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Chris Coghlan

NL Central Notes: Coghlan, Cardinals, Reynolds

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In a minor signing that flew under our radar at the time, the Cubs picked up veteran infielder/outfielder Chris Coghlan on a minor league contract just prior to Opening Day (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney). The 32-year-old Coghlan has batted just .190/.292/.307 over the past two seasons but was a productive bat for the Cubs in 2014-15, hitting .265/.346/.447 in 935 plate appearances. As Mooney noted, his late signing sent him to extended Spring Training to open the season, though Coghlan seems likely to eventually join Chicago’s Triple-A affiliate in Iowa.

Here’s more from the NL Central…

  • The Cardinals announced that they’ve placed right-hander Sam Tuivailala on the 10-day disabled list with a strain in his left knee and recalled right-hander Mike Mayers from Triple- A Memphis. Mayers isn’t required to spend the 10-day minimum in the minors following an optional assignment because he’s directly replacing a player who was placed on the big league DL. Tuivailala, 25, quietly stepped up with a nice season in St. Louis last year, pitching to a 2.55 ERA with 7.2 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 and a 48.8 percent ground-ball rate. The Cards didn’t give a timeline on Tuivailala’s return, though the DL placement is backdated to April 10, so he can return in just over a week.
  • Pirates outfield prospect Bryan Reynolds will undergo surgery to remove the fractured hook from the hamate bone in his left wrist, the team told reporters (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Adam Berry). The Pittsburgh organization didn’t provide a timeline, though prior instances of that injury in the Majors have often come with a timeline around six weeks. (Each injury, of course, comes with its own set of circumstances.) Reynolds, whom the Pirates acquired in the trade that sent Andrew McCutchen to San Francisco, incurred the injury on a swing early in the Double-A season.

Blue Jays Release Chris Coghlan

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The Blue Jays announced that veteran infielder/outfielder Chris Coghlan has been given his unconditional release after being designated for assignment over the weekend.

Coghlan, 32, appeared in 36 games for the Blue Jays and totaled 88 plate appearances in 2017. However, the former National League Rookie of the Year didn’t fare too well in his short time with the Jays, as he batted just .200/.299/.267 with one homer and two doubles. Coghlan had a strong run with the 2014-15 Cubs, but he flopped following a trade to the Athletics in the 2015-16 offseason. He’d later return to the Cubs and hit well (.252/.391/.388) in 128 plate appearances down the stretch.

The versatile Coghlan is a career .259/.334/.398 hitter and has a better track record against right-handed pitching (.266/.339/.420) than he does lefties (.224/.311/.308). He’s played all three outfield spots, second base and third base in his big league career, though he hasn’t logged even a single inning in center field since 2013.

Blue Jays Place Russell Martin On DL, Designate Chris Coghlan & Chris Smith

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The Blue Jays have announced that they’ve placed catcher Russell Martin on the 10-day disabled list with a left oblique strain. They’ve also designated outfielder Chris Coghlan and righty Chris Smith for assignment and selected the contracts of righty Chris Rowley and catcher Mike Ohlman.

Martin left yesterday’s game due to the oblique strain. For the season, the veteran is batting .223/.354/.381 with 12 homers and 49 walks in 329 plate appearances. Rafael Lopez figures to take over at catcher in his absence, with Ohlman, who was batting .222/.343/.418 at Triple-A Buffalo, also helping out. Martin joins two other catchers, Miguel Montero and Luke Maile, on the DL.

The 32-year-old Coghlan signed a minor-league deal with the Blue Jays in April after the Phillies released him. He batted .200/.299/.267 in brief duty with the Blue Jays before hitting the DL with a wrist injury. He was in the midst of a rehab assignment with Class A+ Dunedin.

The 28-year-old Smith has posted a 4.26 ERA, 7.1 K/9 and 1.1 BB/9 in 25 1/3 innings of relief for Buffalo this season. He made his big-league debut earlier this season, pitching five innings and allowing three runs.

The Jays signed the 26-year-old Rowley as a minor-league free agent out of West Point in 2013. After missing two years to a military assignment, he’s moved through the minors quickly, and now he’s in the midst of a strong season, posting a 2.29 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 over 106 1/3 innings split between Buffalo and Double-A New Hampshire. He’s set to start today against the Pirates and will become the first West Point graduate to pitch in the Majors, as Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith notes.

Blue Jays Select Chris Coghlan, Place Josh Donaldson On 10-Day DL, Designate Juan Graterol

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5:51pm: Catcher Juan Graterol has been designated to clear 40-man space, the club announced. Graterol was claimed just before camp and seemed slated to function as the third catcher. But the Jays recently added Luke Maile through a waiver claim, and he evidently stepped into the top spot on the minor-league depth chart.

3:00pm: The Blue Jays have selected the contract of veteran outfielder/infielder Chris Coghlan, as Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca first reported on Twitter. Coghlan would have been eligible to opt out of his deal at the end of the month, Davidi notes.

Unfortunately, the move was necessitated by the calf injury that felled star third baseman Josh Donaldson. He’s heading to the 10-day DL, though it seems the organization hopes that he won’t require an extended stint. Toronto will also need to clear a 40-man spot.

The Jays will hope that Coghlan can provide a boost against right-handed pitching, as he has done for much of his career. He became available when the Phillies cut him loose late in camp, after Coghlan reportedly declined to sign an advance consent waiver that would’ve allowed the Phils to avoid a full-season guarantee by trimming him from the roster within 45 days of the start of the season.

Instead, Coghlan headed to the open market and landed in Toronto on a new minors deal. The 31-year-old will look to pick up where he left off last year with the Cubs. He slashed .252/.491/.388 in 128 plate appearances with Chicago after struggling earlier in the season for the A’s.

Coghlan is best utilized as a platoon player, as his lifetime OPS splits (.766 vs. righties, .618 vs. lefties) would suggest. He does offer some defensive versatility, though, having lined up at second and third as well as his natural corner outfield in recent years.

Blue Jays Sign Chris Coghlan To Minor-League Deal

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The Blue Jays have announced that they’ve signed outfielder Chris Coghlan to a minor-league deal. Coghlan will report to Triple-A Buffalo.

The Phillies released Coghlan earlier this week after he reportedly declined to sign a 45-day advance consent form that would have allowed the team to cut or option him within the first 45 days of the season. He posted a .231/.319/.282 line in camp, carrying over his struggles from last season, when he batted a combined .188/.290/.318 with the Athletics and Cubs. (To be fair, Coghlan mostly just struggled in the early part of the season with the A’s, batting .252/.391/.388 in 128 plate appearances after he was traded to Chicago in June.)

The 31-year-old Coghlan is, however, just two years removed from a .250/.341/.443 season that produced a full 3.0 fWAR with the Cubs. He’s also reasonably versatile — he can play either corner outfield position, and has also played a bit at second, third and first in recent years. The Blue Jays’ plans for him are unclear, but it wouldn’t be impossible to see him eventually taking at-bats in Toronto’s left field should fellow lefty swinger Ezequiel Carrera falter.

Heyman’s Latest: Quintana, Lindor, Rays, Rangers, Coghlan, Nathan

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The Cardinals have shown at least some interest in White Sox lefty Jose Quintana, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, though he makes clear there’s no indication that Chicago is likely to strike a deal for the lefty before the start of the season. It seems that the Cards’ interest is something worth bearing in mind as the season progresses and their rotation needs come into focus, though certainly other teams will also continually monitor the asking price for Quintana. St. Louis, of course has already lost young Alex Reyes for the year due to Tommy John surgery and will reportedly place Trevor Rosenthal on the disabled list to open the season.

Heyman also has new notes columns on both the American League and National League, and here are a few highlights from those pieces…

  • Extension talks between the Indians and star shortstop Francisco Lindor do not appear to have gained much traction, per Heyman. There’s just not enough incentive for him to take a deal, Heyman suggests, due at least in part to the fact that Lindor has landed a significant marketing contract with New Balance. It’s also perhaps worth noting that Lindor received a $2.9MM signing bonus when he was drafted eighth overall back in 2011.
  • The Rays are still on the hunt for outfield help, though the addition of Peter Bourjos to the organization gives them one potential fourth outfield option. Heyman lists free agent Angel Pagan and the Cubs’ Matt Szczur as speculative fits, though the out-of-options Szczur made Chicago’s Opening Day roster, which seemingly lessens the chance of a trade. Heyman also notes that the Rays “came close” to locking up right-hander Alex Cobb on an extension on multiple occasions in the past, but the deal was never quite completed. Given Cobb’s arm troubles over the past two years, perhaps that’s somewhat of a dodged bullet for the Rays (though the 29-year-old is certainly a candidate to bounce back).
  • Rougned Odor’s representatives were prepping a counter-offer to the Rangers’ six-year, $49.5MM extension proposal when they were informed, firmly, that the $49.5MM sum was the team’s best and final offer, according to Heyman. Ultimately, the 22-year-old and his reps at the Beverly Hills Sports Council elected to take the deal, locking in the powerful young second baseman’s first massive payday. While there have been talks with another promising young Rangers talent, Nomar Mazara, Heyman adds that there’s “nothing substantive” between the two sides to this point.
  • Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill suggested he has high hopes in comments to Heyman. He says he believes the team’s rotation is “solid” and that its pen “is the best in the league, collectively.” While some may raise an eyebrow at that statement, given the lack of name value in the Marlins’ relief corps, the Fish do have a rather deep collection of bullpen arms. As it stands, A.J. Ramos, Kyle Barraclough, Brad Ziegler, Junichi Tazawa and David Phelps make a formidable one through five in that ’pen. Also of note is the fact that the Marlins are hopeful that injured third baseman Martin Prado, who suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain in the World Baseball Classic, will be back at some point in April. The team plans to use Derek Dietrich, who hit .279/.374/.425 in 412 plate appearances last year, in Prado’s absence.
  • It seems the Phillies would have carried veteran Chris Coghlan, except that he declined to sign a 45-day advance consent form. While not an oft-discussed clause, the 45-day advance consent allows a team to cut or option a healthy veteran — the clauses can only be offered to players with five or more years of service — for any reason within the first 45 days of the season. Former MLBTR scribe Zach Links (now the editor of our sister site, Pro Football Rumors) took a much deeper look at advance consent clauses back in 2014 after veteran left-hander Randy Wolf somewhat surprisingly requested his release from the Mariners when asked to agree to such a condition.
  • Veteran righty Joe Nathan is still looking to latch on elsewhere after being released by the Nationals earlier this week. The former All-Star was appreciative that the Nationals allowed him to pitch once more in a game even after that decision was made, as it allowed scouts from other clubs to see him in a game setting. The 42-year-old Nathan logged a 3.86 ERA with 15 hits, three walks and nine strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings this spring. That showing comes on the heels of 6 1/3 shutout frames between the Cubs and Giants last year as well as a 2.35 ERA in 15 1/3 minor league innings. Despite his age, Nathan is attempting to reestablish himself after undergoing Tommy John surgery as a 40-year-old in 2015.

Phillies Release Chris Coghlan

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The Phillies have announced the release of veteran outfielder/infielder Chris Coghlan. He was an Article XX(B) free agent, meaning today was the deadline for the organization either to promise him an active roster spot or commit to paying him a $100K retention bonus.

Coghlan, 31, had signed a minors pact over the offseason and seemingly had a good chance of cracking the rebuilding Phillies’ roster. But he didn’t do much to win a job with his performance in the Grapefruit League. Coghlan ended up with a .231/.319/.282 batting line in camp.

Still, the veteran has done enough in recent years to think he’s still plenty capable of functioning as a handy MLB bench piece, featuring defensive versatility and quality production against righties. While he got off to a terrible start last season, he finished strong with a .252/.391/.388 batting line over his final 128 plate appearances.

With Coghlan on his way back onto the open market, the Phils may be set to turn to Brock Stassi as a bench option. He certainly has done all he can this spring to earn a shot, with a .320/.370/.680 batting line in game action.

That said, there could be something else afoot, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). The organization may end up dealing a pitcher off of its 40-man roster in a swap that would deliver an alternative bench option, Gelb suggests.

NL East Notes: Szczur, Johnson, Coghlan, Nava, Phillies

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Here’s the latest from around the NL East…

  • The Braves have Cubs outfielder Matt Szczur on their list of possible trade candidates, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (via Twitter).  Szczur is out of options and the Cubs intend to keep him, though a 25-man roster spot could be hard to manage given Chicago’s multitude of depth options.  Szczur has a career .245/.297/.376 slash line over 346 PA since debuting with the Cubs in 2014, and he is a right-handed hitter who can play all three outfield positions, which fits Atlanta’s known need.  MLB.com’s Mark Bowman recently opined that since the Braves have several out-of-options players, they could deal one such player for another on a rival team.
  • Though Kelly Johnson remains unsigned, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo doesn’t feel there’s any chance of another reunion between he and the Mets, especially not as long as Johnson is still looking for an MLB contract.  The Mets are satisfied with their current backup infield mix, and likely wouldn’t check in on Johnson (either via signing or a midseason trade if he signs elsewhere) unless he’s willing to take a minor league deal or if New York develops a need later in the year.
  • Sunday is the deadline for the Phillies to either release Chris Coghlan upon request, or place him on their 25-man roster within 48 hours, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports.  In other Phils opt-out news, Daniel Nava can request his release if he isn’t on the Phillies’ Major League roster by June 15.  Coghlan and Nava both signed minor league deals with Philadelphia this winter, though as Zolecki explains, the two veterans are in a tight battle for the Phillies’ two remaining bench spots.
  • Koda Glover is a contender to win the Nationals’ closer job, though as Fangraphs’ Dave Cameron notes, the Nats’ decision to use Glover in the ninth inning of spring games is making it difficult to properly evaluate the hard-throwing righty.  Spring Training performances should be taken with a grain of salt anyway, and in Glover’s case, he has faced very few hitters who actually project to be on MLB rosters this season.

NL East Notes: Nationals, Plawecki, Morgan, Coghlan

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Matt Wieters’ addition gives the Nationals at least nine Scott Boras clients on their roster — a fact that prompted Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post to explore the relationship between Boras and the Nationals. As Svrluga notes, Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon were each drafted as Boras clients, and GM Mike Rizzo stated to Svrluga that he’d always draft the best talent available regardless of representation. Lefty Gio Gonzalez, meanwhile, switched to the Boras Corporation after being extended by the Nats. Still, there’s a strong relationship between Boras and Nats owner Ted Lerner, who negotiated Rafael Soriano’s two-year, $28MM deal directly with Boras and, according to Svrluga, was the “primary architect” on Strasburg’s $175MM extension. Svrluga notes that some in the organization consider the relationship between Boras and Lerner to be unhealthy.

As for Wieters, Svrluga suggests that Boras set out targeting something in the range of the five-year deals signed by Brian McCann and Russell Martin in recent seasons, which prompted the Nats to pursue Derek Norris rather than Wieters. As his price dipped, the Nationals slowly reentered the picture and ultimately came away with what could very well prove to be a nice bargain. Nats fans, and those interested in the Lerner/Boras dynamic, are strongly encouraged to read Svrluga’s column in its entirety.

A bit more from the NL East…

  • The Mets and Kevin Plawecki had an injury scare over the weekend when the 26-year-old catcher suffered an apparent knee injury on a play at the plate involving Nationals outfielder Rafael Bautista. However, while Plawecki was down for an extended period of time and had to be helped off the field, he’s been diagnosed with a knee contusion and should be cleared to resume workouts in the next few days, per Mike Puma of the New York Post. While Plawecki is a long shot to crack the Opening Day roster due to the presence of Travis d’Arnaud and Rene Rivera on the Mets’ roster, he once again figures to be the team’s first line of defense in the event of an injury to one of the primary two backstops (and d’Arnaud does have a lengthy injury history). While Plawecki has hit just .211/.287/.285 in 409 Major League plate appearances, he’s a lifetime .279/.331/.433 hitter in parts of three Triple-A seasons and is just two years removed from ranking among the game’s top 100 prospects.
  • Former starter Adam Morgan is now vying for a spot as a lefty in the Phillies’ bullpen and seemingly has a good chance to secure such a role, writes Ryan Lawrence of PhillyVoice.com. Manager Pete Mackanin would prefer to have two left-handers in his bullpen, Lawrence writes, and there are only five southpaws in camp with the Phils: Morgan, Joely Rodriguez, Elniery Garcia (a minor league starter) and non-roster veterans Sean Burnett and Cesar Ramos. Morgan tells Lawrence that he’d happily accept whatever role the Phillies ask of him, joking that he’d serve as the backup catcher if necessary. All but two of Morgan’s 38 Major League appearances have been starts, but the Phils have an emerging young core of rotation arms plus veterans in the form of Jeremy Hellickson and Clay Buchholz.
  • Chris Coghlan discussed his unique journey through professional baseball and his hopes for making the Phillies roster out of Spring Training with CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury. Coghlan, who had interest from other clubs but chose to sign with the rebuilding Phillies — drew a parallel between the present-day Phillies and the 2014 Cubs team on which he played. (The Cubs lost 89 games before surging to the postseason in 2015 and a World Series title in 2016.) “We went from not being good to being really good,” said Coghlan. “We grew together and built relationships. This team is in a transition period of trying to groom guys, but they also need older guys to bridge the gap and I thought it would be a great opportunity. … I just want to come in here, establish myself, be a great teammate, lead by example and maybe I can stick around long term and see this thing through.”

Phillies, Chris Coghlan Agree To Minor League Deal

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FEB. 7: Coghlan’s contract comes with a $3MM major league salary and $1MM in incentives, tweets FanRag’s Jon Heyman.

FEB. 2: The Phillies and utilityman Chris Coghlan have agreed to a minor league contract, reports Todd Zolecki of MLB.com (Twitter link). The deal includes an invitation to spring training.

[RELATED: Updated Phillies Depth Chart]

Coghlan is settling for a minors pact on account of a subpar 2016 spent between the Athletics and Cubs, with whom he won the World Series. The 31-year-old hit a meager .188/.290/.318 across 300 plate appearances (and went hitless in eight postseason PAs), which represented a sharp decline from his output with the Cubs from 2014-15. Coghlan combined for a quality batting line of .265/.346/.447 and 5.7 fWAR over that two-year, 935-PA stretch.

Prior to his first of two stints with the Cubs, Coghlan spent the initial five years of his career as a member of the Marlins, who selected him in the first round of the 2006 draft. The lefty-swinging Coghlan won the National League Rookie of the Year with the Fish in 2009 on the strength of a .321/.390/.460 showing in 565 trips to the plate, though he never came close to replicating that success over his final four years in Miami.

Defensively, Coghlan has primarily been an outfielder during his career – mostly left field – but he does bring some infield experience. Despite his versatility, he’ll seemingly face an uphill climb in securing playing time with the Phillies. While Coghlan’s a more established option than reserve outfielders Aaron Altherr and Tyler Goeddel, the team is all set in center field with Odubel Herrera, and it has added a pair of somewhat pricey corner outfielders this offseason in Howie Kendrick and Michael Saunders. Philadelphia also has Maikel Franco and Cesar Hernandez locked in at third and second base, the two infield spots where Coghlan has most frequently lined up, and Andres Blanco as a backup infielder.

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