Braves Release Alex Torres
The Braves have released lefty Alex Torres, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution tweets. Torres had looked likely to take a bullpen role after Atlanta signed him to a minor-league deal in December, but it appears the Braves didn’t like what they saw in Spring Training, and they ended up dealing for fellow lefty Eric O’Flaherty instead. “Just not a good fit,” says GM John Coppolella of the match between Torres and the Braves.
Torres allowed five runs, four earned, while striking out seven batters and walking five in eight innings of work this spring. Last season, his 3.15 ERA with the Mets obscured a growing walk rate — he allowed 3.1 batters per nine innings and struck out three times as many batters as he walked in a highly effective 2013 with the Padres, but that walk rate went to 5.5 in 2014 and 6.8 last year.
Rays Inform James Loney He Won’t Make Opening Day Roster
Rays first baseman James Loney has been informed that he won’t make the team’s Opening Day roster, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (Twitter links). He has been informed he’ll either be traded or released.
Loney is owed $8MM this year in the final season of the three-year pact he signed to return to Tampa Bay before the 2014 campaign. He was displaced by the team’s addition of several players, including fellow left-handed hitters Logan Morrison and Corey Dickerson, over the winter.
It remains to be seen whether the Rays can find a taker for any of that salary, though the failure to do so thus far suggests it may not be a viable option.
Though he’s a high-average hitter, Loney doesn’t draw a ton of walks and doesn’t have much pop. His production at the plate has tailed off in each successive year he’s been with the Rays, and he hit at a below-average clip (.280/.322/.357) in an injury-limited 2015 season. Loney has traditionally rated well with the glove, though metrics have seen him as very slightly below average in the last two seasons.
Rays To Release Rene Rivera, David Carpenter
The Rays will release catcher Rene Rivera, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). Tampa Bay also released reliever David Carpenter, Topkin adds on Twitter.
Rivera was owed $1.7MM under his arbitration contract, and Tampa Bay will remain on the hook for around a quarter of that (45 days of pay) if he’s not claimed. The club will apparently go with Curt Casali and Hank Conger behind the dish.
Rivera, 32, came to the club in the three-team swap that also brought in outfielder Steven Souza. The highly-regarded defender was coming off of a breakout 2014 season with the Padres after receiving only scattered MLB action previously. But Rivera struggled last year, putting up a meager .178/.213/.275 slash in his 319 plate appearances.
The Rangers and Astros have just filled their needs for additional veteran receivers, though surely some other organization will see fit to add Rivera in some capacity. Despite his questionable bat, he remains a useful presence behind the plate.
Carpenter, 30, was competing for a pen spot. The right-hander has had some strong campaigns in years past, but struggled with injuries last year and saw his strikeout tallies plummet. He ended with a 4.01 ERA in 24 2/3 innings, split between the Yankees and Nationals.
Criminal Charges Against Jose Reyes To Be Dropped
The criminal charges filed in Hawaii against Rockies shortstop Jose Reyes will be dropped, Jennifer Sinco Kelleher of the Associated Press reports. The domestic abuse trial that had been schedule for Opening Day will not go forward, per the prosecuting attorney, because Reyes’s wife — the alleged victim — was not willing to cooperate in the case.
Of course, the termination of criminal proceedings does not mean that Reyes will necessarily avoid discipline from the league under its domestic violence policy. Commissioner Rob Manfred recently handed Yankees hurler Aroldis Chapman a 30-game suspension despite the fact that — unlike Reyes — he was not arrested or charged in the incident in question. Chapman and the MLBPA also agreed not to appeal that ban, which some have suggested may have reduced its duration.
The charges stemmed from an incident on Halloween night last fall in which Reyes allegedly assaulted his wife in their hotel room. According to reports at the time, Reyes’s wife accused him at the time of grabbing her throat and pushing her into a sliding glass door. He was arrested as she was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Reyes has already been placed on paid administrative leave by the league pending the outcome of his case. He did not appear in Spring Training with the Rockies as a result. Now, Manfred faces the difficult matter of investigating and reaching a resolution on the matter with the regular season set to open in less than a week.
The Rockies, who acquired Reyes in last summer’s Troy Tulowitzki deal, owe the veteran shortstop $48MM over the next two years, including a buyout of a 2018 club option. Colorado would stand to avoid paying a pro-rated portion of that for whatever length of time, if any, Reyes is unavailable due to suspension. The Rockies seem set to utilize prospect Trevor Story at shortstop in Reyes’s absence; needless to say, the future outlook for Reyes and the club remain unclear at this time.
White Sox Outright Jacob Turner, Purchase Contract Of Jimmy Rollins
The White Sox announced several roster moves today. Among them, righty Jacob Turner was outrighted off of the 40-man roster, while shortstop Jimmy Rollins was added in his place.
Turner, 24, landed with the White Sox after bouncing around several times in recent years. He agreed to a $1.5MM deal with the club over the offseason.
A former top prospect, Turner is still looking to get back on track after fizzling out in the majors and sitting out much of 2015 with arm troubles. The out-of-options right-hander was hit hard this spring, allowing 14 earned runs on 14 hits and eight walks over 12 innings.
As for Rollins, it was widely expected that he’d open the year as the primary shortstop in Chicago. It seems he’ll still cede time to Tyler Saladino on occasion, but Rollins figures to receive the majority of the action.
Tigers Re-Sign Bobby Parnell
The Tigers have announced the re-signing of reliever Bobby Parnell to a minor league deal, as Lynn Henning of the Detroit News was first to report on Twitter. Third baseman Casey McGehee — who, like Parnell, was released on Monday — is reportedly also likely to re-join the organization.
By releasing and re-signing Parnell, 31, the Tigers avoided the need to pay him a $100K retention bonus. Though the results on the field this spring weren’t pretty, Parnell was said to be ramping up his velocity as camp progressed.
The former closer made it back from Tommy John surgery last year, only to strike out 13 and walk 17 in his 24 innings. Of course, he has shown plenty more previously. Over the 2010 to 2013 time span, he ran up a 2.79 ERA with 8.5 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9.
Jason Motte Has Strained Shoulder, Likely To Miss Opening Day
Rockies reliever Jason Motte is dealing with a shoulder strain that will likely cause him to miss the start of the season, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports on Twitter. That seems to line up lefty Jake McGee to take the closing duties to start the year.
Any significant time missed by Motte would represent a big blow to the Rockies. He signed a two-year, $10MM deal over the winter to provide a stabilizing late-inning presence. And the club’s staff is already dealing with an injury to Jon Gray, which has pushed Christian Bergman from the pen to the rotation.
While McGee is more than capable — preferable, really — in the ninth inning, the overall pen situation obviously will suffer without Motte. Presumably, Justin Miller and Chad Qualls will function as the two late-inning righties.
Then, there’s the question of the long-term effects of fighting through a shoulder injury. Motte was coming off of a somewhat less-than-stellar 2015 — though he did bring his velocity up to a 95 mph average fastball. And he gave up six earned runs in 5 2/3 spring innings — though that was largely due to two well-timed home runs, as Motte struck out four without surrendering a walk.
Mariners Acquire Nick Vincent
The Marines have acquired righty Nick Vincent from the Padres, per a team announcement. San Diego will receive a player to be named later in the swap. MLB.com’s A.J. Cassavell first reported that a deal was in the works, via Twitter.
Seattle had long been on the look for another middle relief option with a variety of injuries impacting the team’s depth. The out-of-options Vincent was obviously available at a minimum cost, and will slot right into the pen.
Vincent, 29, owns a sparkling 2.63 ERA over 150 2/3 MLB frames, with 9.6 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9. And he’ll be pitching at the league minimum this season before qualifying for arbitration next winter (if he achieves sufficient service time).
That looks like an intriguing package, but there are reasons he was had so cheaply. Vincent doesn’t generate very many groundballs and has a sub-90 average fastball. He may be in for some regression in terms of allowing home runs and saw his control lag last year (3.9 BB/9). Metrics like SIERA (3.90) and xFIP (4.26) took note of such factors in valuing Vincent’s 23 frames in 2015, though they have liked him quite a bit in prior years and it’s fair to note that he was rather dominant over his 50 1/3 innings at Triple-A.
Nationals Release, Re-Sign Bronson Arroyo, Burke Badenhop
The Nationals have released and re-signed right-handers Bronson Arroyo and Burke Badenhop, according to a club announcement. Both players had joined the team on minor league deals over the winter, and have now agreed to new minor league pacts to stay in the organization.
The moves were made because of opt-out terms in their prior agreements, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com tweets. Their original opt-out dates were not reported, but certainly may have fallen in this general time frame. It’s not clear if and when the players can elect to seek another opportunity moving forward.
Arroyo, 39, had been in the rotation mix before a rotator cuff issue sidelined him this spring. He’s expected to rehab and make an attempt to return to the hill over the summer. While the organization has several young options that will compete at Triple-A in hopes of earning starting shots if a need arises at the major league level, Arroyo could certainly present an option if he’s able to work back to full health.
Badenhop, meanwhile, had been looking to crack the pen after an up-and-down year with the Reds in 2015. The groundball-heavy righty didn’t have good results in spring action and wasn’t able to force his way into a fairly competitive relief situation. But he’ll look to rebound at Triple-A and re-enter the picture later in the year.
Blue Jays Notes: Atkins, Encarnacion, Osuna, Carrera
Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins had to hit the ground running after joining club president Mark Shapiro in moving from Cleveland to Toronto. He gave an interesting interview with Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star about the transition. Among other things, Atkins says he has been impressed with the level of minor league talent still in place despite the significant trades swung by former GM Alex Anthopoulos.
Here’s more out of Toronto:
- It doesn’t appear that the Blue Jays have any further extension talks lined up with slugger Edwin Encarnacion during the final days of camp, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports on Twitter. That’s not terribly surprising, given that all indications are the sides were not able to gain much ground earlier in the spring. Still, it’s worth noting that many extension — particularly of pending free agents — come together just before the season opens.
- Roberto Osuna will open the year as the closer for the Jays, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca tweets, meaning that the recently acquired Drew Storen will operate in the 8th inning. As Nicholson-Smith notes (also via Twitter), the Opening Day pen will include four other new additions: Gavin Floyd, Jesse Chavez, Arnold Leon, and Rule 5 pick Joe Biagini.
- Meanwhile, Toronto has settled upon Ezequiel Carrera as the team’s fourth outfielder to open the season, as MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm tweets. He had been competing for the job with players like Darrell Ceciliani, Junior Lake, and Domonic Brown. Carrera, 28, owns a .259./.309/.349 slash with 27 stolen bases over 670 plate appearances spread over five MLB campaigns.