Chris Perez Suspended 50 Games For Drug Of Abuse
Free agent righty Chris Perez has been hit with a 50-game suspension, the league announced (h/t to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy). The penalty was assessed for use of a drug of abuse, with the length based on the fact that this is Perez’s second such offense.
Perez, 29, was the long-time closer for the Indians before signing as a free agent last year with the Dodgers. He opened the 2015 season at Triple-A for the Brewers after inking a minor league deal, but opted out of his deal earlier in the season.
Though he’s had some very good years along the way, Perez has struggled to deliver consistent results while dealing with command issues at times. He still has a big arm, having averaged over 94 mph on his four-seamer last year, and seemed likely to get another shot at the big leagues in the relatively near term.
All told, Perez owns a 3.51 ERA over 379 1/3 MLB frames, with 8.6 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9. He allowed eight earned runs on 14 hits and four walks in his 7 2/3 minor league frames earlier this year, striking out just three batters in the process.
Phillippe Aumont Declines Outright, Elects Free Agency
Righty Phillippe Aumont has declined the Phillies‘ outright assignment and instead elected free agency, Jake Kaplan of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports on Twitter. Aumont was designated for assignment over the weekend.
Aumont had previously been outrighted, meaning that he had the option to hit the market this time around. The 26-year-old righty had never managed to show sustained results as a big league reliever, struggling in particular to limit free passes. Aumont lost his 40-man spot early last year, but remained in the organization after clearing waivers.
He was doing a nice job of preventing runs at Triple-A this season after moving back to a starting role, posting a 2.35 ERA in 65 innings despite continued control problems. Philadelphia brought Aumont up for a big league start to bolster its threadbare rotation, but the results weren’t pretty. He walked seven batters in just four frames and served up two home run balls en route to allowing six earned.
With Aumont formally leaving the Philly organization, we can officially close the books on the 2009 deal that sent Cliff Lee to the Mariners. The Phillies never received any significant contributions from the young players it acquired, though of course the club ultimately re-signed Lee not long after.
Astros Agree To Terms With Alex Bregman
2:58pm: Bregman’s bonus is expected to be $6MM, reports Drellich (on Twitter). That would add an approximate $1.42MM to the $1.069MM they’ve already saved, giving the team about $2.3MM over slot to offer Cameron. Of course, as noted below, the team’s second- and third-round picks remain unsigned, so there are still some yet-undetermined factors in calculating Cameron’s maximum bonus.
12:35pm: Bregman tells MLB.com’s Chandler Rome that he’s “pretty sure” he’ll be introduced at Minute Maid Park tomorrow (Twitter link).
12:27pm: The Astros are in agreement with No. 2 overall pick Alex Bregman, reports Mark Berman of MyFOXHouston.com (All Twitter links). Bregman has arrived in Houston to sign his contract with the Astros, according to Berman. A shortstop out of Louisiana State University, Bregman himself confirmed that the deal is in place and voiced his excitement over beginning his pro career when talking to Berman. “I was so excited. I can’t wait to get wherever I’m going,” said Bregman.
Earlier this week, the Houston Chronicle’s Evan Drellich reported that the ‘Stros were closing in on agreements with Bregman and No. 37 overall selection Daz Cameron. GM Jeff Luhnow told Drellich he hoped to have a couple of signings to announce during the upcoming homestand, which starts tomorrow.
Bregman was universally considered among the top four prospects in this year’s draft class. He rated as the No. 4 prospect in the draft in the estimation of Baseball America, Keith Law of ESPN.com and Jonathan Mayo/Jim Callis of MLB.com. Fangraphs’ Kiley McDaniel ranked Bregman third.
Law calls Bregman the “best pure hitter in the class,” sharing the opinion of many scouts that Bregman will eventually end up at second base. That’s far from a guarantee, however, as McDaniel notes that he feels Bregman can stick at short, and both the MLB.com and BA scouting reports add that he has a chance to be an average defender there. BA notes that “average” range isn’t good enough for some clubs, but Bregman projects as a plus defender at second if he moves to the other side of the bag. BA calls Bregman “one of the safest picks in this year’s draft,” noting that he has an exceptionally long track record of success, dating back to his high school days, when he led the USA 16U and 18U teams to gold medals in 2010 and 2011.
If Bregman’s bonus comes in below the slot value of $7,420,100, the Astros could use those savings and the roughly $189K they saved on No. 5 overall selection Kyle Tucker in order to offer Cameron a significantly above-slot bonus. A look at MLB.com’s draft bonus tracker also shows that the Astros have saved $273K on fourth-rounder Anthony Hermelyn, $66.5K on fifth-rounder Trent Thornton, $43K on sixth-rounder Nestor Muriel, $120K on seventh-rounder Michael Freeman, $76K on eighth-rounder Garrett Stubbs, $154K on ninth-rounder Zac Person and $148K on 10th-rounder Scott Weathersby. All told that’s a savings of about $1.069MM in addition to any savings from Bregman’s bonus and their remaining unsigned second- and third-round selections. Cameron’s slot value is $1.6686MM, so the Astros seem well-positioned to offer substantially more in order to convince him to sign rather than attend Florida State.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Phillies Plan To Hire Andy MacPhail Soon
2:16pm: The Phillies plan to name MacPhail as their top baseball decision-maker within the next week or so, Heyman writes in a full column. MacPhail’s title is expected to be named as the new team president, or something similar to that title. Upon MacPhail’s hiring, Gillick would shift to a consulting role similar to the one he held before assuming presidential duties in the wake of former president David Montgomery’s health concerns.
1:54pm: The Phillies plan to appoint former Twins/Cubs/Orioles executive Andy MacPhail to a key spot within their front office in the near future, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (via Twitter). Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com first reported earlier this month that the Phils were eyeing MacPhail as a potential key decision-maker in their front office.
It’s not clear specifically what role MacPhail will fill, but 77-year-old team president Pat Gillick has stated in the past that he doesn’t envision remaining in the role for the long-term. (Gillick also recently told the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Bob Brookover that he expected the team to make a front office hire in the near future.) It seems unlikely that MacPhail would replace GM Ruben Amaro Jr. at this stage, though he could enter the organization in a fashion similar to that of Tony La Russa in Arizona last season. La Russa was named “Chief Baseball Officer” of the D-Backs last May and oversaw the front office throughout the summer, weighing in on baseball operations decisions before ultimately deciding to replace then-GM Kevin Towers in the offseason.
MacPhail has spent a significant amount of time heading baseball operations departments over his career as an executive. He served as the Twins’ GM during the team’s World Series victories in 1987 and 1991, and he spent nearly a decade as the president of the Cubs following that position. MacPhail left Chicago to become the Orioles’ president of baseball operations, where a number of moves that he made served as the foundation for the Orioles’ current contender.
MacPhail was heading Baltimore’s baseball ops department when the team traded Erik Bedard to Seattle in exchange for a package of prospects highlighted by franchise center fielder Adam Jones and right-hander Chris Tillman. He also acquired J.J. Hardy from the Twins in exchange for a pair of fungible minor league relievers and picked up Chris Davis and Tommy Hunter from the Rangers in exchange for Koji Uehara.
Yankees Designate Jose De Paula For Assignment
The Yankees announced that they have designated Jose De Paula for assignment. The move allows the Bombers to reinstate Ivan Nova from the 60-day disabled list following his rehab assignment.
The Yankees signed De Paula to a one-year major league contract back in November. The split contract called for the left-hander to earn $510K for pitching in the majors and $175K in the minors. De Paula, 27, owns a 3.77 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 over 470 career innings in the minors. In total, De Paula made just three appearances for the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate this season.
As the MLBTR DFA Tracker shows, there are now five players in DFA limbo: Scott Atchison, Phillippe Aumont, Hector Noesi, Jeff Bianchi, and De Paula.
Chase Utley To DL, May Impact Vesting Option
Late Tuesday night, the Phillies announced that they placed second baseman Chase Utley on the disabled list after a season of struggling with a right ankle injury. The news is frustrating for Utley for the obvious reasons, but the DL trip could also impact his future beyond this season. As Todd Zolecki of MLB.com notes, Utley has a $15MM option for 2016 that automatically vests if he reaches 500 plate appearances. It’s quite possible that Utley’s time away from the field could keep him from reaching that plateau.
As of today, the 36-year-old has 249 PAs through the first 73 games of the season. The 15-day DL stint alone won’t rule out 500 plate appearances, of course, but any missed time beyond that will make it even more challenging. As it stands, Utley isn’t sure exactly how long he’s going to need in order to heal up.
“Talking to the doctor today, the more time I can lay off it the better chance it has to heal properly,” Utley said. “I don’t have an exact time frame. It will be at least 15 days.”
On the plus side, Utley says that his knees – which have been an issue in the past – are healthy. Through roughly three months of the season, Utley hasn’t been looking like the six-time All-Star that he is. The veteran owns a slash line of .179/.257/.275, which would easily stand as his career worst if the season ended today. Utley’s name popped up on MLBTR more than once this season as a trade possibility, but he won’t garner much interest this summer with the way he has been hitting and his ankle issue.
In other Phillies news, we learned earlier today that the Yankees are not ruling out a pursuit of ace Cole Hamels.
Yankees Not Ruling Out A Pursuit Of Cole Hamels
The Yankees will get a first-hand look at Cole Hamels later today when the Phillies’ ace takes the hill for the series finale between the two clubs at Yankee Stadium, and Newsday’s David Lennon writes that they’ll be paying close attention to his performance, as the Yankees haven’t ruled out a pursuit of Hamels on the trade market.
The cost to acquire Hamels, both financially and prospect-wise, would be significant, but Lennon hears that such obstacles don’t necessarily preclude interest on the Yankees’ behalf. The Yankees have a full rotation at the moment, with Ivan Nova coming off the disabled list to join Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, CC Sabathia, Nathan Eovaldi and Adam Warren. Of course, there are persistent injury concerns with both Tanaka and Pineda, and the team will likely want to monitor the workloads of both Nova (one year removed from Tommy John) and Warren, who has thrown a combined 155 2/3 innings over the past two seasons.
Obviously, this report is preliminary in nature, so it’s best not to get too carried away with speculation, but one would imagine that the Phillies would express interest in the list of usual suspects that sit atop the Yankees’ prospect rankings. Right-hander Luis Severino, right fielder Aaron Judge, first baseman Greg Bird and shortstop Jorge Mateo are among the most highly regarded Yankees prospects. Further lending some insight into the possibilities, Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News wrote this morning that the Phillies’ preference seems to be to add offensive prospects, preferably ones that are reasonably close to the Majors.
Hamels is guaranteed $86.2MM through the guaranteed portion of his contract, which ends in the 2018 season. He’ll have $12.66MM remaining on this year’s $22.5MM salary following tonight’s start, plus $22.5MM annually from 2016-18. He has a club/vesting option for the 2019 season that is valued at $20MM and comes with a $6MM buyout. While there’s been speculation that Hamels would want that option guaranteed to approve a deal to a club on his no-trade list, that’s not an issue for the Yankees, because they are one of two American League clubs that are not on Hamels’ no-trade list. (The Rangers, who have also been connected to Hamels in the past 24 hours, are also pre-approved by the left-hander.)
The Yankees’ interest in Hamels dates back to the offseason, where one report even indicated that they’d come the closest to acquiring Hamels. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean that talks between New York and Philadelphia reached advanced stages. It doesn’t appear that the Phillies came all that close to trading Hamels in general this past winter. But, by waiting until July, Amaro may have upped his leverage, as his ace figures to be far more coveted over the next five weeks than he was at the tail end of the offseason.
Nori Aoki Headed To DL With Fractured Fibula
The Giants received further poor luck on the injury front last night, as X-rays revealed a fracture in left fielder Nori Aoki‘s right fibula, writes Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. An exact timeline for Aoki’s return is not yet clear, but he’ll head to the 15-day disabled list and be in a cast for two weeks before being re-evaluated.
Aoki’s injury actually occurred on Saturday night in Los Angeles when Aoki was hit by a pitch from Dodgers righty Carlos Frias, but initial tests didn’t reveal the fracture. Aoki had been in the lineup as of Tuesday afternoon, having tested the leg by running some sprints, but the pain in his leg worsened after that and he was sent in for new X-rays, Schulman writes.
The loss of Aoki is a difficult one for the Giants, as the 33-year-old has been outstanding. The one-year, $4.7MM contract (plus a club option) that Aoki signed this winter looks to be one of the best free agent pickups in all of baseball, as he’s hitting .317/.383/.385 with a pair of homers, 12 steals and strong left field defense.
Between Aoki’s injury and the fact that Hunter Pence is on the disabled list for a second time this season, this time due to tendinitis in his left wrist, the Giants are without their starting corner outfielders and two of their more productive all-around hitters. Justin Maxwell and Gregor Blanco could now be pressed into everyday corner outfield duty in San Francisco, although Schulman discusses a number of scenarios to replace Aoki’s bat. One interesting possibility would be deploying Brandon Belt in left field, with Buster Posey shifting to first base and Andrew Susac handling everyday catching duties. As far as replacing Aoki on the 25-man roster, Triple-A outfielder Jarrett Parker, who made his big league debut earlier this season, is an option, Schulman writes. Double-A outfielder Mac Williamson is a longer shot, he adds.
HoopsRumors.com Has The NBA Offseason Covered
Thursday’s draft will touch off a wild few weeks of movement around the NBA, with free agency starting next week and trade talks heating up. The Lakers are reportedly pushing to deal for DeMarcus Cousins with apparent turmoil in the Kings organization, uncertainty surrounds LaMarcus Aldridge‘s next destination, and the Cavs and Warriors face massive expense if they’re to keep together the rosters that took them to the Finals. Check out our sister site Hoops Rumors to keep up with all of the latest as the NBA offseason reaches its peak!
Giants, Second-Rounder Andrew Suarez Agree To Terms
The Giants and second-round pick Andrew Suarez are in agreement on a full-slot bonus of $1,010,100, tweets MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo. A left-hander out of the University of Miami, Suarez was also selected in the second round of the 2014 draft but elected to return to Miami for his senior season rather than sign with the Nationals.
Suarez went from the 57th overall pick in 2014 to the 61st pick overall in 2015, although despite the slight step back in terms of his draft status, he may have come out slightly ahead, financially speaking. Slot value at No. 57 last year was $987,800, so his full-slot agreement is about $23K greater than a full-slot agreement would’ve been last year.
Suarez rated 62nd, 73rd and 75th, respectively, on the pre-draft rankings of Fangraphs, Baseball America and MLB.com. Suarez is said to have a 90-95 mph fastball with the potential for three above-average secondary pitches (changeup, curveball, slider), but there are some questions about his durability and he underwent shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum his freshman year.
With Suarez’s agreement set, the Giants have three of their top four picks accounted for. No. 31 pick Chris Shaw and No. 95 pick Jalen Miller have both agreed to bonuses, but 18th overall selection Phil Bickford remains unsigned.