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Blue Jays Acquire Chris Leroux From Phillies

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4:20pm: Toronto announced that Leroux has been acquired from the Phillies in exchange for cash considerations.  The 6’6″ hurler will pitch for Triple-A Buffalo.

3:34pm: The Blue Jays have acquired Chris Leroux from the Phillies, a source tells MLBTR (Twitter link).  It’s not yet clear who and/or what will be going from Toronto to Philly in the swap.

The deal marks a homecoming of sorts for Leroux, who is a Montreal native.    Leroux, who turns 32 later this month, last pitched in the big leagues in 2014 when he appeared in two games for the Yankees.  Over parts of six big league seasons with the Marlins, Pirates, and Yankees, the hurler has a 6.03 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9.  In his 22-game stint with the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate in 2015, Leroux posted a stronger stat line as he pitched to a 3.26 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9.

In other Blue Jays news, the team signed Franklin Morales to a one-year, $2MM non-guaranteed deal over the weekend.  And, on Friday, Mark Polishuk delivered a must-read in-depth recap of the Blue Jays’ offseason.

Cedric Hunter Happy To Be Back In Majors

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  • Cedric Hunter is one of the more unlikely players to be suiting up on Opening Day, MLB.com’s Paul Hagen writes, as the longtime minor leaguer unexpectedly earned himself a regular outfield job with the Phillies.  A third-round pick for the Padres in the 2006 draft, Hunter has hit .288/.348/.413 with 76 homers over 4727 career plate appearances in the minors, playing for four different organizations’ farm systems.  His MLB career consisted of just six games for San Diego in 2011, yet Hunter is now back in the bigs and still looking to stick around.  “To be realistic, it’s just beginning.  I haven’t proved myself at all on this level yet,” Hunter said.  “So everybody’s giving me congrats and I’m happy about that, but in the back of my mind, I’m like, ’Look, this is just the beginning. I’ve really got to go out and prove myself and show that I’m ready to be here.’ “

Roster Notes: Brewers, Weeks, Abad, Phillies, Ramos, Pena

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Here’s a roundup of today’s notable roster decisions….

  • The Brewers announced that the contracts of right-hander Blaine Boyer and left-hander Chris Capuano have been selected.  Both pitchers were told they had made the team earlier this week, and the moves are now official that Milwaukee has created some corresponding roster space.  Sean Nolin and Yhonathan Barrios were both moved to the 60-day DL, while Will Smith was placed on the 15-day DL.
  • The Diamondbacks selected Rickie Weeks’ contract, the team announced.  Weeks, looking to rebound from a disastrous 2015 season, signed a minors contract with Arizona last month.  The D’Backs placed A.J. Pollock and Josh Collmenter on the 15-day DL in corresponding moves.
  • The Twins selected the contract of Fernando Abad, the team announced.  The southpaw signed a minor league deal with Minnesota in December after the A’s non-tendered him.  Abad posted a 4.15 ERA last season, with some unfriendly advanced metrics and uncharacteristically poor results against left-handed hitters.
  • The Phillies finalized their 25-man roster, announcing that they have selected the contracts of lefty James Russell, infielder Emmanuel Burriss and outfielder Cedric Hunter.  In corresponding moves, Cody Asche and Michael Mariot were put on the 15-day DL retroactive to March 25, and Matt Harrison, Aaron Altherr and Mario Hollands were each placed on the 60-day DL.
  • Left-hander Cesar Ramos has accepted an assignment to the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate to begin the season, Rangers executive VP of communications John Blake tweeted.  Ramos signed a minor league deal with Texas in January after being somewhat surprisingly non-tendered by the Angels.
  • Cardinals backup catcher Brayan Pena will begin the season on the DL and will require surgery to remove a body from his left knee, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch writes (Twitter links). That means the Cardinals will add minor-league signee Eric Fryer to their roster to serve as their backup catcher until Pena can return, which should take two to four weeks. The 30-year-old Fryer played most of last season with Triple-A Rochester in the Twins system, batting .293/.367/.360. He’s appeared in bits of five big-league seasons with the Pirates and Twins.
  • Outfielder Jabari Blash, a Rule 5 pick from the Mariners, has made the Padres’ Opening Day roster, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com tweets. The 26-year-old Blash batted an impressive .271/.370/.576 and 32 homers in a 2015 season split between Double-A Jackson and Triple-A Tacoma, then followed that with a decent spring in which he hit .204 but with four homers and eight walks in 59 plate appearances. The Padres also announced that fellow outfielder Travis Jankowski has made the team.
  • The Rays have selected the contract of lefty Dana Eveland and optioned righty Andrew Bellatti and outfielder Mikie Mahtook, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes (Twitter links). The moves also mean righty Danny Farquhar has made the team. The 32-year-old Eveland pitched only briefly in the Majors last season, but got good results for three different Triple-A teams, posting a 1.95 ERA, 7.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 55 1/3 innings.
  • The Braves have announced their Opening Day roster. The Braves were already in MLBTR’s pages today as they designated Michael Bourn and Emilio Bonifacio for assignment and selected the contracts of Drew Stubbs and Alexi Ogando. In addition, they reassigned Jhoulys Chacin to Triple-A Gwinnett. The idea, via David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter), is that he’ll make one start there and then join the Braves when they need a fifth starter, which should be April 12. Notable names who made the team include righty Dan Winkler, a 2014 Rule 5 pick, along with rookie righties Jose Ramirez and John Gant.

Phillies Demote Bailey, Frieri, Arencibia, Venable

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  • The Phillies have announced that veteran relievers Andrew Bailey and Ernesto Frieri were reassigned to minor league camp along with catcher J.P. Arencibia and outfielder Will Venable. That lends clarity to the team’s Opening Day roster. Bailey reportedly has a May 1 opt-out date, while Frieri apparently allowed his own to pass yesterday without action. Venable had seemed lined up for a job after signing late in camp, but the Phils will apparently give roster spots to non-roster invitees Cedric Hunter and Emmanuel Burriss, as MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki notes on Twitter. Fellow minor league signee James Russell also appears to have earned an Opening Day nod. The club is also set to give a shot to its two Rule 5 picks — outfielder Tyler Goeddel and lefty Daniel Stumpf.

Phillies Release Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez

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The Phillies have released righty Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports on Twitter. As Eddy notes, Gonzalez has continued to deal with shoulder issues over his tenure in the Philadelphia organization.

After reaching free agency following his departure from Cuba, Gonzalez originally agreed to a six-year, $48MM contract. But apparent concerns with his physical led to a significant reduction in the contract, which ended up being for three years and just $12MM. The deal also included a vesting option for 2017, but that obviously won’t come into play.

Gonzalez ended up making only six relief appearances in the majors with the organization, all in 2014, allowing four earned runs on nine hits and three walks while striking out five. And he has only even managed 62 2/3 minor league frames over the last two years, with only two appearances in 2015 (though he did also appear in the Venezuelan winter league).

Clearly, Gonzalez did not feature in the pitching-needy Phillies’ plans even though the contract was already a sunk cost. He did show a mid-90s fastball in his brief MLB stint, but wasn’t able even to claim a role in the upper minors after seemingly having a chance to prove his worth entering the spring.

Phillies Release, Re-Sign Edward Mujica

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WEDNESDAY: The Phillies have announced that they’ve re-signed Mujica to a minor-league deal. He will report to minor-league camp later this week.

TUESDAY: The Phillies have released veteran righty Edward Mujica, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer was among those to report on Twitter. Mujica had been in camp on a minor league deal and seemed to have a solid shot at earning a late-inning role.

As an Article XX(B) free agent, Mujica would have been due a roster bonus if kept in the minors to open the season. But he forced the issue by triggering an opt-out provision in his contract — which would have paid him $2.5MM at the MLB level.

Mujica, 31, was long a sturdy pen option. He timed his entry onto the free agent market well, putting up a strong 2013 season — 2.78 ERA; 6.4 K/9 against 0.7 BB/9; 37 saves — before joining the Red Sox. But he’s largely disappointed since. Over 107 1/3 frames in the last two seasons, in Boston and in Oakland, Mujica owns a 4.28 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9. Long balls, in particular, have been an issue.

There’s little question that Mujica will draw interest from other organizations. Indeed, he’s generated solid results this spring. In his 8 1/3 innings, he allowed two earned runs on just four hits and two walks while striking out seven.

Phillies Likely Done Searching For Outfielders After Adding Venable

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  • The Phillies appear to have stopped their search for outfield depth after adding Will Venable, according to Jayson Stark of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Philadelphia had been inquiring about a number of possibilities, but rival executives tell Stark that the sense is those efforts have been halted.
  • Meanwhile, the Phillies appear to be leaning toward keeping Rule 5 pick Daniel Stumpf in the major league pen, manager Pete Mackanin tells Stark (Twitter link). The newly-extended skipper adds that Edward Mujica is “still in the mix,” but seemingly did not commit to handing him an Opening Day roster spot.

Phillies Sign Will Venable To Minor League Deal

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The Phillies have signed outfielder Will Venable to a minor league contract, the club announced.  The deal contains an invitation to Philadelphia’s big league spring camp.  Venable is represented by Turner Gary Sports.

The move comes just a day after Venable was released from his previous minors deal with the Indians.  CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury reported earlier today that the Phils had a serious interest in adding Venable to their outfield mix.

Venable is a fit as a platoon partner in either left or right field for the Phillies, with his left-handed bat in tandem with either Peter Bourjos or Rule 5 draft pick Tyler Goeddel (both right-handed hitters).  The 33-year-old has spent much of his career as a part-time player with the Padres and Rangers, with 2601 plate appearances against right-handed pitching (with a .256/.324/.422 slash line) and only 526 career PA against southpaws.  Venable isn’t known much for his power, though he rather surprisingly socked 22 homers for the Padres in 2013.

The versatile Venable has been an above-average defender at all three outfield spots as per the UZR/150 and Defensive Runs Saved metrics over his career, though his numbers took a bit of a dip last season.  Venable is also considered to be an excellent baserunner, with 135 steals over 166 career attempts.

Venable would appear to have an advantage over the other left-handed hitting outfielders trying to make the Phillies’ roster, namely David Lough and Cedric Hunter.  Lough is known as a defense-first player with little pop, while Hunter’s MLB experience consists of six games for San Diego in 2011.

Phillies Have “Strong Interest” In Will Venable

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With the Phillies thin in the outfield, they’re “showing strong interest” in newly-available veteran Will Venable, CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury reports.  Venable became a free agent after the Indians released him from his minor league contract yesterday.

Venable, 33, hit .244/.320/.350 over 390 plate appearances with the Padres and Rangers last season.  Though his batting numbers have declined quite a bit since his 22-homer season/.796 OPS season for San Diego in 2013, Venable has a decent .256/.324/.422 slash line against right-handed pitching over his career.  Beyond his bat, Venable perhaps has more value at this point due to excellent baserunning and his above-average defensive metrics at all three outfield positions.

Phillies GM Matt Klentak said last week that the team wasn’t necessarily actively looking for outfield help, despite losing both Aaron Altherr and Cody Asche to injuries.  Center fielder Odubel Herrera is expected to play every day but there’s plenty of uncertainty in the corner outfield spots, with Peter Bourjos, Cedric Hunter, David Lough and Rule 5 pick Tyler Goeddel all in the mix for playing time.  Goeddel and Bourjos are right-handed hitters, so they could mesh well with Venable in a platoon.

Phillies Bullpen Battle; Cedric Hunter Eyeing Spot

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  • The Phillies still have two or three unclaimed spots in their bullpen, writes Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. Manager Pete Mackanin said the club may add an arm via trade or waivers. There’s also “a good possibility” the team will roll with three left-handed relievers. Dailer Hinojosa, Jeanmar Gomez, David Hernandez, and Brett Oberholtzer are the four guys with relative secure jobs. Salisbury believes veteran Edward Mujica is likely to make the team too, while Andrew Bailey has fallen off in recent outings. Rule 5 pick Daniel Stumpf may be at an advantage if the organization wants to keep him. He would be one of the lefties. Salisbury has a full account of the 12 relievers still in the mix.
  • Injuries to the Phillies outfield could open an opportunity for minor league journeyman Cedric Hunter, writes Salisbury. The 28-year-old received five plate appearances from the Padres in 2011. The rest of his career has been spent in the minors. Hunter hit .283/.331/.420 in 515 Triple-A plate appearances with the Braves last season. He also hit 12 home runs with 11 stolen bases. Mackanin is impressed with Hunter’s work in camp, saying “he’s looked good all spring. He’s squared the ball up as well as anyone all spring and he’s shown a good arm. I like him a lot.” The lefty could make for a useful platoon option with Rule 5 pick Tyler Goeddel.
  • Updating a report from yesterday, Braves outfielder Jeff Francoeur is likely competing with Emilio Bonifacio and Michael Bourn for one of two spots, writes Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Bowman suggests the club is set to either trade or release Nick Swisher, but their plans for Bonifacio and Bourn are less certain. Last season, Francouer drew praise from Phillies players and coaches for his role as a mentor. The Braves are in a similar rebuild, adding value to mentor-type veterans.

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