Carlos Torres Opts Out Of Padres Deal
Veteran right-handed reliever Carlos Torres has opted out of his minor league contract with the Padres, MLBTR has learned.
Torres, 36, inked a minor league pact with the Padres back in January, and while he struggled in Spring Training, he’s had a solid start to his season in Triple-A El Paso. Through 25 1/3 frames, Torres is sporting a 2.49 ERA with a 23-to-10 K/BB ratio and a 50.7 percent ground-ball rate.
Torres has appeared in the Majors in each of the past eight seasons and in 10 of the past dating back to 2009. While he tossed only 9 2/3 innings in the Majors last year, all with the Nationals, he was a big league regular from 2012-17, pitching to a 3.73 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in a total of 449 innings between the Rockies, Mets and Brewers. Over that stretch, Torres averaged 56 appearances and 75 innings per season. It was a small sample of work, but last year’s 93 mph average fastball was actually an improvement over his career average of 91.7 mph.
Given his track record at the MLB level, solid showing to this point in the Pacific Coast League and the sheer number of clubs eyeing bullpen depth, Torres should be able to latch on with another club’s Triple-A affiliate at the very least.
Padres Sign Carlos Torres To Minors Deal
The Padres have signed right-hander Carlos Torres to a minor league contract, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. The deal includes an invitation to the Padres’ big league Spring Training camp.
Torres, 36, posted a 6.52 ERA over just 9 2/3 innings out of the Nationals’ bullpen in 2018, his lowest innings total in any of his nine Major League seasons. It was a far cry from Torres’ usual workhorse performances of recent years, which included an average of 68 appearances and 77 innings per season from 2014-17 with the Mets and Brewers.
Torres’ walk rate and strikeout rate both took negative turns in 2017, however, and he was only able to land a minors deal from Washington last offseason. (The Nats picked Torres up after he was released from another minor league contract with the Indians during Spring Training.) Torres did have some good Triple-A numbers last year, however, so there’s some reason to believe that he could bounce back in 2019. At worst, he’ll provide some additional veteran depth in what should still be a strong Padres bullpen next season.
Players Electing Free Agency
Quite a few players will hit the open market this fall, and they’ll do so by way of varying mechanisms. The end of the regular season triggered a recent wave of free agents, consisting of a certain subset of players — namely, those who were outrighted from 40-man rosters during the season and accepted minor-league assignments at that time despite having the right to elect free agency. Players in that situation are entitled instead to hit the open market at season’s end, if they were not added back to the 40-man roster in the meantime.
As conveyed by Matt Eddy of Baseball America, who also covers quite a few other minor moves, these players have now elected free agency:
Athletics: RHP Raul Alcantara, LHP Danny Coulombe
Blue Jays: RHP Mike Hauschild, INF/OF Darnell Sweeney
Braves: LHP Rex Brothers, RHP Miguel Socolovich
Cardinals: LHP Tyler Lyons
Indians: RHP Evan Marshall, RHP Alexi Ogando
Mariners: RHP Christian Bergman, LHP Ross Detwiler, RHP Mike Morin, INF Zach Vincej
Marlins: OF JB Shuck
Mets: RHP Chris Beck, OF Bryce Brentz, RHP Scott Copeland, OF Matt den Dekker, INF Ty Kelly
Nationals: LHP Tommy Milone, OF Moises Sierra, RHP Carlos Torres
Orioles: RHP Jhan Marinez, INF Luis Sardinas
Padres: OF Matt Szczur
Phillies: INF Trevor Plouffe
Pirates: LHP Buddy Boshers, RHP Casey Sadler, RHP A.J. Schugel
Rangers: C Juan Centeno, LHP Anthony Gose, RHP Drew Hutchison, INF Tommy Joseph, RHP Chris Rowley
Rays: INF Brandon Snyder, RHP Ryan Weber
Reds: C Tim Federowicz, RHP Kevin Quackenbush
Tigers: INF Dixon Machado, RHP Jacob Turner
White Sox: RHP Tyler Danish
Nationals Designate Carlos Torres, Recall Erick Fedde
The Nationals announced today that they have designated righty Carlos Torres for assignment. His active roster spot will go to prospect Erick Fedde, who was recalled to make a start today, as Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reported yesterday on Twitter.
Torres, 35, helped the Nats through some bullpen injuries and carried a solid 9:3 K/BB ratio in his 9 2/3 innings. But he also allowed seven earned runs on nine hits, including three long balls, during his time in the D.C. relief corps.
It seems that this’ll be only a one-outing opportunity for Fedde. He could be retained as a relief option, though perhaps the likelier scenario is that he’ll go back to Triple-A to stay stretched out in case there’s a need for something more than a spot starter.
Fedde, a former first-round pick and top-100 prospect, did not turn in a compelling debut effort last year with the Nationals. But he has shown better thus far in 2018 at Syracuse, where he carries only a 4.35 ERA but more promising peripherals — 9.2 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 with a 50.4% groundball rate — through 41 1/3 innings.
Nationals Designate A.J. Cole, Select Carlos Torres
The Nationals have designated righty A.J. Cole for assignment, per a club announcement. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by veteran reliever Carlos Torres, whose contract was selected.
It has long been evident that this was a make-or-break season for Cole, who the organization long felt would be a major-league contributor. He was given a shot at a rotation spot out of camp but lasted only two starts and two relief appearances before the team was forced to make a move.
Cole’s once bright star had already ebbed over recent seasons, as he continued to spend more of his time at Triple-A than in the majors. He reached the highest level of the minors in 2014 and cracked the bigs in the following campaign, but has thrown only 110 total MLB frames.
A major factor in Cole’s lack of chances was the fact that the competing Nationals couldn’t simply give him innings without concern for how they went. Perhaps the leash would’ve been longer this year, though, were it not for the fact that the Nats have endured a tepid opening few weeks that have left them looking up at three teams.
With a need for fresh relievers, there just wasn’t more time to let Cole work through his early struggles. Make no mistake, they were pronounced. He paces the N.L. with a whopping six home runs allowed in just 10 1/3 innings and has coughed up 15 earned runs.
Torres, meanwhile, is a sturdy veteran pen arm who is capable of pitching multiple innings. The 35-year-old, who joined the Nats organization on a minors deal just before the start of the season, has thrown more than fifty MLB innings in every season since the 2012 campaign and has a 3.73 ERA in 449 total innings in that span. He has thrown five scoreless and hitless innings at Triple-A thus far in 2018.
Nationals Sign Carlos Torres
March 31st: Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports tweets that Torres will earn $1.5MM if called up to the majors, with $1MM available in incentives. Beginning May 15th, Torres can request his release every 15 days if he is not on the Nats roster.
March 28th: The Nationals have signed right-handed reliever Carlos Torres to a minor league contract, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. The deal includes multiple opt-out dates for Torres, Cotillo adds.
[RELATED: Nationals Depth Chart]
The 35-year-old Torres only spent a few days on the open market after Cleveland released him Saturday. Torres joined the Tribe on a minors pact in the offseason, and he then yielded seven earned runs on 14 hits and six walks (with nine strikeouts) in 10 1/3 spring innings. That subpar performance, not to mention the Indians’ impressive cast of relievers, sealed his fate with them.
While Torres struggled during his brief stint with the Indians, he has been a useful major leaguer during his career. Since debuting in 2009, Torres has seen action with four teams (the White Sox, Rockies, Mets and Brewers) and pitched to a 4.00 ERA/4.17 FIP across 491 innings. Torres has been quite durable along the way, having logged at least 70 innings in four of the previous five seasons. He racked up 72 2/3 frames of 4.21 ERA/4.89 FIP pitching last year in Milwaukee, where he notched 6.94 K/9, 4.09 BB/9 and a 45.7 percent groundball rate.
Indians To Add Rajai Davis To MLB Roster; Mike Napoli Will Go To Triple-A
SUNDAY: Napoli will report to the Indians’ Triple-A affiliate, Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com tweets.
THURSDAY: Indians skipper Terry Francona ran through a laundry list of roster moves today, as MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian reports in a series of tweets. Of particular note, the club intends to add outfielder Rajai Davis to the active roster for the start of the season and has released first baseman Mike Napoli, with expectations of re-signing him if he cannot find a MLB opportunity elsewhere.
Davis’s minor-league deal included an opt-out opportunity today, so it’s no surprise to see a decision come down. He’ll be slated to earn a $1.75MM salary with another $3.25MM possible through incentives.
The 37-year-old did not hit much this spring but obviously left a positive impression on the organization, which is plenty familiar with him from his 2016 run in Cleveland. Presumably, Davis will supplement youngster Bradley Zimmer in center while also seeing some time in the corners and functioning as a pinch-runner.
As for the 36-year-old Napoli, he’s slated to re-sign with the Indians on a new minor-league deal unless he finds a job elsewhere. Unless the market is suddenly more welcoming than it was just a few weeks back, he’ll presumably end up joining the Indians’ top affiliate to begin the season.
There were some other roster calls made or at least addressed today, as Bastian further details. Veteran righty Alexi Ogando won’t make the MLB team but will return to rotation duties at Triple-A. Fellow non-roster relievers Matt Belisle and Carlos Torres are still awaiting their fates, which will be decided by Article XX(B) bonus decision day (this coming Saturday).
Indians Release Carlos Torres
The Indians have granted right-hander Carlos Torres his unconditional release, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com tweets.
Over the past four seasons, only Dellin Betances has topped Torres’ 304 2/3 relief innings. In other words, he’s been a reliable workhorse out of the bullpen for the Mets and Brewers during that time. However, he was informed today that he won’t make the Tribe’s bullpen, as the seventh spot will go to fellow right-hander Matt Belisle.
Torres owns a 4.00 ERA and 7.88 K/9 at the major league level, most of that coming in relief. Last season, however, his K/9 figure dropped below 7.00 for the first time since his rookie season, and his walk rate ballooned to 4.06 per nine. While his 4.21 ERA doesn’t seem disastrous, ERA estimators such as FIP, xFIP and SIERA suggest that his true talent was close to that of a 5.00 ERA pitcher.
Indians Sign Carlos Torres To Minor League Deal
Feb. 22: Cleveland announced the signing this morning. Torres would earn $1.5MM upon making the big league roster, Cotillo adds. He can also earn another $800K via incentives.
Feb. 21: The Indians have agreed to a minors deal with righty Carlos Torres, according to SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). The KVA Sports client will receive an invitation to MLB camp.
Torres, 35, will face a difficult task of cracking a Cleveland bullpen that has quite a few pieces in place and numerous competitors for whatever openings remain. Whatever starters miss on a rotation spot — Danny Salazar, Josh Tomlin, Mike Clevinger, and Ryan Merritt are among those slated to do battle — could be considered in relief roles. And the slate of veteran non-roster hurlers is already fairly lengthy, including MLB veterans Alexi Ogando and Neil Ramirez.
That said, the Indians surely offered Torres a reasonable shot at winning a job in order to entice him. He has been a workhorse for some time now at the game’s highest level, making 139 appearances over the past two seasons alone. The Brewers nevertheless elected not to tender Torres a contract; he was projected to earn $3.3MM in his final season of arbitration eligibility.
Of course, Torres was not nearly as effective in 2017 as he was in the prior campaign — an 82 1/3 inning career year in which he ran up a 2.73 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9. Last season, Torres dropped back to 72 2/3 innings of 4.21 ERA ball with just 6.9 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9, though he did show a career-high 93.4 mph average velocity with his cutter — even as that heavily-used offering waned in effectiveness.
Brewers Outright Carlos Torres, Quintin Berry
The Brewers have announced the removal of two players from the team’s 40-man roster. Right-hander Carlos Torres and outfielder Quintin Berry have each been outrighted to Triple-A.
With the move, Milwaukee is effectively sending both into free agency. Torres has the right to refuse the assignment by virtue of his MLB service time. Berry does not, but will nevertheless qualify for minor-league free agency.
Torres, who recently turned 35, contributed 72 2/3 innings of 4.21 ERA ball in 2017. Despite the generally decent results, his strikeout and walk rates worsened from a productive 2016, in which Torres had provided Milwaukee with a 2.73 earned run average over 82 1/3 frames.
There’s some reason to believe that Torres can continue to succeed even at his relatively advanced age. Notably, he averaged a career-best 93.4 mph with his two-seamer. But the Brewers obviously did not feel it was worth staking a projected $3.3MM to retain Torres via arbitration, so he’ll seek another opportunity via free agency.
As for Berry, who’ll soon turn 33, he only briefly cracked the majors. Indeed, he has seen scant MLB action since a 94-game run with the Tigers back in 2012. The fleet-footed Berry will likely end up finding a minors deal to serve as Triple-A depth and provide a possible defense and baserunning option down the stretch.