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NL Notes: Dodgers, Brewers, Morales, Zimmerman, Welker

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Tyler Stubblefield was stuck at low-A ball last year for the Padres at age 25. This year, writes MLB.com’s Corey Brock, he played a key role in recommending the team’s first-round draft choice, N.C. State shortstop Trea Turner, as San Diego’s area scout for eastern George and North and South Carolina.

Here’s the latest from the National League:

  • It is time for the Dodgers to initiate a shake-up, opines Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Insider link). While the team undeniably has talented pieces, they have not fit together well, says Olney, who recommends that the team consider bringing up top prospect Joc Pederson to play center and installing the defense-first Erisbel Arruebarrena at short. Of course, those moves would have repercussions involving key veterans Matt Kemp and Hanley Ramirez, among others, but Olney says that dramatic action may be necessary with the club still sitting well back of the Giants in the NL West.
  • The Brewers do not seem like a good fit for Kendrys Morales, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy writes on Twitter. McCalvy says that two key questions — Morales’s ability to handle first and the team’s ability to fit him in the payroll — make a signing unlikely.
  • Ryan Zimmerman says that he is not sure that he will ever return full-time to third base for the Nationals, as Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reports. “I don’t know if I’m the best option over there anymore,” he said. “I’ve always said I’ll play until someone is better than me, or I’m not the best option at that position.” It will be fascinating to see how the Nats proceed when Bryce Harper returns, which is expected to occur around the turn of the month. While the team would have several options heading into 2015 — Zimmerman could stay in left and the team could deal Denard Span, or he could move to first if Adam LaRoche leaves town — the mid-season calculus is even more complicated. It seems hard to imagine that the team would leave second base in the hands of Danny Espinosa while taking away significant at-bats from any of the other players just mentioned. It seems at least possible that the Nationals could explore some creative trade possibilities to right-size the everyday lineup.
  • Pirates righty Duke Welker underwent Tommy John surgery yesterday, reports Tom Singer of MLB.com (via Twitter). The towering 28-year-old was the player to be named later in last year’s Justin Morneau deal, but later returned to Pittsburgh in exchange for lefty Kris Johnson.

Minor Moves: Worth, Simunic, Mazzaro

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league…

  • Though the Tigers announced earlier today that infielder Danny Worth has cleared outright waivers, though as Chris Iott of MLive.com reports, Worth has not yet decided whether or not to accept the assignment. Worth, 28, was designated for assignment earlier in the week when Detroit purchased the contract of shortstop prospect Eugenio Suarez.
  • Utility man Andy Simunic has inked a minor league deal with the Braves after being released by the Astros, reports Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish (via Twitter). Simunic, a former 17th-round pick, is a career .261/.332/.304 hitter in four seasons at the Triple-A level. The 28-year-old’s entire career has been spent in the Houston organization to this point.
  • Pirates reliever Vin Mazzaro, who cleared outright waivers yesterday, has accepted his assignment to Triple-A, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Our own Zach Links initially reported that he was on outright waivers, with Biertempfel reporting last night that he’d cleared.

Minor Moves: Vin Mazzaro

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league.

  • Reliever Vin Mazzaro has cleared outright waivers, and the Pirates have sent him to Triple-A Indianapolis, MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo tweets. Mazzaro was a helpful member of the Pirates’ 2013 bullpen, but the Bucs have now outrighted him twice since April. They designated him for assignment late last month after he posted a 3.48 ERA in 10 1/3 innings for them this season.

NL Notes: Mazzaro, Pirates, Phillies, Capps

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Pirates reliever Vin Mazzaro has been placed on outright waivers but has not yet cleared, reports MLBTR’s Zach Links (Twitter links). A source tells Links that a full resolution of Mazzaro’s situation will occur today. Mazzaro was designated for assignment on May 26th, which, as MLBTR’s DFA Tracker shows, would have suggested resolution yesterday; Links posits that the extra day could be a result of a delay in processing owing to the Memorial Day holiday.

  • The Pirates have a glaring need for a starter, writes Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Kovacevic says that the team should be able to afford a player like Jeff Samardzija or even David Price, both in terms of prospects and payroll.
  • While it is easy to say that the Phillies should become sellers, the reality is that the club lacks attractive pieces or a young core that can be built around, writes ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (Insider subscription required and recommended). Even the players who are performing well — such as Jimmy Rollins, Carlos Ruiz, Marlon Byrd — have middling value because they are owed significant amounts of money beyond the season (or, in the case of Rollins, soon will be; his $11MM option will vest barring injury). While that might be less of a deterrent in the cases of Cliff Lee and Chase Utley, the former has still not yet resumed throwing while the latter may be too intertwined with the franchise’s identity to be dealt. Of course, any hypothetical trade scenarios could be complicated yet further by the fact that many of the team’s veterans have limited or full no-trade protection.
  • In a seemingly rare bit of good news after a pitcher travels to see Dr. James Andrews, Marlins reliever Carter Capps will forego surgery in favor of rest and rehabilitation, reports Juan C. Rodriguez of the Miami Sun-Sentinel. An extended delay is still in the cards, as Capps will be shut down for at least a month. He was originally placed on the 15-day DL retroactive to May 26, but has since been transferred to the 60-day DL.

Marlins Likely Not Done Making Moves

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The Marlins acquired reliever Bryan Morris from the Pirates for the No. 39 overall draft pick on Sunday, and they aren’t through wheeling and dealing, with MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reporting that at least one more is likely this week. It’s unclear whether that means another trade or some other type of transaction, but Frisaro writes that a move could happen “within the next few days.” He notes that the Marlins’ “proactive” approach is unusual, since teams do not typically make many trades this early in the season.

The Marlins wanted to add bullpen help, particularly after losing Carter Capps to injury, and Frisaro writes that Morris, a hard-throwing righty with big-league experience fit the bill. The Marlins also still possess three of the top 43 picks in the draft, including the No. 2 overall pick.

Pirates Claim Wirfin Obispo

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The Pirates have announced that they’ve claimed reliever Wirfin Obispo off waivers from the Braves and optioned him to Triple-A Indianapolis. The Braves designated Obispo for assignment yesterday. The Pirates’ claim comes hours after their trade of fellow reliever Bryan Morris to the Marlins, so Obispo should help them replenish their relief depth.

Obispo, 29, had pitched 19 1/3 innings for Triple-A Gwinnett this season, posting a 4.66 ERA with 9.8 K/9 and 5.6 BB/9. The Braves added the hard-throwing righty to their 40-man roster following a 2013 season in which he posted a 3.53 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 in 63 2/3 Triple-A innings. Obispo has never pitched in the Majors, but he pitched in parts of four seasons in Japan from 2007 through 2011.

Marlins Acquire Bryan Morris From Pirates

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The Marlins announced that they have acquired right-hander Bryan Morris from the Pirates in exchange for the No. 39 overall pick in the 2014 draft.  The No. 39 pick is Miami’s Competitive Balance Round A selection and is worth roughly $1.58MM.

“We feel this trade will have a positive impact on our organization in the short, moderate and long term,” said Bucs GM Neal Huntington in Pittsburgh’s press release. “In the short term, this trade will add a quality prospect to our system that will enhance our ability to make additional prospect for major league player type deals while helping us to better sustain crucial prospect depth. Additionally, we feel we have made this move from a position of strength as we have kept our core bullpen intact. In the moderate and long term, we add an additional first-round talent that we project to play a significant role on future Pirates’ teams.”

Morris, 27, has pitched to a 3.46 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 over the last three seasons with the Pirates.  In late March, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reported that the PIrates were open to dealing Morris and Jeanmar Gomez, though they were a little more reluctant to part with the latter since he can also start.  Morris is out of options this year and the Bucs have had a logjam in the bullpen this season.  In short, the Pirates are dealing from a surplus to add a promising talent to their farm system.

Of course, the Marlins still have choice picks at the top of the draft.  They own the No. 2 overall pick, the No. 36 pick in the Competitive Balance Round A portion after they were unable to sign Oregon pitcher Matt Krook last year, and the No. 43 pick, the second pick of the second round.  For the Pirates, the deal gives them a pick to think about in between their No. 24 and No. 64 selections.

NL Notes: Mets, Pirates, Sandoval

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For the Mets and for other teams throughout baseball, undergoing a rebuilding process provides no guarantee that process will actually work for a sustained period of time, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. Sherman argues that the Pirates prove that point — they had been rebuilding for years before they finally reached the playoffs last season, but this season they’re struggling yet again. (Even the Pirates’ playoff year depended heavily on outside additions A.J. Burnett, Francisco Liriano, Russell Martin, Jason Grilli and Mark Melancon.) Highly-touted young players like Pedro Alvarez don’t always gradually improve as projected, just as Ike Davis (now a Pirate) did not gradually improve with the Mets. Still others, like Matt Harvey, undergo significant injuries. Sherman argues that building the core of a team through one’s farm system is not without risk. Here are more notes from the National League.

  • The Las Vegas 51s have announced that the Mets have optioned top prospect Rafael Montero back to them. Montero made four starts for the Mets, posting a 5.40 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9 in 20 innings. The move clears space for the Mets to promote fellow pitcher Buddy Carlyle. The Mets will replace Montero in their rotation with Daisuke Matsuzaka, as Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets.
  • Pablo Sandoval “belongs in San Francisco,” and the Giants ought to work out a new deal with him before he’s eligible for free agency this fall, the San Francisco Chronicle’s Bruce Jenkins writes. Not only is Sandoval a popular player, Jenkins argues, but his positive outlook helps in the Giants’ clubhouse. Also, the Giants’ relative lack of organizational concern about plate discipline makes the team a good fit for the free-swinging Sandoval. Jenkins thinks the Giants might be able to get a five-year deal with Sandoval done before the All-Star break.

Pirates Place Wandy Rodriguez On Release Waivers

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MAY 30: The Pirates have placed Rodriguez on unconditional release waivers, reports Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (via Twitter).

MAY 22: The Pirates announced that they have re-instated Russell Martin from the 15-day disabled list and designated left-hander Wandy Rodriguez for assignment.

The DFA marks a somewhat surprising end to what has been an injury-riddled Pirates tenure for Rodriguez. Acquired from the Astros in 2012 (in exchange for Colton Cain, Rudy Owens and Robbie Grossman), Rodriguez totaled just 164 1/3 innings in parts of three seasons with Pittsburgh.

Rodriguez was healthy and effective for the Bucs after the acquisition in 2012, pitching to a 3.72 ERA in 75 innings. However, a forearm strain limited him to just 62 2/3 innings last season, and right knee inflammation cost him three weeks earlier this season. Still, with the exception of 2014, the veteran southpaw has pitched well when healthy.

This season, he’s registered a 6.75 ERA with a 20-to-8 K/BB ratio and a whopping 10 homers in 26 2/3 innings. Never one to throw particularly hard, Rodriguez’s average fastball velocity is a career-worst 88.3 mph this season. Still, given his $13MM salary ($5.5MM of which is being paid by Houston) and the fact that the Pirates have previously bought low on pitchers with potentially fluky homer-to-flyball ratios (A.J. Burnett, Mark Melancon and, to a lesser extent, Francisco Liriano), it’s a bit surprising that Rodriguez was the odd man out.

Pittsburgh will have 10 days to trade, outright or release Rodriguez, though his salary and recent injury problems make it highly unlikely that someone would claim him on waivers. A trade is unlikely for the same reason, unless the Pirates were to kick in some cash. Rodriguez is earning $13MM in 2014 — $5.5MM of which is being covered by the Astros. In other words, with more than a quarter of the season gone, Pittsburgh is eating roughly $5.33MM worth of salary, which is a sizable chunk of its $72MM Opening Day payroll.

Rangers Claim Phil Irwin

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The Rangers have claimed right-hander Phil Irwin off waivers from the Pirates and optioned him to Triple-A Round Rock, executive vice president of communications John Blake announced (on Twitter). The Rangers’ 40-man roster is now full, Blake adds.

The 27-year-old Irwin is one of three players to have been designated for assignment by the Pirates in the past week, as Wandy Rodriguez and Vin Mazzaro both found themselves victim of the DFA as well. Irwin has a strong minor league track record, including a 3.25 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 445 1/3 innings since being selected in the 21st round of the 2009 draft.

Irwin pitched well in his Triple-A debut as a 25-year-old and was solid in 10 innings there last season as well (0.90 ERA). However, he missed most of the 2013 season after undergoing surgery to correct a nerve issue in his elbow and had allowed 21 runs in 21 1/3 innings at Triple-A this season. Irwin has one Major League appearance, which came last season when he made a spot start for the Bucs and allowed four earned runs on six hits and four walks with four strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.

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