
- Morgan Campbell of the Toronto Star provides an interesting look at the question of how the talent flow from Cuba to the majors may impact the game on the island. At present, stakeholders on the island merely watch as their best players depart, receiving no compensation. It’s certainly fair to raise doubts about the long-term impacts of that set of incentives, to say nothing of the other issues that have arisen in player movement out of Cuba. Of course, all indications are that a new system will be installed, but it remains to be seen how it’ll be structured.
AL Notes: Gallardo, Ausmus, Hill
Orioles righty Yovani Gallardo will have a “light catch” over the weekend, Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore Sun reports on Twitter. Gallardo hit the DL on April 23rd but is only now apparently set to test out his bothersome shoulder. Even if he’s able to begin progressing back toward the mound, his timetable remains uncertain. And beyond that, Gallardo still will face questions about his ability to remain effective while exhibiting a rather significant velocity decline that apparently preceded his injury.
Here are a few more notes from the American League:
- Tigers manager Brad Ausmus acknowledges that he is “in the crosshairs” with his team struggling, writes MLive.com’s Aaron McMann. “I knew when I took this job, I was probably going to get fired before I walked away from it,” said Ausmus. “Not this job in particular, but just managing in general. How many managers walk away from a job?” The Tigers are off to a fairly disappointing 14-16 start and suffered through a disastrous bullpen meltdown on Sunday, when Mark Lowe and Justin Wilson combined to serve up seven runs in the eighth inning. Ausmus said he hasn’t heard anything either way from owner Mike Ilitch or GM Al Avila in terms of his job security.
- Rich Hill has been one of the best stories in the league this season with the A’s, but the Red Sox made an effort to keep around following his September renaissance last season, according to WEEI.com’s John Tomase. Boston offered Hill a one-year, Major League deal on the heels of his four brilliant starts down the stretch, but the money didn’t match up to Oakland’s $6MM, per Tomase’s sources. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski wouldn’t get into any specific details, unsurprisingly, but he did acknowledge that his team made Hill what it felt to be a competitive offer. “We gave him what we felt was a solid offer,” said Dombrowski. “They did better. It’s always easier in hindsight. It’s a situation where we did like him enough to offer him a nice deal, we thought. Oakland really stepped up, and you tip your cap.”
Minor MLB Transactions: 5/9/16
Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…
- The Cubs have purchased the contract of righty Alex Sanabia from the Mexican League Tijuana Toros, MLBTR’s Zach Links has learned. Sanabia will head to Triple-A Iowa to bolster the club’s rotation depth. The 27-year-old has seen action in parts of three MLB seasons with the Marlins, throwing 138 2/3 innings over 24 starts and four relief appearances and posting a sturdy 4.15 ERA with 5.6 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9. Sanabia had a rough go of things with the Angels’ top affiliate last year, but has given the Toros 30 innings of 3.60 ERA ball with 6.0 K/9 against a stingy 0.9 BB/9.
- Left-hander Ryan O’Rourke has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A by the Twins, tweets Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The 28-year-old has appeared in 36 games for Minnesota over the past two seasons but struggled to a 5.83 ERA. While O’Rourke misses plenty of bats (8.9 K/9), he also has struggled with his control, as evidenced by the 20 walks he’s issued in 29 1/3 big league innings. Lefties, however, have been befuddled by him, batting just .149/.286/.234 in 58 plate appearances.
- The Orioles announced today that right-hander Scott McGough has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Norfolk. Baltimore designated the 26-year-old, who was claimed off waivers from the Marlins earlier this year, for assignment last week. McGough made his big league debut in Miami last season but allowed seven runs in 6 2/3 innings. He’s been roughed up for a dozen runs in 8 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level this season but had an excellent 2015 campaign, posting a 1.93 ERA in 37 1/3 innings across three minor league level.
- The Red Sox have signed former A’s first baseman Nate Freiman to a minor league deal and assigned him to Double-A Portland, according to an announcement from the independent Atlantic League. Freiman, 29, has been playing for the Atlantic League’s Long Island Ducks and hitting quite well through a small six-game sample (8-for-21, two homers, one double, two walks). Freiman showed good pop and handled left-handed pitching well for the 2013-14 A’s (.279/.326/.470 in 233 PAs), but his production evaporated at the Triple-A level last season when he hit just .220/.279/.321 in 305 PAs.
- The Nationals acquired minor league catcher Martin Medina from the Blue Jays in exchange for cash considerations, per Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. The 26-year-old was originally drafted by the White Sox in the 20th round back in 2011, but Chicago flipped him to Toronto last summer (also for cash considerations). He’s a career .244/.314/.334 hitter in the minors and has caught 30 percent of opposing base-stealers, but he’s yet to progress beyond the Double-A level.
- Also via Eddy, the Braves have released right-hander Rob Wooten from Triple-A Gwinnett. The long-time Brewers reliever signed a minors pact with Atlanta this winter and had a nice showing with Gwinnett, yielding just three runs on seven hits and no walks with seven strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings. The rest of Wooten’s career has come with the Brewers organization. He owns a 4.07 ERA with 8.3 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 in 185 2/3 Triple-A innings and a 5.03 ERA with 7.0 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 in 68 big league frames.
- One more from Eddy, who adds that the Reds traded outfielder Pin-Chieh Chen to the Dodgers in exchange for cash considerations. The 24-year-old Chen, signed by the Cubs as a free agent out of Taiwan prior to the 2010 season, has climbed as high as Double-A in the minors, spending parts of four seasons at that level and compiling a .236/.344/.327 batting line there. Baseball America rated him as Chicago’s No. 31 prospect prior to the 2012 season but didn’t rise higher than that on their prospect rankings.
Braves To Designate Matt Tuiasosopo
The Braves have designated outfielder Matt Tuiasosopo for assignment, per the MLB.com transactions page. David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported earlier today that Tuiasosopo would be removed from the roster to make way for the return of infielder Gordon Beckham from the 15-day DL.
Tuiasosopo, who’ll turn 30 tomorrow, received just three plate appearances with Atlanta but nevertheless marked his first MLB action since 2013. Over 404 career plate appearances at the major league level, he owns a .206/.288/.353 batting line with a dozen long balls.
Andrelton Simmons To Undergo Thumb Surgery
Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons will undergo left thumb surgery, the club announced (h/t MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez; Twitter links). Simmons has suffered a “full thickness tear of the ulnar collateral ligament” in the thumb.
Angels GM Billy Eppler says that a typical recovery period for the procedure would be six to eight weeks, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets. Notably, though, fellow middle infielder Jed Lowrie required what appears to be the very same procedure last year. His surgery took place in late April, and he did not return until the very end of July.
All told, it seems reasonable to think that Simmons can still have an impact in 2016, though obviously he’ll need a full-blown rehab build-up even if the recovery progresses well. Still, for a Halos club that’s been hit hard by injuries and is already five games under .500, it’s a major blow.
The 26-year-old Simmons was Eppler’s first major acquisition, changing hands at the outset of the offseason. The organization spent much of its remaining prospect capital to add a player who has staked a largely unassailable claim as the very best defender in baseball. While he’s never been anywhere near as useful at the plate — Simmons owns a lifetime .253/.301/.357 slash — the glove provided a lofty floor, and there was at least some hope that he’d trend up with the bat.
Things clearly haven’t gone quite as hoped. While Simmons has more or less continued his usual wizardry in the field, he has struggled out of the gate to a .219/.246/.281 batting line with just one home run in his first 118 plate appearances. To be fair, though, he’s still been quite a bit better than the player he replaced (Erick Aybar), though the organization is without its two best pitching prospects as a result of the deal.
Of course, Los Angeles’s interest in Simmons extends well beyond the present season. He’s controlled through 2020 under the extension he signed before the 2014 season with the Braves. The Halos owe Simmons $6MM this year and $47MM over the remaining four years of that contract.
While the club awaits the return of Simmons, it may need to rely on veteran utilityman Cliff Pennington at the position. Yunel Escobar could slide over to short, in theory, but he hasn’t played there for some time and Eppler has rejected that option (as Gonzalez tweets).
Aroldis Chapman Activated From Restricted List
Left-hander Aroldis Chapman has finished serving his 30-game suspension, as the Yankees announced prior to tonight’s contest that Chapman has been activated from the restricted list. Right-hander Johnny Barbato has been optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in order to clear a spot on the 25-man roster, and righty Branden Pinder, who underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this season, has been transferred to the 60-day disabled list in order to create a spot on the 40-man roster for Chapman’s reinstatement.
Chapman, 28, was suspended by commissioner Rob Manfred under the newly implemented domestic violence issue for an offseason incident in which Chapman was alleged to have struck his girlfriend and discharged a firearm while alone in his garage. Charges were never filed, however, and witnesses never offered any evidence that corroborated the initial allegations. Eventually, Chapman’s girlfriend offered a different account of the evening, stating that she didn’t recall saying Chapman had struck her, adding that she only heard one gunshot (after originally alleging eight shots were fired) and wasn’t sure if it was Chapman who discharged the firearm. Because criminal charges were never filed, Chapman did not face a trial.
The exact events of the night in question won’t ever be known to any but the involved parties, but Manfred seemed convinced of the fact that Chapman did indeed fire the weapon in his garage, saying in a statement at the time that the pitcher’s behavior was “inappropriate … particularly his use of a firearm and the impact of that behavior on his partner.” Chapman accepted the 30-game ban without appeal, issuing a statement in which he said: “I want to be clear, I did not in any way harm my girlfriend that evening. However, I should have exercised better judgment with respect to certain actions, and for that I am sorry. The decision to accept a suspension, as opposed to appealing one, was made after careful consideration. I made this decision in an effort to minimize the distractions that an appeal would cause the Yankees, my new teammates and most importantly, my family.”
With Chapman’s suspension complete, he’ll now join left-hander Andrew Miller and right-hander Dellin Betances to form what many expect to be a bullpen trio that will be as formidable as any in big league history. Miller, who has been acting as the closer but will step down into a setup role with Chapman in the picture, has yet to allow a run in 11 2/3 innings while posting a 20-to-1 K/BB ratio. Betances, meanwhile, has an outrageous 27-to-3 K/BB ratio in 14 innings, though he’s yielded four runs (due to three homers) and has a 2.57 ERA as a result. Last season, Chapman, Miller and Betances led all qualified relievers in K/9 (in that order), and they constituted three of the top four relievers in baseball in terms of pure strikeout percentage (Kenley Jansen slipped ahead of Betances to rank third).
Chapman is earning $11.35MM this season after avoiding arbitration for the final time this winter, but he lost $1.865MM of that salary as a result of the unpaid nature of his suspension. He’s slated to reach free agency at season’s end, where he’ll join Jansen and Mark Melancon atop a strong class of free-agent relievers.