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Minor MLB Transactions: 1/5/18

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

  • The Rangers have inked a minor-league pact with right-hander Brandon Cumpton, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning news (Twitter link). Arm troubles have limited the 29-year-old of late, but he did return to professional action in 2017 after a two-year hiatus. Over 37 1/3 innings, Cumpton pitched to a 3.86 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9.
  • As Cumpton leaves the Pirates organization, two other right-handers are on their way in, according to John Dreker of Pirates Prospects. Tyler Jones and Bo Schultz have each joined the Bucs on minor-league arrangements, per the report. The former will be looking to crack the majors for the first time. He has often produced quality strikeout rates in the upper minors but only managed a 4.38 ERA in 63 2/3 innings at Triple-A last year with the Yankees organization. As for Schultz, the former Blue Jays reliever will be looking to return from Tommy John surgery. Schultz turned in a useful 2015 season but faltered in the ensuing season — he worked to a 5.51 ERA in his 16 1/3 MLB innings — before going under the knife.
  • Righty William Cuevas will join the Red Sox organization on a minor-league pact, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. The 27-year-old has spent the bulk of his career in the Boston organization but played elsewhere in 2017. He worked to a 4.85 ERA in 104 Triple-A frames in 2017, with 7.0 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9. Cuevas has twice cracked the majors, but only briefly.
  • Yet another right-handed hurler, Preston Guilmet, is heading to the Cardinals on a minors deal, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets. He’ll get a spring invite and can earn at a $600K rate in the majors. The 30-year-old Guilmet has seen parts of three seasons in the majors but only has 23 career innings at the game’s highest level. He has put up some interesting results of late, though, posting a 2.77 ERA with 10.8 K/9 against 1.6 BB/9 in 68 1/3 Triple-A frames in 2016 before heading to Japan and running a 3.62 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in his 54 2/3 innings for the Yakult Swallows (over four starts and 28 relief appearances).

Earlier Updates

  • The Tigers have agreed to a minor league deal with former Cardinals shortstop Pete Kozma, reports SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (on Twitter). Kozma, 30 in April, split the 2017 season between the Rangers and Yankees organizations and logged 51 plate appearances in the Majors, though he batted just .111/.200/.178 in that small sample. Long considered an excellent defender with a light bat, Kozma is a career .215/.282/.285 hitter in parts of six MLB seasons but also comes with a career +11 Defensive Runs Saved mark and +9 Ultimate Zone Rating in 1450 innings at shortstop.
  • The Braves announced yesterday that right-handed reliever Luke Jackson cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Gwinnett. Once a well-regarded prospect in the Rangers system, the now-26-year-old Jackson posted an ERA north of 6.00 and walked 16 batters in 24 1/3 innings with Gwinnett last season. He actually performed better in the Majors, logging a 4.62 ERA in 50 1/3 frames, albeit with pedestrian averages of 5.9 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 with a 45.2 percent grounder rate. Jackson does have a history of missing bats in the upper minors and did average 94.7 mph on his heater last year while running up a 10.2 percent swinging-strike rate, so there’s some hope that he could yet figure things out.

Blue Jays Outright Bo Schultz, Cesar Valdez, Darrell Ceciliani

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The Blue Jays have announced some roster trimming moves. Right-handers Bo Schultz and Cesar Valdez were outrighted along with outfielder Darrell Ceciliani.

Schultz, 32, underwent Tommy John surgery late in camp, so he’s unlikely to be ready to participate fully in Spring Training. That said, he ought to have a chance of pitching for much of the 2018 season. Schultz, who owns a 4.54 ERA over 67 1/3 career MLB frames could either sign early or wait and put on a showcase once he’s ready.

Valdez, who’s also 32, has sparse MLB experience but has functioned as a depth swingman option. He has pitched well at Triple-A over the past two seasons since returning from a few years in the Mexican League.

As for Ceciliani, the 27-year-old has spent the past two seasons in the Toronto organization but hasn’t earned much time in the majors. A shoulder injury kept him out for much of the 2017 season, and Ceciliani struggled badly (.156/.198/.169) in the 81 plate appearances he was able to take at Triple-A.

Blue Jays Right-Hander Bo Schultz Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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The Blue Jays announced today that right-handed reliever Bo Schultz underwent Tommy John surgery. The operation, performed by Dr. Timothy Altchek, will cost Schultz the entirety of the 2017 season and likely part of the 2018 campaign as well, depending on his recovery.

The 31-year-old Schultz was a quality member of the Toronto relief corps in 2015, pitching to a 3.56 ERA with 6.5 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 and a 48.8 percent ground-ball rate in 43 1/3 innings of relief. The hard-throwing righty — he’s averaged 96 mph on his heater across the past two seasons — took a step back in 2016, struggling to a 5.51 ERA in 16 1/3 innings as he battled back from offseason left hip surgery.

Schultz entered the offseason hoping to compete for a bullpen spot this spring, though the Jays’ offseason additions of Joe Smith and J.P. Howell eliminated a pair of spots that he could’ve potentially filled. As an out-of-options player, he was a candidate to lose his 40-man spot at the end of Spring Training even prior to this injury. Now, he’ll presumably spend the 2017 campaign on the 60-day disabled list, allowing the Blue Jays to free up a 40-man roster spot but also thinning out the team’s bullpen depth.

Blue Jays Tell Mat Latos He Won’t Make Team

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Blue Jays righty Mat Latos has been told he won’t make the team, and Latos must now decide whether to accept a Triple-A assignment from the club or become a free agent, according to Jays radio broadcaster Mike Wilner (Twitter links). In addition, another Jays righty, Bo Schultz, is seeing a physician in New York and is likely to require elbow surgery.

The Jays signed Latos to a minor-league deal near the beginning of camp, and he struggled in 14 2/3 innings with the club, allowing eight walks and five home runs. The former Padres and Reds standout is still only 29 but has fallen on hard times in recent seasons, posting a 4.89 ERA and a mediocre 5.4 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 over 70 innings with the White Sox and Nationals last year, also struggling with his velocity. He seemed highly unlikely to crack the Jays’ rotation (which currently consists of Marco Estrada, J.A. Happ, Aaron Sanchez, Marcus Stroman and Francisco Liriano) without an injury or two.

The 31-year-old Schultz bounced back and forth between Toronto and Triple-A Buffalo last season, posting a 5.51 ERA, 5.5 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 16 1/3 innings at the big-league level. He was competing for a spot in the Blue Jays’ bullpen. He is out of options, although, of course, if he’s facing elbow surgery, both he and the Blue Jays will have greater concerns for his future than his immediate roster status.

Quick Hits: MacPhail, Biagini, Bumgarner, Bour

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Phillies president Andy MacPhail shared his thoughts on the status of the organization’s rebuild with MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. Expressing his agreement with the offseason maneuverings of GM Matt Klentak, MacPhail emphasized that he’s expecting tangible progress, but won’t necessarily reduce his assessment to the team’s win-loss record. Notably, MacPhail suggested that the organization could be readying to further open its substantial pocketbook next winter. The organization’s fairly significant investment in short-term veterans this winter was driven by ownership’s determination to improve the on-field product, he indicated, and it seems that yet further spending is contemplated for the future. MacPhail acknowledged that the Phillies could “absolutely” boost their payroll into the top half or third of the league by the 2018 season.

Here are a few more notes from around the league:

  • The Blue Jays intend to stretch out righty Joe Biagini as a starter this spring, as Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca writes. A surprisingly productive Rule 5 reliever last year, the 26-year-old could even end up starting out in the Triple-A rotation when camp breaks — though GM Ross Atkins says that’s hardly a certainty. Biagini’s status may impact the composition of the bullpen, which Davidi examines further. Mike Bolsinger and Bo Schultz are two out-of-options arms who’ll be batting for the final slots with a variety of other pitchers, he notes.
  • A new deal for star Giants lefty Madison Bumgarner may need to wait until at least next year, owing to luxury tax considerations, as Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News writes. But the already fabled, still youthful southpaw says he’s not unhappy with the lack of contract movement as camp opens. As Baggarly notes, the team has suggested that it is ready to discuss a second extension whenever Bumgarner likes, but striking accord now would drive up the team’s tax bill because future years would be averaged in determining his CBA hit.
  • Marlins manager Don Mattingly says that Justin Bour will be a regular at first base, as Tim Healey of the Sun-Sentinel reports. Though Bour’s limited trips to the plate against left-handed pitching thus far haven’t been very promising, the organization seems intent on giving him a chance to show he can be more than a platoon player. “This is a guy who has an opportunity,” said Mattingly. “We think he’s getting better.”
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