Angels Release Raul Ibanez
The Angels have announced that they’ve released Raul Ibanez. Ibanez collected 190 plate appearances with the Angels this season and hit .157/.258/.265. The Angels have endured criticism recently for playing Ibanez at designated hitter ahead of the much younger C.J. Cron.
The Angels signed Ibanez to a big-league deal in December, paying him $2.75MM plus bonuses based on playing time. Ibanez was effective offensively for the Mariners last season, hitting .242/.306/.487 with 29 homers in 596 plate appearances, but he never got untracked with the Angels, and he has been a consistently weak defender and baserunner for years, so he doesn’t add value if he’s not hitting. Ibanez, 42, has played in parts of 19 seasons with the Mariners, Royals, Phillies, Yankees and Angels.
Reds Designate Roger Bernadina For Assignment
The Reds have announced that they’ve designated Roger Bernadina for assignment. The move clears space on the Reds’ active roster for pitcher Carlos Contreras.
Bernadina, who turned 30 last week, has hit .153/.286/.203 in 71 plate appearances for Cincinnati this year. The Reds signed him to a minor league deal in January. The outfielder has a career .236/.306/.352 line in parts of seven seasons with the Nationals, Phillies and Reds.
Contreras, 23, has not pitched above Double-A Pensacola, but he’s gotten good results there, posting a 2.70 ERA with 12.2 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9 in 20 innings this season. MLB.com ranks him as the Reds’ No. 5 prospect.
Quick Hits: Reds, Lee, Yankees, Nationals
The Reds‘ mostly homegrown rotation prevents them from having to spend big on starting pitching in free agency and gives them a big advantage, Sportsnet.ca’s Ben Nicholson-Smith writes. Homegrown pitchers like Johnny Cueto, Mike Leake, Tony Cingrani and Homer Bailey (leaving aside Bailey’s large recent extension, at least) have proven to be cost effective, and even Mat Latos and Alfredo Simon, both from outside the organization, were acquired without the Reds having to turn to the free agent market. Here are more notes from throughout the big leagues.
- Of the high-impact pitchers who might be available at the trade deadline, the Phillies‘ Cliff Lee makes the most sense for the Yankees, the New York Daily News’ Mark Feinsand writes. Lee will have an enormous salary in 2015, but the Yankees ignored the luxury-tax threshold last offseason, and there’s little reason to think they couldn’t do it again. Lee’s injury status (he went on the DL with an elbow strain in May) and huge contract might mean the Yankees could acquire him for a lesser cost in prospects.
- Lee threw 30 pitches in a bullpen session Friday, Marc Narducci of the Inquirer reports. He is not yet 100 percent, however. “It is not pain . . . it is not discomfort,” Lee says. “I would say it is there.”
- The Nationals aren’t planning on making any big trades anytime soon, reports MLB.com’s Bill Ladson. They don’t want to trade Danny Espinosa, believing he’s a future All-Star, or Adam LaRoche. They would listen to offers on pitcher Ross Detwiler, but aren’t actively looking to deal him.
Sizemore Drawing Interest From Phillies, Others
SATURDAY: Phillies assistant GM Scott Proefrock says he isn’t aware of any contact between the Phillies and Sizemore, Marc Narducci of the Inquirer writes. Proefrock notes that the Phillies were interested in Sizemore in the offseason, but says, “There is not any [contact] that I am aware of, but Ruben [Amaro] may be doing something, but I am not aware of anything.”
FRIDAY: Grady Sizemore officially cleared release waivers earlier this afternoon and became a free agent, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweeted. Now that he’s on the open market, multiple clubs are interested, making it unlikely that he would sign a minor league deal and head to Boston’s Triple-A affiliate, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports adds (also via Twitter) that the Phillies, among other teams, have reached out. Meanwhile Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tells one of his followers that the Twins haven’t reached out to their former AL Central rival.
Sizemore’s return to the Majors was quite the story early this season. Not only did he improbably make the Red Sox’ Opening Day roster after signing a one-year, $750K contract — he clubbed a solo homer in the opener and batted .343/.395/.571 with a pair of big flies in his first 10 games. However, from that point forth, Sizemore batted just .187/.263/.267 in 167 trips to the plate. That performance led to his release, despite a glaring need for outfield help in Boston.
For the Phillies, Sizemore would be a reasonable outfield gamble despite his struggles. Philadelphia outfielders have batted a combined .245/.298/.374 this season. Combined with their poor defensive play, they’ve come in below replacement level as a group, per Fangraphs.
Week In Review: 6/15/14 – 6/21/14
Here’s a look back at this week at MLBTR.
Signed / Agreed To Terms
- Giants — OF Daniel Carbonell (link)
Trades
- Athletics — acquired P Brad Mills from Brewers for cash considerations
- Mets — acquired P Blake Taylor from Pirates to complete Ike Davis trade
- White Sox — acquired OF Michael Taylor from Athletics for P Jake Sanchez
Top Prospect Promotions
- Marlins — P Andrew Heaney (link)
Claimed
- Athletics — P Justin Marks from Rangers (link)
Designated For Assignment
- Diamondbacks — P J.J. Putz (link)
- Indians — P Josh Outman (link)
- Tigers — P Evan Reed (link)
- Orioles — P Josh Stinson (link)
- Marlins — P Kevin Slowey, P Randy Wolf (link — Wolf later opted for free agency)
Outrighted
- Diamondbacks — UT Nick Evans (link)
- Athletics — P Marcus Walden (link)
Released
- Red Sox — OF Grady Sizemore (link)
- Twins — OF Jason Kubel (link)
Key Draft Signings
- Marlins — P Tyler Kolek (link), SS Justin Twine (link)
- Mariners — C/OF Alex Jackson (link)
- Mets — OF Michael Conforto (link)
- Brewers — P Kodi Medeiros (link)
- Diamondbacks — P Touki Toussaint (link)
- Indians — OF Bradley Zimmer (link)
- Dodgers — P Grant Holmes (link)
- Reds — 3B Alex Blandino (link)
- Red Sox — SS Michael Chavis (link), P Michael Kopech (link)
- Braves — OF Braxton Davidson (link)
- Royals — 2B Forrest Wall (link), P Scott Blewett (link)
- Pirates — OF Connor Joe (link)
- Cubs — P Jake Stinnett (link), P Carson Sands, P Justin Steele (link)
- Phillies — P Matt Imhof (link)
- Yankees — P Jacob Lindgren (link)
- Astros — P Jacob Nix (link)
Key Minor-League Signings
- Padres — IF Chris Nelson (link)
- Marlins — P Brad Penny (link)
- Angels — P Wade LeBlanc (link)
- Rangers — 1B Carlos Pena (link)
- Astros — P Jose Veras (link)
- Yankees — P Heath Bell (link)
Padres GM Josh Byrnes Could Be On Hot Seat
GM Josh Byrnes’ relationship with the Padres’ ownership has “deteriorated,” FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal writes, and one scenario is that the team could fire Byrnes and replace him with fellow Padres exec A.J. Hinch on an interim basis. Tony Gwynn’s recent passing could prevent the Padres from making such a move immediately, but Rosenthal suggests that they’ll need to make a decision soon, with the trade deadline on the horizon. Chase Headley, Carlos Quentin (who could waive his no-trade clause), Ian Kennedy and Huston Street could all wind up on the trade market, and the team could also get plenty of talent if it traded Andrew Cashner.
Reports last week indicated that there could soon be a shakeup within the Padres organization, with hitting coach Phil Plantier and manager Bud Black possibly among the most vulnerable, though Rosenthal reports that it’s Byrnes whose situation is most uncertain. At 32-42, the Padres are in the midst of what could be their fourth straight losing season, despite a payroll increase last winter.
AL Notes: Downs, Angels, Blue Jays, Rays
Here’s the latest out of the American League:
- White Sox reliever Scott Downs would see his 2015 option vest if he appears in 55 games this year and does not end the season on the DL, reports MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes (via Twitter). The 39-year-old southpaw has seen action in 35 contests (after tonight’s outing), meaning that he has just 20 left to go to trigger the $4.25MM option. MLBTR’s Steve Adams looked yesterday at vesting option situations around the league.
- The Angels bullpen has not only been unreliable, but currently lacks a lefty, writes ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (Insider subscription required). The club may well look to a trade market that Olney says “should be comparatively flush” with attractive bullpen arms.
- You won’t see the Blue Jays in October if GM Alex Anthopoulos stands pat this summer, writes Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star. With Juan Francisco‘s offensive struggles (.586 OPS in the month of June), Griffin wants to see Toronto go out and get a second baseman that can play every day. Among the second baseman that might be available in July, he says, are Nick Franklin of the Mariners, Ramon Santiago of the Reds, Darwin Barney of the Cubs, and Ramiro Pena of the Braves.
- Gary Shelton of the Tampa Bay Times says the Rays need to start selling. With the club mired in last place, Shelton says it needs to move David Price, Ben Zobrist, Matt Joyce, and anything not nailed down. Meanwhile, a host of teams with a heavier-than-usual scouting presence for Price’s start tonight included the Blue Jays, Cardinals, Giants, Indians, and Yankees, tweets the Times’ Marc Topkin.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Draft Signings: Andrew Morales, Trevor Megill
Here are the day’s draft signings, with slot info courtesy of Baseball America …
- The Cardinals have agreed to terms with compensation round B pick Andrew Morales, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter). The senior righty out of UC-Irvine was taken 71st overall pick, which carried a $796.1K allocation. Morales will earn a $546.1K bonus, tweets Jim Callis of MLB.com, meaning that the Cards will end up with exactly $250K in savings on the pick.
- Meanwhile, the Cardinals learned that they will not land third-round pick Trevor Megill, who instead will finish his college career, reports MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch. That takes his $504.4K bonus value out of play for St. Louis, though the club will gain another pick in next year’s draft (immediately following the third round).
Cubs Notes: Bryant, Schwarber, Trades, Samardzija
The Cubs promoted top prospect Kris Bryant from Double-A to Triple-A yesterday, but as MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat writes, president Theo Epstein doesn’t feel the 2013 No. 2 overall pick’s development is complete yet. Muskat spoke with manager Rick Renteria and current Cubs players Jake Arrieta and Anthony Rizzo about Bryant’s future as well. The 22-year-old Bryant, who slashed an unthinkable .355/.458/.702 with 22 homers in 69 Double-A games, didn’t seem to have a hard time adjusting to his new Triple-A surroundings; he went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in last night’s Iowa debut.
More on Bryant and the Cubs…
- Despite Bryant’s tremendous minor league success, Epstein told reporters, including the Daily Herald’s Bruce Miles, that he doesn’t expect Bryant to be promoted to the Major Leagues this season (Twitter link). That may be disappointing for Cubs fans, but from a business standpoint there’s little harm in letting Bryant develop at Triple-A and waiting to start his service clock.
- Via Jesse Rogers of ESPN Chicago (on Twitter), Epstein also said that if No. 4 overall pick Kyle Schwarber‘s bat warrants fast-tracking him to the Major Leagues, the team won’t slow him down by leaving him behind the plate to develop. A catcher and outfielder at Indiana, Schwarber’s bat is said to be much closer to big-league ready than his glove behind the plate. However, the consensus seems to be that he could reach the Majors quickly as an outfielder.
- As for the team’s more immediate concerns — presumably, dealing away several veterans from the big league roster — Epstein says that trade talks remain sporadic at present, Rogers reports. “The rule of thumb is there is more speculation this time of year than actual trade talk,” said Epstein. “Teams don’t like to rush into those types of things.” While last year’s Scott Feldman deal went down in early July, Epstein said that did not mean anything for this year’s plans. The head baseball man also hinted that he hopes a healthy number of buyers could work to his team’s advantage. “The parity creates more potential buyers,” he said. “A lot of teams are out there that could be one or two players away from getting into the playoffs and doing some damage.”
- The Cubs may come to regret not locking up staff ace Jeff Samardzija when they had the chance to do so at a lower price, writes Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun Times. Wittenmyer reports that, earlier in the year, Samardzija had proposed a $100MM deal while the Cubs were sitting at $60MM. Samardzija’s representatives signaled that they would split the difference, but Chicago only increased its offer by $500K. Now, with the asking price much higher, it seems as though the 29-year-old will instead be dealt, and Wittenmyer argues that the club will struggle to replace him for anything approaching a reasonable price.
Yankees Notes: Trades, A-Rod, Gardner
Offensive catchers like Gary Sanchez and the recently demoted John Ryan Murphy surely come up in the conversations that Yankees GM Brian Cashman has had with other clubs, writes David Lennon of Newsday. Cashman told reporters yesterday that he expects to make a trade or multiple trades between now and the deadline. “Everybody’s making their phone calls,” Cashman said. “There are some big players that are available, but the price tags are going to be extremely high. There might be smaller pieces that can pay big dividends for teams.”
More afternoon links pertaining to the Yanks…
- Brett Gardner tells NJ.com’s Kevin Manahan that despite his strong season that could potentially have led to a larger free agent deal, he has no regrets about signing a four-year, $52MM extension with the Yankees. Gardner, who is hitting .291/.355/.415 with six homers, 14 steals and strong outfield defense, says he thought he was a goner when New York signed Jacoby Ellsbury but is as happy right now with his four-year extension as he was when he signed it.
- A spokesperson for Alex Rodriguez tells Jon Heyman of CBS Sports that all legal matters pertaining to A-Rod have been resolved (Twitter links). Rodriguez fully plans to play in 2015, the spokesperson adds.
- GM Brian Cashman spoke with the Daily News’ John Harper about trades, stating that he didn’t want to wait for the return of CC Sabathia and Michael Pineda to improve his club. Harper agrees with previous reports saying that Cashman isn’t going to move breakout reliever Dellin Betances, but he notes that slugging Double-A catcher Peter O’Brien has been moved around the field in an attempt to showcase him for trades. Many scouts question his ability to catch in the big leagues, however, and he’s not believed to be close to MLB-ready. He’s hitting .266/.305/.591 with 23 homers this season.
Zach Links contributed to this post.