Minor MLB Transactions: 9/1/18
The latest minor moves from around baseball…
- The Angels have selected right-handed reliever Junichi Tazawa‘s contract from Triple-A Salt Lake, the team announced. The 32-year-old Tazawa is finally in position to make his Halos debut nearly two months after signing a minor league deal with the organization. Tazawa has been an effective major leaguer at times dating back to his 2009 debut with the Red Sox, but his career has hit the skids since he signed a two-year, $12MM deal with the Marlins entering 2017. He ended up tossing 75 1/3 innings in Miami from 2017-18 and logging an ugly 6.57 ERA/5.40 FIP, leading the team to release him in late May.
- The Pirates announced that they’ve selected infielder/outfielder Pablo Reyes from Triple-A Indianapolis and reinstated righty Nick Burdi from the 60-day DL. The club has also released veteran infielder/outfielder Sean Rodriguez, whom it designated for assignment Wednesday. A Pirate since they signed him out of the Dominican Republic in 2012, the 24-year-old Reyes saw his first Triple-A action this season and slashed .289/.341/.435 with eight home runs and 13 stolen bases over 398 plate appearances. Burdi, whom the Pirates acquired via trade from the Phillies at the 2017 Rule 5 Draft, has rebounded nicely after multiple arm injuries slowed his development. The hard-throwing reliever missed most of 2016 with elbow issues and then underwent Tommy John surgery in 2017, keeping him out for the majority of that season and the current campaign. Despite his injury woes, Burdi – originally a second-round selection of the Twins in the 2014 amateur draft – still ranks as the Pirates’ 20th-best prospect, per MLB.com. Now that he’s healthy, the former Rule 5 choice will have to spend 90 days on the Pirates’ active roster in order to avoid going on waivers.
- The Brewers have released infielder Eric Sogard for the second time this season. Milwaukee parted with Sogard on July 12, only to re-sign him to a minor league deal two weeks later. The 32-year-old hasn’t produced at either the Triple-A level or in the majors this year, however, after offering respectable production in 2017 with the Brewers.
August 31st Trade Deadline Recap
A flurry of activity came yesterday in advance of the deadline to acquire postseason-eligible players via trade. In case you weren’t able to keep track of it all, here’s a roundup of the swaps made by MLB organizations on August 31st, 2018, sorted by the team on the acquiring end of the major-leaguer involved.
AL West
- The Athletics received right-hander Cory Gearrin in a swap with the division-rival Rangers. Minor-league righties Abdiel Mendoza and Teodoro Ortega are headed back to Texas in the deal.
AL Central
- The Indians acquired Josh Donaldson from the Blue Jays. Toronto will send $2.7MM to Cleveland as well, and they’ll get back a player to be named later, the quality of which will be dependent upon how Donaldson’s health situation progresses.
AL East
- The Yankees took Adeiny Hechavarria off the Pirates‘ hands in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. It’s not yet known how much cash the Bucs will chip in to help pay the ~$1MM still owed to Hechavarria.
- The Yankees also pried Andrew McCutchen from the Giants. San Francisco gets infield prospect Abiatal Avelino and right-handed pitching prospect Juan De Paula.
NL West
- The Dodgers nabbed David Freese from the Pirates. Infielder Jesus Valdez will head back to Pittsburgh in exchange.
- The Dodgers dealt for Ryan Madson of the Nationals as well. Minors righty Andrew Istler will head to Washington in the trade.
- The Rockies plucked catcher Drew Butera from the Royals and will receive some salary relief in addition. MiLB lefty Jerry Vasto is going back to Colorado.
NL Central
- The Brewers struck a trade with the Nationals for Gio Gonzalez. Milwaukee will also get $250K in international bonus pool funds, while a pair of minor leaguers (first baseman KJ Harrison and shortstop Gilbert Lara) will head to the Nats.
- The Brewers also landed Curtis Granderson in a swap with the Blue Jays. The Jays will cover an unknown portion of the money still owed on Granderson’s $5MM 2018 salary, and will add outfield prospect Demi Orimoloye to their minor-league ranks.
- The busy Brewers got Xavier Cedeno from the White Sox as well, who’ll get outfielder Bryan Connell and right-hander Johan Dominguez in return.
NL East
- (No trades)
Yankees Acquire Adeiny Hechavarria
The Yankees have announced that they have acquired shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria from the Pirates. Cash will also go to New York in the deal, with a player to be named later or cash considerations heading back to Pittsburgh. New York designated southpaw Ryan Bollinger to open a 40-man spot.
Hechavarria is not much of a hitter, but is widely regarded as a high-quality defender at shortstop. He’ll presumably be viewed as a late-inning defensive asset for the Yanks, who have a variety of options around the infield as situations warrant. And with Didi Gregorius still working back from injury, Hechavarria also represents something of an insurance policy.
Thus far in 2018, Hechavarria has slashed .254/.287/.342 in 284 plate appearances. That’s nearly an exact match for his lifetime batting line of .255/.291/.345, compiled over nearly three thousand trips to the plate, so there isn’t much mystery about his offensive capabilities.
With the glove, Hech continues to draw well-above-average grades, so the situation is clear there as well. He has played almost exclusively at short in his career, but did see time as a rookie at second and third base as well.
This is now the second time Hechavarria has changed hands in August. Earlier in the month, he went from the Rays to the Bucs. Now, he’ll move again, with both of those organizations still responsible for a portion of the remainder of his $5.9MM salary. Hechavarria will be a free agent at the end of the year.
While it’s still possible the Pirates will pick up a minor prospect in this swap, it seems rather clear that the move was designed to clear a bit of salary and keep the roster clear for younger players. As with the late-breaking trade of David Freese, the move came at the very tail end of tonight’s deadline for teams to acquire players with postseason eligibility.
It’s another unfortunate break for Bollinger in a season that has otherwise surely been out of a dream. He has twice made it onto the MLB roster after an unlikely journey, but has yet to throw a ball in a big-league contest. The 27-year-old carries a 3.87 ERA in 111 2/3 innings in the upper minors most of them at Double-A, with 7.8 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Dodgers Acquire David Freese
The Dodgers have acquired David Freese in a swap with the Pirates, as first reported by Jon Heyman of Fancred (via Twitter). Infielder Jesus Valdez goes to Pittsburgh in the deal, per a club announcement.
While we’re learning about this after the deadline for players to be acquired with postseason eligibility, it stands to reason that the sides completed the deal beforehand. If so, Freese will be able to appear in the playoffs this year, though there’s no assurance he’ll command a roster spot if and when the time comes.
Of course, no small part of Freese’s stature as a player comes from his prior postseason heroics. Beyond the memorable moments themselves, he’s a .282/.357/.517 hitter in 196 playoff plate appearances.
True, Freese hasn’t been in such a situation since way back in 2014. But he has continued to turn in solid campaigns since. This year, he’s slashing a sturdy .283/.337/.447 in 261 plate appearances for the Bucs. Freese has actually been a bit better against righties this year, but has been a hundred OPS points better against lefties over his career.
Freese becomes the third right-handed-hitting infielder picked up by the Dodgers this summer, joining Manny Machado and Brian Dozier. He won’t likely see as much time as that middle-infield pairing; rather, he’ll presumably function as a bench bat against lefties.
In Valdez, the Pirates get a 20-year-old who is in his debut season in the Dominican Summer League. He has played all over the infield, mostly on the left side, while hitting .230/.343/.412 with six home runs and 16 steals in 242 plate appearances.
Freese is earning $4.25MM this year, about $700K of which remains to be paid. He’s also controllable for 2019 via a $6MM club option that comes with a $500K buyout. The teams’ announcements make no mention of any money changing hands in the deal.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pirates Designate Sean Rodriguez For Assignment
The Pirates have designated infielder/outfielder Sean Rodriguez for assignment, manager Clint Hurdle told reporters (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Adam Berry). His roster spot will go to shortstop Jordy Mercer, who has been activated from the disabled list.
Rodriguez, 33, has been unable to regain his footing in his second stint with the Pirates. The versatile utilityman had a career year in Pittsburgh back in 2016 and inked a two-year contract with the Braves in free agency that winter, only to suffer a major shoulder injury in an offseason car accident. Rodriguez required surgery to repair the rotator cuff in his left shoulder following the crash, and while he returned ahead of schedule in 2017, the results simply haven’t been there.
In 326 plate appearances between Atlanta and Pittsburgh across the past two seasons, Rodriguez has managed just a .167/.277/.305 slash. That’s a far cry from the hefty .270/.349/.510 line he authored in the aforementioned 2016 campaign. Pittsburgh will have a week to trade, outright or release Rodriguez, who’ll likely be on the hunt for a minor league contract this offseason as he looks to rebuild some stock following a pair of injury-ruined seasons.
Josh Harrison Clears Trade Waivers
Pirates utilityman Josh Harrison has cleared revocable trade waivers, per Jon Heyman of Fancred (via Twitter). That means the veteran can be traded freely for the rest of the season — though he’d need to be moved by the end of August to be eligible for postseason play with a new organization.
Of course, clearing waivers hardly indicates a player is likely to be dealt. In this case, there’s no particular indication to this point that the Bucs are expected to find a taker for the 31-year-old.
It’s still notable, though, that Harrison is now among the players known to have cleared waivers. Those and others are still available for contenders in need of further upgrades.
There’s always a reason when a player does make it through waivers. Sometimes, it’s because no contending teams expect that player to be traded, as with some younger/more controllable players. Quite often, it’s simply a value proposition: placing a claim means you’re willing to take over a player’s entire contract, as the team that sought waivers has the option of revoking the waiver request, working out a trade, or simply allowing the claiming team to step into its shoes in the agreement.
This case, surely, is one of the latter variety. Harrison is earning a $10MM salary this year and is owed $1.5MM in buyouts on successive club options that are priced at $10.5MM and $11.5MM.
At times, those prices have seemed reasonable for Harrison, who at his best adds value in all facets of the game. He has appeared in the rumor mill as a possible trade candidate quite frequently in recent years. Unfortunately, his bat has been inconsistent in recent seasons and has never produced anything like the output he showed in the breakout 2014 campaign that preceded his extension with Pittsburgh.
Thus far in 2018, Harrison is hitting just .257/.299/.365 with seven home runs over 343 plate appearances. There’s not a lot to love in the underlying numbers, either. Statcast, for instance, suggests that his contact quality has merited exactly the middling output that has resulted (.288 wOBA vs. .291 xwOBA).
It’s fair to note, too, that defensive metrics have soured on Harrison, who normally grades as a clear positive. That said, he’s still receiving only slightly below-average marks and it’s hard to read too much into those figures. While he isn’t stealing as many bags as he has in past seasons, Harrison still rates as a quality overall baserunner.
All things considered, it’s still reasonable to imagine contending teams liking the idea of adding Harrison down the stretch, though clearly they’ll need some help with the salary — especially, the option buyouts — to make it worthwhile. If the Bucs decide they won’t pay Harrison in 2019, then perhaps the club will be willing to hold onto the option obligations and work out a deal. While the Pittsburgh organization made some buy-side moves at the non-waiver deadline, after all, it has since faded out of contention.
Quick Hits: Morales, Relievers, Archer, Leon
Kendrys Morales set a new Blue Jays team record Sunday by homering in his seventh consecutive game. With one more long ball on Monday against the Orioles, Morales will tie the MLB record of an eight-game homer streak, shared by Ken Griffey Jr., Don Mattingly, and Dale Long. The streak highlights a rather remarkable turnaround to Morales’ season, one that seems directly tied to his decision to stop wearing the glasses he donned for the first six weeks of the 2018 campaign. After posting a .499 OPS over his first 109 plate appearances, Morales has quietly been one of baseball’s hottest hitters, with a .308/.380/.560 slash line over his next 284 PA. There aren’t any AL contenders with a glaring need for a DH-only player like Morales at the moment, so while a trade before the end of August is unlikely, Morales’ revival could give Toronto at least some hope of moving him in the offseason, even if the Jays have to eat some of his $12MM 2019 salary.
Here’s more from around baseball as we wrap up Players’ Weekend…
- Relievers were the only position group that seemed immune to last offseason’s stalled free agent market, as several bullpen arms scored lucrative multi-year contracts. Looking ahead to this winter, however, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman wonders if the bullpen market could also begin to suffer, in no small because so many of the relievers who signed those big contracts last offseason have struggled in the first year of their deals. This year’s free agent is headlined by such names as Craig Kimbrel, Andrew Miller, Zach Britton, and Cody Allen, though the latter three have seen their value diminish due to injuries or ineffectiveness.
- Chris Archer allowed six runs in four innings in the Pirates‘ loss to the Brewers today, and the right-hander now has a 6.45 ERA over five starts in a Pittsburgh uniform. Needless to say, this isn’t what the Bucs were hoping for after landing Archer for a hefty prospect package at the trade deadline, though Archer himself doesn’t feel he’s that far off his usual form. Archer told reporters, including The Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel, that he thinks his struggles are “based on some minor things here and there that are easily adjustable.” Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage feels Archer needs to pitch inside more often and move his fastball around the strike zone, though the bottom line is, as Archer said, “I just have to be better, period.”
- As of Saturday, Red Sox pitchers had a 3.08 ERA when Sandy Leon was catching, compared to a 3.84 ERA with another catcher. Leon’s game-calling and defensive abilities have made him a favorite of the Sox rotation, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald writes, and the team hasn’t lost a beat with Leon taking the bulk of playing time with Christian Vazquez on the DL. Mastrodonato’s piece also delves into Leon’s early development as a player, and how his quick grasp of English helped him easily learn how to work with pitchers.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/25/18
Here are some minor transactions from today…
- The Dodgers have reinstated lefty Julio Urias from the 60-day DL and optioned him to Single-A Rancho Cucamonga. In a corresponding move, Los Angeles transferred reliever Josh Fields to the 60-day DL. The promising Urias, 21, is yet another step closer to returning from June 2017 shoulder surgery, and manager Dave Roberts said Saturday (via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com) that he’s on track to rejoin the Dodgers in September. Fields has been on the shelf since June 28 with shoulder inflammation, so moving to the 60-day DL won’t affect his timeline. He’ll also be back in September, according to Roberts (via Gurnick).
Earlier updates:
- Phillies righty Jose Taveras cleared waivers today and has been outrighted to Double-A Reading, per a club announcement. The 6’4″ 24-year-old had been designated for assignment earlier this week in order to make room for the recently-acquired Luis Avilan. Taveras has a 6.28 ERA in 14 1/3 innings so far this season. Though he pitched at the Triple-A level in 2017, he hasn’t seen time there during the current campaign.
- The Pirates activated righty A.J. Schugel from the 60-day disabled list today and sent him outright to Triple-A. Schugel has been out with a shoulder injury for the past two months, and indeed has only managed to toss 11 1/3 innings all season for the Indianapolis Indians, during which time he’s been tagged for seven earned runs, including three homers. Schugel was a 25th-round pick of the Angels back in 2010, and has also spend time with the Diamondbacks organization during his career.
Minor MLB Transactions: 8/22/18
We’ll use this post to track the day’s minor moves …
- The Pirates announced that right-hander Casey Sadler has been outrighted after clearing waivers. He lost his roster spot recently as the organization called up prospect Kevin Newman, bringing a close to a brief return to the majors for the 28-year-old. Sadler had turned in a useful showing at Triple-A to earn his way back to the big leagues. In 76 frames over eight starts and 18 relief appearances at the highest level of the minors this year, he carries a 3.43 ERA with 7.1 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, and a 44.2% groundball rate.
2017-18 Rule 5 Draft Update
At this point of the season, it’s reasonable to expect the remaining Rule 5 players who are on big league rosters to hold those spots for the remainder of the season. That doesn’t mean that each has necessarily impressed to the point where he’s viewed as a viable long-term option, but with rosters set to expand in a couple of weeks and this much time already invested in each player, the remaining prospects who are clinging to eligibility have likely secured themselves a look in 2019 — even if it means opening the season in the minors.
When I last checked in on this year’s Rule 5-ers back in June, there were nine players either on active MLB rosters or on the big league disabled list, with the rest of this year’s class having been returned to their original organizations. That number hasn’t changed, though the complexion of the list is a bit different, and there have been some encouraging strides among the bunch. Here’s how the class looks at present:
Active Big Leaguers
- Victor Reyes, OF, Tigers (from D-backs): Reyes still isn’t hitting much, but the Tigers have given him much more time in the outfield as the season wears on. The 23-year-old played just nine complete games through the end of June, but since July 1, he’s logged 22 full games of action in addition to numerous partial appearances where he’s either been pinch-hit for or entered the game as a pinch-runner or defensive replacement. Reyes is hitting just .244/.279/.256 through 86 PAs in July and August, so he’s not impressing at the plate in spite of the recent uptick in playing time. He is 7-for-8 in stolen base attempts and has registered solid defensive marks in the outfield. It still seems likely that he’ll be ticketed for regular work in Triple-A next season once he can be optioned.
- Brad Keller, RHP, Royals (from D-backs): As the Kansas City Star’s Maria Torres noted over the weekend, Keller has been a rare bright spot in a largely abysmal season for the Royals. Keller posted underwhelming numbers in Double-A last season and skipped Triple-A entirely, but the Royals deserve some credit for nabbing him anyway last December. In 100 1/3 innings this year, Keller has posted a terrific 3.32 ERA. And while his 6.0 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 marks are underwhelming, he’s notched a strong 54.8 percent ground-ball rate. It remains to be seen if Keller can sustain his minuscule 0.45 HR/9 rate, though he’s never averaged even a homer per nine frames in the minors. Fielding-independent pitching metrics are fairly spread out on him, due in no small part to that low homer rate, but if he can settle in even as a pitcher capable of delivering an ERA in the low 4.00s over a season’s worth of starts, that’d make him a very successful pick.
- Burch Smith, RHP, Royals (from Rays, via trade w/ Mets): Kansas City hasn’t been as successful with Smith, whose ERA sits at an ugly 6.54 through 64 2/3 innings — mostly out of the bullpen. He’s averaged 8.6 K/9 against 4.5 BB/9, and in addition to issuing too many walks, he’s been far too homer-prone (1.95 HR/9). More than 18 percent of the fly-balls against Smith have left the yard — a troubling trend for a pitcher with just a 39.4 percent ground-ball rate. Smith barely pitched from 2014-17 due to injuries, including Tommy John surgery, so the Royals may not want to give up on him in spite of the poor results. At this point, they’ve come far enough along that it could make sense to keep him around and see how he fares in the upper minors next season. He’ll be 29 in April, but he has minor league options remaining.
- Carlos Tocci, OF, Rangers (from Phillies, via trade w/ White Sox): Tocci has been the most seldom-used player in the Majors, functioning almost exclusively as a defensive replacement for much of the season. He’s appeared in 51 games and totaled just 103 plate appearances, but the Rangers have given him a slight increase in playing time in August. This month, he’s started nine games and shown a bit of promise in that tiny sample, hitting .300/.323/.367 in 33 plate appearances — albeit with nine punchouts and just one walk. Tocci is hitting .207/.255/.250 overall, though, and appears ticketed for minor league work in 2019 even if his glove has been solid in limited work to date.
- Elieser Hernandez, RHP, Marlins (from Astros): Hernandez, who turned 23 back in May, made the jump from High-A to the Majors and, unsurprisingly, has posted less-than-stellar results. He’s tossed 56 2/3 innings for Miami, including five starts, while working to a 5.08 ERA with 6.2 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, 1.27 HR/9 and an extremely low 26.3 percent ground-ball rate. Some struggles were to be expected given the considerable jump he faced, however, and it’d be fair to say he’s at least held his own, given that he skipped both Double-A and Triple-A. He should survive the season with the rebuilding Marlins, and he’ll likely be ticketed for upper-minors work in 2019.
- Brett Graves, RHP, Marlins (from Athletics): Graves was on the DL back in June, having missed the first two-plus months of the season with an oblique injury. Since making his big league debut, he’s posted a 6.23 ERA with 10 strikeouts against seven walks (two intentional) and three hit batters in 17 1/3 innings. The 25-year-old has primarily been a starter in the minors but has been used out of the bullpen in Miami to this point. He’s displayed good ground-ball tendencies thus far (53.6 percent) and has yet to allow a homer. Though he missed notable time this year, Graves was activated early enough that he’ll accrue the requisite 90 days on the active roster to shed his Rule 5 status this season — provided he doesn’t incur an injury before rosters expand.
On the Major League Disabled List
- Julian Fernandez, RHP, Giants (from Rockies): Fernandez underwent Tommy John surgery back in April. He’ll accrue MLB service time while spending the season on the 60-day disabled list and will retain his Rule 5 status heading into 2019, if the Giants wish to hang onto him all offseason.
- Pedro Araujo, RHP, Orioles (from Cubs): Araujo is the last of three Orioles picks from the 2017 Rule 5 Draft remaining on the big league roster, but he’s been on the DL since June 11 due to an elbow sprain. When he was active, he showed plenty of ability to miss bats (13.9 percent swinging-strike rate, 9.3 K/9) but also averaged 5.8 walks and a staggering 2.89 homers per nine innings pitched. It’s not clear if he’ll return this season, but if he doesn’t, he’ll retain his Rule 5 eligibility into 2019. The Orioles won’t be able to option him until he spends 90 days on the active MLB roster, and he’s a bit more than two weeks shy of that right now.
- Nick Burdi, RHP, Pirates (from Twins via trade w/ Phillies): The flame-throwing Burdi missed nearly all of 2016 due to injury and underwent Tommy John surgery in 2017, but he’s finally on the comeback trail in a new organization. Pittsburgh sent the former Louisville standout on a rehab assignment earlier this month, and he’s pitched seven innings with an 11-to-4 K/BB ratio across three levels so far. He’s yielded five earned runs in that time, though the Bucs likely aren’t focusing heavily on bottom-line results at this point of his recovery. Burdi will have to carry over his Rule 5 eligibility into the 2019 season if the Pirates wish to retain him, but he’s a highly intriguing bullpen piece who could be worth the investment. Burdi’s heater received 80 grades on the 20-80 scale prior to surgery, and he’s been touted as a potential big league closer since his college days.
Returned to Original Organization
- Anyelo Gomez, RHP: Returned to Yankees by the Braves
- Nestor Cortes Jr., LHP: Returned to Yankees by the Orioles
- Jordan Milbrath, RHP: Returned to Indians by the Pirates
- Mike Ford, 1B: Returned to Yankees by the Mariners
- Anthony Gose, LHP: Returned to Rangers by the Astros
- Jose Mesa Jr., RHP: Returned to Yankees by the Orioles
- Tyler Kinley, RHP: Returned to Marlins by the Twins
- Luke Bard, RHP: Returned to Twins by the Angels