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A.J. Griffin

Rangers Outright Justin Ruggiano

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SUNDAY: The Rangers have announced that they’ve outrighted Ruggiano to Triple-A Round Rock.

FRIDAY: The Rangers have designated outfielder Justin Ruggiano for assignment, per a club announcement. His roster spot will go to fifth starter A.J. Griffin, a minor-league free agent whose contract has been purchased.

Ruggiano, who’ll soon turn 34, signed a $1.65MM deal to join the Texas organization over the winter. But Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports on Twitter that the contract includes a minor league split, meaning he would earn at a lower rate at Triple-A — if he isn’t traded and clears waivers. Ruggiano could refuse an assignment, but he’d be sacrificing his rights under that contract since he hasn’t yet reached five years of MLB service time.

The move obviously isn’t a reflection of Ruggiano’s performance to date so much as it is a product of the winter’s moves and early-season pitching needs. The veteran outfielder was signed to provide a part-time option, along with Ryan Rua, to complement the left-handed-hitting Josh Hamilton in left. But an injury to Hamilton and a lagging market for Ian Desmond let to a surprise late signing, reducing the need for Ruggiano. Meanwhile, the club not only now has a need for a fifth starter, but felt the need to keep an eighth reliever on hand after taxing the pen early.

Notable Roster Decisions: Stephenson, Royals, Rangers

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With the next wave of season openers nearly upon us, here are a few of the final notable roster decisions from around the league…

  • The Reds have placed right-hander Homer Bailey on the disabled list and promoted fellow right-hander and top prospect Robert Stephenson, the club announced. However, it appears that Stephenson, who rates among the game’s 35 best minor leaguers (per Baseball America, MLB.com and ESPN’s Keith Law) will merely be making a spot start and isn’t yet being viewed as a long-term option in the rotation; C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes that Stephenson will likely be optioned back to Triple-A following his start, as right-hander Anthony DeSclafani will be ready to come of the DL and join the rotation on April 10. Cincinnati currently has Raisel Iglesias, Brandon Finnegan and Stephenson lined up for their season-opening series against the Phillies, with Alfredo Simon set to start the club’s fourth game of the year. DeSclafani should grab Stephenson’s spot in the rotation’s second cycle of the season, and right-hander Jon Moscot should be able to return mid-month — possibly to start on April 17. As such, Stephenson’s promotion could simply amount to a glimpse of the future for Reds fans at this time, though Cincinnati’s rotation picture is fluid enough to imagine Stephenson changing their plans with a dominant showing. Service time doesn’t figure to be a major factor here, as the Reds would only lose a year of control if Stephenson were to accrue 172 days of service this season, and a quick return to the minors would make that unlikely.
  • Veteran right-hander Chien-Ming Wang made the Royals’ roster, as MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan writes. Royals pitching coach Dave Eiland, who filled that same role with the Yankees a decade ago when Wang was pitching in New York, tells Flanagan that the righty looks like the pitcher he had in his rotation 10 years ago. Wang’s velocity is said to have spiked to the mid-90s this spring, and when he does toe the rubber for the Royals, it’ll be the first time he steps foot on a Major League mound since 2013. Additionally, outfielders Reymond Fuentes and Terrance Gore have made the Kansas City roster. (Neither Wang nor Gore appeared in last night’s season opener against the Mets.)
  • The Rangers assigned right-hander A.J. Griffin to Triple-A Round Rock on Sunday, but as Anthony Andro writes for MLB.com, there’s a good chance he could be recalled on Friday to serve as the club’s fifth starter. As Andro notes, the assignment could be a tactical move, as Texas doesn’t need a fifth starter until Friday, and stashing Griffin at Triple-A will allow the club to carry an extra reliever for the time being (in addition to delaying a 40-man roster decision). Griffin, though, has not yet been officially informed that he is the team’s fifth starter, Andro stresses. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets the same, adding that the lack of definitive word from the club could indicate that the Rangers are still looking at the trade market for starting pitching additions.

AL West Roster Decisions: Rangers, Angels, A’s

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Hanser Alberto, Ryan Rua, and Justin Ruggiano will all make the Rangers’ roster, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News was among those to tweet.  Ruggiano, 34 in April, inked a one-year, $1.65MM major league deal with the Rangers in December.  Even though the late-February addition of Ian Desmond has made Ruggiano’s presence something of a luxury, it sounds like Texas will hang on to the veteran to start the year.

Here’s a rundown of some of the more important roster decisions to take place in the AL West today:

  • Nick Martinez has been optioned by the Rangers, which will likely make A.J. Griffin the team’s fifth starter, as The Associated Press writes.  Griffin, 28, has not pitched in a major league game since 2013 thanks to a Tommy John operation in the spring of 2014.  In 47 starts between 2012 and 2013, Griffin pitched to a 3.60 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9.
  • Veteran righty Al Alburquerque has been optioned by the Angels, per a club announcement. That may line up Cam Bedrosian for the final pen spot. He’s rung up an impressive number of opposing hitters via strikeout this spring.  Alburquerque had a rough year in 2015, but he chalked up his struggles to an offseason battle with the Chikungunya virus.  Last year, the 29-year-old (30 in June) pitched to a 4.21 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9.
  • The A’s have optioned Jesse Hahn, as MLB.com’s Jane Lee tweets.  The move likely means that Felix Doubront will serve as Oakland’s fifth starter.  The A’s acquired Doubront from the Blue Jays at last year’s trade deadline in exchange for cash.  The left-hander went on to make eight starts and three relief appearances for Oakland and posted a 5.81 ERA.

AL Notes: Panda, Rangers, Sanchez, White, Angels

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The Padres have sent a scout to watch Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports. It’s far from clear whether that is an indication of serious interest, of course, let alone whether the scout is watching more than just Sandoval. Regardless, it’s the latest hint that there could be some remaining trade chatter to be held between these organizations, who already struck a significant swap early in the offseason.

Here’s more from the eastern divisions:

  • The Rangers are not only continuing their search for another catcher, but could look outside the organization for rotation help, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. A.J. Griffin may have the inside track to take the fifth starter’s job at present, says Grant, but there’s some concern about the overall starting pitching depth as camp comes to a close. As for the backstop situation, it doesn’t appear that much has changed, but Texas is still looking to improve upon its reserve options — if not to strike a more significant upgrade. (Grant notes that the club has inquired on Derek Norris of the Padres and Bryan Holaday of the Tigers.)
  • Of course, interest doesn’t always mean that a deal gets done, and significant spring trades are rare. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports also reports that the Rangers have real interest in both areas (Twitter links), but he says the club thinks it has only an “outside chance” at adding a catcher and is “doubtful” to find a new pitcher. All in all, both reports suggest that Texas is looking at its options but is hardly certain to add outside pieces. And still others suggest there’s not much reason to expect movement. Jeff Wilson of the Forth Worth Star-Telegram tweets that outside inquiries have mostly been tire-kicking exercises, while MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan adds on Twitter that club officials have suggested to him that the final rotation piece will come from inside the organization.
  • Reclamation righty Matt Bush isn’t in the mix for an Opening Day pen spot with the Rangers, Grant also writes, but he has been enormously impressive this spring and could be an option later in the season. Bush’s story is well-known, of course — the former first overall draft pick recently finished a prison term for severely injuring a man in a DUI.
  • Aaron Sanchez has been named as the Blue Jays’ fifth starter, manager John Gibbons told reporters (including John Lott of Blue Jays Nation) this morning.  It won’t be a season-long assignment for Sanchez, however, as the righty seems to be under an innings cap and will eventually be transitioned into the bullpen as he approaches his limit.  The 23-year-old has never thrown more than 133 1/3 innings in a season.  Sanchez and Gavin Floyd emerged as the top two contenders for the fifth starter’s job during camp, and Floyd will join Jesse Chavez in the bullpen while Drew Hutchison has been optioned to Triple-A.  It stands to reason that Floyd, Chavez or Hutchison will all be rotation candidates when Sanchez is moved back to relief pitching.
  • The Astros have decided to give an Opening Day roster spot to young first baseman Tyler White, as Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle reports. Houston’s first-base situation has been in flux all spring, but it appears that the 33rd-round draftee is in line for a significant opportunity to take the position and run with it. He is one of several players in the organization who have impressed this spring; third base prospect Colin Moran has also compiled a 1.000+ OPS in more than thirty plate appearances, though Drellich notes on Twitter that he’s not considered a roster option at this point. The same holds true of A.J. Reed, of course, who could also have a chance to make an impact later in the season.
  • Angels GM Billy Eppler says that he is “not optimistic” of adding to his roster before the season starts, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez reports. Gonzalez provides a deep rundown of the club’s remaining roster considerations.

Rangers Sign A.J. Griffin To Minor League Deal

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The Rangers announced on Monday that they have signed former Athletics right-hander A.J. Griffin to a minor league contract with an invite to Major League Spring Training. The soon-to-be 28-year-old Legacy Agency client hasn’t pitched since 2013 due to 2014 Tommy John surgery and a 2015 shoulder injury.

Prior to those injuries, Griffin was on the verge of establishing himself as a potential long-term cog in Oakland’s rotation. After posting a 3.06 ERA with 7.0 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 in 82 innings as a rookie in 2012, Griffin rattled off 200 innings of 3.83 ERA ball in 2014, averaging 7.7 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9. He’s very much a fly-ball pitcher, as evidenced by the 33.7 percent ground-ball rate he yielded across those two seasons and the fact that he led the AL with 36 homers allowed in ’13. That skill set may not be as well suited for Arlington’s Globe Life Park as it is for Oakland’s O.Co Coliseum, but a healthy Griffin would nonetheless be a nice option for the back of the rotation. Colby Lewis, for instance, has enjoyed a nice five-year run with the Rangers despite never having topped 38 percent with his ground-ball rate.

Griffin will look to compete for a spot in the Rangers’ rotation behind Yu Darvish, Cole Hamels, Derek Holland, Martin Perez, Chi Chi Gonzalez and Lewis, who reportedly agreed to a new one-year deal with Texas last week. While there are plenty of established names in that mix, Darvish is recovering from Tommy John surgery, Perez returned from that same operation late in 2015 and Holland has been beset by shoulder and knee injuries over the past two seasons. Griffin has three years and 34 days of big league service, so if he makes it back to the Majors next season, he could be controlled through at least 2018 and possibly 2019, depending on the amount of service time accrued in 2016.

A’s Designate Daniel Coulombe, Release A.J. Griffin

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The Athletics have designated left-hander Daniel Coulombe for assignment and released right-hander A.J. Griffin, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. Coulombe’s DFA clears space on the 40-man roster for today’s acquisition of Jed Lowrie, whereas Griffin’s release serves as resolution to his own DFA from last week.

Coulombe, 26, split the 2015 campaign between the Dodgers and A’s, logging 16 total innings with a 5.63 ERA and an 11-to-9 K/BB ratio. He showed a greater penchant for strikeouts at the Triple-A level, whiffing 41 hitters in 41 1/3 innings, but his control problems existed in Triple-A as well, as evidenced by his average of 5.2 walks per nine innings there in 2015.

Griffin’s name is a more familiar one for fans from Oakland and around the league in general. The now 28-year-old spent a season and a half in the Athletics’ rotation from 2012-13, recording a 3.60 ERA with 7.5 K.9 against 2.3 BB/9 in 282 1/3 innings. Though Griffin surrendered an alarming 36 homers in 2013, he threw exactly 200 innings of 3.83 ERA ball and looked to be settling into Oakland’s future as a back-of-the-rotation starter. However, Griffin underwent Tommy John surgery in Spring Training 2014 and returned for just 14 1/3 minor league innings this season before going down to a shoulder injury.

If he can demonstrate his health, Griffin represents a somewhat intriguing buy-low candidate — particularly for a team with a large home park, which would help to offset some of the right-hander’s extreme fly-ball tendencies.

Athletics Designate A.J. Griffin

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The Athletics have designated righty A.J. Griffin for assignment, the club announced. His 40-man spot will go to just-signed lefty Rich Hill, whose deal is now official.

The 27-year-old Griffin hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2013, when he threw an even 200 innings and worked to a 3.83 ERA with 7.7 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9. He’s been hit hard by arm injuries since, though he tells Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link) that he is no longer experiencing the shoulder tightness that plagued him after his Tommy John surgery.

There will certainly be clubs with interest in taking a shot at Griffin, though it remains to be seen whether any will be willing to give him a 40-man spot (and/or send anything Oakland’s way for his rights). Griffin was able to return to make four rehab starts last year, so teams have had a chance to see him throw recently.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Athletics, Indians, Frazier

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Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal, via a video at FOX Sports:

  • The Athletics aren’t currently considering trading Scott Kazmir and aren’t yet letting go of their hopes of contending, Rosenthal says. The team was dealt another blow yesterday, however, in the form of setbacks to Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin, at least one of whom the A’s might have counted on later in the season to fill a spot in the rotation and bump Drew Pomeranz to the bullpen.
  • An executive says the Indians could be sellers this summer if their 10-18 season doesn’t dramatically improve. Carlos Santana and Brandon Moss could be on the block if they do. Santana is signed through 2016 with a reasonable option for 2017, while Moss has one more year of arbitration eligibility beyond this one before he can become a free agent.
  • Rosenthal wonders how it will be possible for the Reds to sign Todd Frazier long-term, given their already-heavy load of commitments to veterans. Rosenthal says Frazier is eligible for free agency after next season, although he actually isn’t eligible until after 2017 — his current contract carries through 2016, but the Reds can take him through arbitration once more after that. That one year makes a considerable difference, since it means the Reds already control Frazier through his age-31 season. As terrific a year as Frazier is having, trying to control him beyond 31 might be risky, and representative of the kinds of commitments that have caused the Reds’ current payroll headaches. Still, Rosenthal is probably right that Frazier could become a trade candidate at some point, given the Reds’ need to acquire young talent.

AL Notes: Griffin, Parker, Smyly, Cabrera, Willis, Rodon

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We touched on injuries earlier this evening, but two significant situations have popped up since — both regarding rehabbing Athletics pitchers. First, righty A.J. Griffin was forced out early from his simulated game with shoulder soreness, as John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group reports. Griffin’s injury was to his elbow, of course, and the club is hopeful that the shoulder pain only constitutes a minor setback. More troublingly, fellow Tommy John patient Jarrod Parker left his Triple-A rehab start in a scene that left observers seriously concerned about his arm, as Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Parker, who is said to have been overcome by pain after throwing a very wild pitch, walked off with assistance while clutching his surgically repaired right elbow — which is now on its third UCL. The Athletics’ summer trade plans are virtually impossible to gauge anyway, but the inability of either of those pitchers to return to the rotation would certainly have an impact. Lefty Scott Kazmir has been talked about quite a bit as a possible trade candidate, though moving him could prove tough if the team is in contention and does not have replacements lined up.

  • Another new arm issue cropped up for the Rays, too, who have placed lefty Drew Smyly on the 15-day DL with shoulder soreness, per Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune (Twitter link). Smyly, the key piece in last summer’s David Price trade, had already missed time early this year with a shoulder issue, which enhances the level of concern.
  • Injured Orioles shortstop Everth Cabrera, who has struggled for Baltimore, is no longer capable of being optioned without consent as he has reached five years of service, Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore Sun notes (Twitter link). With J.J. Hardy returning to action, Cabrera may not have an active roster spot when he returns, and his new service time status could well complicate the club’s decisionmaking.
  • The Red Sox have hired away Carl Willis from the Indians to become their new pitching coach, Jim Massie of the Columbus Dispatch reports (h/t to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe). Willis had been the Triple-A pitching coach for Cleveland. He’ll be tasked with getting better production out of a starting staff that has struggled in the first five weeks of the season.
  • Prized White Sox lefty Carlos Rodon is expected to receive only a spot start tomorrow, Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago.com reports. Manager Robin Ventura did leave some room open for Rodon to earn another start, however, saying: “the way it sits right now, he would still be back in the bullpen and getting us some innings there.” Regardless of how things progress in the near term, it seems that Chicago’s plan is to use Rodon in the pen to manage his innings, perhaps with the hope of having him as a starter down the stretch — assuming, at least, that the club can stay in the postseason picture.

A’s Notes: Shields, Doolittle, Olivera, Moncada

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The A’s hosted their annual FanFest today with a sellout crowd of over 15,000. Here are the highlights:

  • The A’s experienced plenty of turnover this offseason (nine trades involving 27 players) and the holdovers are starting to see the method in GM Billy Beane’s madness. “Initially when the trades are going on, you’re going, ’Come on, seriously? Another All-Star caliber player is leaving us?’” said Coco Crisp (as quoted by Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle). “But as things progressed, I started to see things come together, and I understand it from a business standpoint and for the future. Some of the players we got have the potential to be great players and we have another team out to prove ourselves. I think it’s going to work out good.“
  • Also from Slusser, Beane has a plan if his offseason maneuvers don’t work. “If one of these (trades) doesn’t work, we’ll make another one because that’s what we do. We’re not going to wait around.“
  • Beane apparently isn’t waiting around for James Shields. Slusser has heard rumblings the A’s might be one of the teams still in play for Shields, but she has been assured they are not.
  • MLB.com’s Jane Lee updated the status of a trio of injured pitchers in a pair of reports. Sean Doolittle received a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection to alleviate inflammation and irritation in his left shoulder. “Everything so far has gone really smoothly,” Doolittle said. “We’re optimistic, but we haven’t set a timetable because, based on what the doctors and trainers have said, every issue is kind of different. With PRP, it’s all about how your body reacts to it.” Doolittle has entered the beginning stages of a strengthening program, but manager Bob Melvin admits there is a good chance his closer will miss the early part of the season.
  • A’s Assistant GM David Forst and Melvin both reiterated the probable timetable for starters Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin to return is June, barring any setbacks from their Tommy John surgeries.
  • Slusser reports the A’s continue to monitor Cuban infielders Yoan Moncada and Hector Olivera, but doubts the team has the payroll for Moncada having never spent more than $66MM on a player and does not see Olivera receiving an offer greater than the four-year, $36MM deal signed by Yoenis Cespedes.
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