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Arquimedes Caminero

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/15/19

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We’ll kick off the week with a handful of minor moves from around the league…

  • The Mets have released right-handed reliever Arquimedes Caminero from their Triple-A affiliate, as first noted on the International League transactions log. The flamethrowing 32-year-old generated solid results with the Pirates in 2015-16 before signing on to pitch with Japan’s Yomiuri Giants in 2017-18. His return to the U.S. didn’t go smoothly, however, as he’s posted a 5.09 ERA in 17 2/3 with the Mets’ top affiliate in Syracuse. Caminero logged 15 strikeouts but also surrendered 10 free passes, continuing to display some of the control issues that plagued him during his last MLB run. In 155 big league frames, Caminero has a 3.83 ERA with 8.3 K/9, 4.0 BB/9 and a fastball that has averaged 97.6 mph.
  • Left-hander Zac Curtis has been released by the Rangers, according to the Pacific Coast League transactions log. Curtis, who just turned 27, went from the D-backs to the Mariner as a lower-profile piece in the Mitch Haniger/Jean Segura for Ketel Marte/Taijuan Walker swap. He’s bounced to the Phillies and the Rangers since that swap, appearing in the big leagues with each team along the way. Curtis re-signed with Texas after being outrighted this past winter, but he’s had a nightmare season in the hitter-friendly PCL. Despite racking up 40 strikeouts in 30 1/3 innings, Curtis has been hammered for an 8.90 ERA due to 25 free passes, four hit batters and a whopping 10 home runs allowed. Prior to this season, Curtis had a solid Triple-A track record, although he’d also issued 35 walks in 38 MLB innings, so the alarming control issues aren’t exactly an out-of-the-blue development.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/3/19

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Here are Thursday’s minor moves from around the game…

Latest Updates

  • Per a team release, the Mets have signed OF Rymer Liriano and reliever Arquimedes Caminero to minor league deals and invited both to Spring Training. Liriano, 27, was a former highly-rated prospect in the Padres system, but slumped badly upon his promotion to Double-A in 2012. In 167 career plate appearances with the Pads and White Sox, the Dominican-born outfielder has put together a .220/.293/.287 (66 wRC+) line, with just two home runs and a 31.7% strikeout rate. He appeared in 65 games for Triple-A Salt Lake last season, slashing .268/.343/.523 in the hitter-friendly PCL. Caminero, 31, was a big part of the 2015 Pirates bullpen, posting a 3.62 ERA/3.80 FIP in a robust 74 2/3 IP for the club. He also has big-league time with the Marlins (’13’-14) and Mariners (2016), and all told has a 3.83 ERA, 8.3 K/9, and 4.01 BB/9 in 155 career IP. Caminero spent the last two seasons with Japan’s Yomiuri Giants, where he scuffled last season following a strong debut showing in 2017. The Dominican-born righty returned to the U.S. last August to undergo what seemed to be a minor elbow procedure, per the Yomiuri club.
  • Per Robert Murray of The Athletic, the Mets have also agreed to a minors pact with right-hander Casey Coleman. Coleman, 31, has appeared in parts of four MLB seasons with the Cubs and Royals, most recently in 2014. He’s spent much of the last four seasons in AAA with a number of clubs, working primarily as a reliever. The 6-foot righty has been blistered in his last two trips through the PCL, working to a 6.75 ERA/5.19 FIP with the Astros in ’17, and a 6.91 ERA/5.11 FIP with the Cubs last season. In 177 2/3 career MLB innings, Coleman has posted a 6.23 K/9 against 4.51 BB/9, but has been able to induce grounders at an above-average rate. Per Murray, the deal includes an opt- and buyout clause for Korean and Japanese teams.
  • Per a team release, the Red Sox have invited righty Domingo Tapia to Spring Training. Tapia, 27, was a once-promising Mets farmhand who was eventually moved to the bullpen after serious command issues as a starter from 2012-14. Most recently of the Reds organization, the Dominican-born hurler worked to a respectable 3.47 ERA/4.06 FIP for Triple-A Louisville last season, though his peripherals (6.43 K/9, 3.71 BB/9) were hardly encouraging.

Earlier Moves

  • The Dodgers have signed right-hander Markus Solbach to a minor league contract, as announced by Solbach’s team in the Australian Baseball League, the Adelaide Bite (Twitter link). The German-born Solbach has previously spent time in the minor league ranks with the Twins and D-backs in addition to four seasons pitching on the independent circuit (CanAm and Frontier leagues). This winter, the 27-year-old has turned in a ludicrous 0.43 ERA and a 55-to-7 K/BB ratio in 41 2/3 innings in the ABL. However, he hasn’t pitched in affiliated ball since notching a 3.56 ERA with 7.9 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 through 65 2/3 frames with Arizona’s Class-A Advanced affiliate. Originally signed by Minnesota as a 19-year-old out of Germany, Solbach has pitched professionally in parts of eight seasons and generally demonstrated strong control with less-impressive strikeout numbers. He’s posted a cumulative 3.30 ERA, 6.5 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 733 pro innings, though he’s never pitched above the Class-A Advanced level for an MLB organization.

Arquimedes Caminero Released To Pursue Contract With Yomiuri Giants

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DECEMBER 16: Seattle announced that Caminero has officially been released to pursue the opportunity in Japan.

DECEMBER 10: Mariners righty Arquimedes Caminero is close to a deal with the Yomiuri Giants in Japan, as noted by Yahoo! Japan (via Beyond The Box Score’s Kazuto Yamazaki and Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune, who notes that the Mariners have already agreed to sell Caminero’s contract).

The 29-year-old Caminero is out of options, and the Mariners’ decision suggests that they don’t foresee much of a future for him on a team with plenty of right-handed bullpen possibilities, even though he has four years of control remaining before free agency and has tantalizing velocity. Caminero throws harder than almost anyone — his 97.9-MPH average fastball velocity last year was faster than anyone except Aroldis Chapman’s.

Caminero has had persistent problems with walks, with 4.9 BB/9 last year. His 3.56 ERA last year between the Pirates and Mariners looks decent on the surface, but his peripheral numbers have generally been unimpressive, and he’s never been as dominant as his velocity would suggest, perhaps in part because he relies too heavily on his fastball. Through parts of four seasons in the big leagues with the Marlins and Pirates in addition to the Mariners, Caminero has a 3.83 ERA, 8.3 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 155 innings.

Pirates, Mariners Complete Arquimedes Caminero Swap

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The Pirates and Mariners have completed the deal that sent righty Arquimedes Caminero to the Mariners a few weeks back. Per an announcement from Seattle, lefty Jake Brentz and righty Pedro Vasquez will go to Pittsburgh to wind up the trade.

Caminero, 29, has been a solid piece for the M’s since the deal, cutting his walk rate but otherwise largely continuing to deliver useful but hardly world-beating frames. On the year, he has thrown 55 innings of 3.60 ERA ball with 7.0 K/9 against 4.1 BB/9.

Pittsburgh will pick up a pair of young arms in return. The 21-year-old Brentz has experienced some command issues early in his career, but generated better than a strikeout per inning at the Class A and High-A level for most of the season. Vasquez, 20, earned a mid-season promotion out of Rookie ball and has turned in a 2.28 ERA with 6.2 K/9 against just 0.8 BB/9 in his eight starts at Class A Clinton.

Mariners Acquire Arquimedes Caminero From Pirates

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The Mariners have announced that they’ve acquired righty reliever Arquimedes Caminero from the Pirates for a player to be named later and a conditional player to be named later. To clear roster space, they’ve designated righty Blake Parker for assignment.

The Mariners claimed Caminero before working out a deal, as MLB.com’s Greg Johns writes. The 29-year-old Caminero is one of baseball’s hardest throwers — his average fastball velocity this season has been 97.7 MPH, and he routinely touches triple digits. He does, however, struggle with his control, which might explain why most teams passed on him as a waiver claim despite his fastball and near-league-minimum salary. After a relatively successful 2015 season in which he posted a 3.62 ERA, 8.8 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9, Caminero has posted a 3.51 ERA but with just 7.0 K/9 and a very high 4.8 BB/9 this year (although he has fared much better since returning from a DL stint in June).

The Mariners (who recently promised they would be active on the August trade market) will become the latest team to try to turn Caminero’s electric arm into a high-performing one. The Pirates, meanwhile, will move on to other relief options in a new-look bullpen that also recently added Antonio Bastardo and swapped Mark Melancon for young former Nationals lefty Felipe Rivero. MLB.com’s Adam Berry suggests (via Twitter) that Caminero’s departure could clear space in the bullpen for Jeff Locke, who could be bumped from the rotation in favor of a younger option like Chad Kuhl, Steven Brault or Tyler Glasnow.

The 31-year-old Parker signed with the Mariners as a minor league free agent last winter and has spent most of the year with Triple-A Tacoma, where he posted a 2.72 ERA with an excellent 12.7 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9. The Mariners added him to their roster this week, and he pitched in just one game for them before being designated.

Pirates Notes: Morton, Pitching, Melancon, Niese, Nicasio, Kang

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The Pirates are one of several teams holding a FanFest today. Reporters, including MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth, were on hand for the Q&A with GM Neal Huntington. The Pirates’ GM admitted that today’s Morton swap was mostly about payroll relief, although the club does like David Whitehead.

Here’s more Pirates notes:

  • Today’s trade of Charlie Morton will likely instigate “multiple moves,” tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. After the move, the Pirates payroll is around $88MM with a target of about $105MM per Biertempfel (tweet). Huntington told reporters including MLB.com’s Adam Berry (tweet), “A big part of the motivation was to free some dollars to allow us to deepen the club, to reestablish some depth.“
  • Industry sources implied to Biertempfel (tweet) that pitchers like Scott Kazmir, Mike Leake, or others over $10MM per season are not on the Pirates radar. However, there is no doubt that at least one starting pitcher is on the agenda. The rotation presently consists of Gerrit Cole, Francisco Liriano, Jon Niese, and Jeff Locke. Presumably, the club prefers for Locke or Niese to fill a long relief role with Allen Webster serving as minor league depth. Top prospect Tyler Glasnow is not expected to reach the majors early in the season.
  • Closer Mark Melancon is expected to earn $10MM in arbitration per MLBTR estimates, but the club is under no pressure to trade him, tweets Biertempfel. The team could potentially get by in the late innings with Tony Watson, Arquimedes Caminero, and new acquisition Juan Nicasio. However, a bullpen with Melancon is certainly more robust. With the market for quality closers at a premium, Pittsburgh would find it difficult to replace Melancon. Per Huntington, “if somebody steps up and gives us a return that’s significant enough to motivate us to get a little bit uncomfortable, then we get a little bit uncomfortable.” (h/t to Wilmoth for the quote).
  • In commenting on Nicasio, Huntinton told Wilmoth, “We do think there are some things we can help him with. Now, is it going to be enough to make him a good starter? Time will tell. Is it going to be enough to make him a really good reliever? Time will tell.” The Pirates have developed a reputation as a haven for reclamation projects which could make Nicasio an interesting player to watch.
  • Comparing recent acquisition Jon Niese to the market, Huntington said “he’ll continue to put up numbers similar to guys who are getting sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety million dollars in free agency — we have three, essentially, one-year contracts with Jon Niese.” While Niese comes with less cachet than somebody like Mike Leake, it’s true that they project to perform similarly. As such, Huntington may very well beat the market with this swap.
  • Huntington says Jung-ho Kang is more likely to return in April than May, per Berry (tweet). If true, this is a lucky break for the club. They currently have some combination of Josh Harrison, Jordy Mercer, Alen Hanson, and Pedro Florimon penciled in for second base, shortstop, and third base. An injury or poor performance from Hanson could leave the club scrambling for reinforcements.
  • The Pirates will retrench in 2016 with an aim to contend again in 2017, writes John Perotto of the Beaver County Times. While the club will still pursue a postseason berth next year, they’ll have their eyes on developing top prospects like Josh Bell, Glasnow, and Jameson Taillon.

Bullpen Notes: Stammen, Ramirez, Martin

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The Nationals relief corps took another blow yesterday when righty Craig Stammen was placed on the 15-day DL with stiffness in his right forearm.  Stammen will undergo an MRI soon and he told reporters (including CSN Washington’s Mark Zuckerman) that he is at least somewhat worried that it could be a more serious elbow injury.  Nats GM Mike Rizzo also told the media, including Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post, that the club is going with internal bullpen options for the time being.  Rafael Martin and Taylor Jordan were called up to replace Stammen and the recently-designated Xavier Cedeno, and Martin made an impressive MLB debut Wednesday, recording five strikeouts over two innings of work against the Red Sox.

Here are some more bullpen items from around baseball…

  • Cubs righty Neil Ramirez could also be facing some bad injury news, as he left Wednesday’s outing after just three pitches with a shoulder problem.  Ramirez will undergo an MRI today, ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers reports.  The reliever’s status has a bigger-picture impact on the rumored promotion of top prospect Kris Bryant on Friday.  If Ramirez needs some DL time, the Cubs could promote a reliever and continue with a 13-man pitching staff rather than call up Bryant and thin out an already heavily-worked bullpen.
  • Right-hander Cody Martin is off to a strong start, and the Braves rookie reliever tells MLB.com’s Mark Bowman that he is partially motivated by the fact that Atlanta didn’t protect him in the Rule 5 Draft last winter.  “That was tough, but I knew I belonged [on the roster] and belonged in the big leagues….I took it as a challenge to prove them all wrong, especially all the teams that didn’t pick me in the Rule 5 Draft,” Martin said.  “It all worked out pretty good. I’m where I need to be right now.”
  • Arquimedes Caminero enjoyed a strong Spring Training and earned a spot in the Pirates bullpen.  As Fangraphs’ Jeff Sullivan writes, the hard-throwing Caminero might be another reclamation success story for Bucs pitching coach Ray Searage, who encouraged the righty to simplify his delivery.  The result has been the fastest average fastball in the game this season, as Caminero is averaging 98.9 mph according to Fangraphs’ measurements.

NL Notes: Cubs, Taylor, Caminero

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Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein says the team is likely to start the season with three catchers, ESPNChicago.com’s Jesse Rogers writes. Having Miguel Montero, David Ross and Welington Castillo all start the season with the team does limit Joe Maddon’s tactical possibilities somewhat, but Epstein says that Maddon supports having three catchers. Having three would also allow the Cubs to be somewhat more flexible in using their catchers to pinch-hit, and would give the team depth in case of an injury. Rogers notes, though, that common sense suggests the Cubs would still consider trading Castillo if the right offer came along, and that the Cubs might be trying to improve their negotiating position by giving the impression they’re not desperate to deal Castillo. Here are more notes from the National League.

  • With Denard Span out with after having core muscle surgery, top Nationals prospect Michael Taylor is making a strong case to be on the team’s Opening Day roster. But there are reasons to wonder about his readiness, Nats Insider’s Mark Zuckerman writes. Taylor is hitting .324/.324/.765 in 34 plate appearances this spring, but he’s struck out 11 times without walking. Taylor exhibited similar issues in his 43 plate appearances in the big leagues last year, and he has limited experience at Triple-A, so sending him there might be best for his development.
  • Reliever Arquimedes Caminero, who the Pirates acquired in a minor deal with the Marlins in February, is very likely to make the Bucs out of camp, Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. Caminero is out of options and has been very impressive this spring, striking out 12 batters in eight innings with a fastball that reaches into the high 90s. Caminero says the Bucs have helped him improve his delivery. “(They are) just simplifying things that were there that I didn’t notice much and now I’m noticing,” says Caminero. “I’m just going easier in my mechanics. I was trying to throw too hard. … I feel more confident. I’m hitting my target more often.”

NL Central Links: Bryant, Martinez, Pirates

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If the Cubs keep Kris Bryant at Triple-A to begin the season, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal believes the MLBPA should file a grievance as a matter of principle.  It would be a mostly symbolic gesture (“The case law overwhelmingly favors the clubs,” according to one of Rosenthal’s sources) yet it would indicate that the players’ union is serious about addressing this service-time loophole when the new collective bargaining agreement is negotiated next year.  It would also be a big-picture show of strength by the union, as some player agents feel that the MLBPA has a bit too lenient on some recent issues.

Here’s more from around the NL Central…

  • The Braves initially asked for Carlos Martinez when they began discussing the Jason Heyward trade with the Cardinals, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.  The Cards refused, just as they’ve steadfastly turned down other trade offers for Martinez in recent years, yet Miklasz wonders why the club is so committed to keeping Martinez but is hesitant to give him a regular rotation job.  Miklasz argues that if the Cardinals have any doubts about Martinez, they might be better served by dealing him now while his stock is still high.
  • Arquimedes Caminero has been impressed scouts this spring, and the Pirates may be forced to put the out-of-options righty on the roster in order to keep him, Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes.  Keeping Caminero in the bullpen could force John Holdzkom to start the year at Triple-A, as while Holdzkom has pitched well himself in camp, he still has minor league options.
  • Speaking of the Pirates’ roster crunch, GM Neal Huntington told Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that a move could possibly be made to address the Bucs’ several out-of-options players.  “We have some guys who are out of options who may be of interest to other clubs,” Huntington said.  “We may make a small trade … or claim somebody on waivers or lose somebody on waivers. We still have some (roster) decisions to make and are always open to improving our talent level.”
  • The Reds have told veteran southpaw Paul Maholm that he won’t be earning a rotation job, though Maholm isn’t yet considering opting out of his minor league deal with the club, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes.  “We still have some time left in camp,” Maholm said.  “I’m trying to pitch and get ready for the season. Those are decisions we have to make at the date that’s set up. Until then, I’m just going to pitch.”  The Reds would have to pay Maholm $100K to retain his services if he’s not going to make their Major League roster, as per his status as an Article XX(B) player.

Pirates Acquire Arquimedes Caminero From Marlins

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The Pirates have acquired right-handed reliever Arquimedes Caminero from the Marlins in exchange for cash, Pittsburgh announced. Caminero had been designated for assignment by Miami.

Caminero has an enticing arm that has delivered an average of 11.0 K/9 (against 4.5 BB/9) in his nine years of minor league action. He has seen only limited action at the big league level, posting 19 2/3 frames of 5.49 ERA pitching (albeit with many of the credited runs coming in one rough outing last year).

As he was added to the 40-man roster in advance of the 2011 season, it would appear that Caminero has exhausted his optional assignment seasons. Pittsburgh will take a flier on his mid-90s heater, but it seems he will need to break camp with the big league club or face the waiver wire.

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