Headlines

  • Brewers Designate Luke Voit For Assignment
  • White Sox To Activate Liam Hendriks From Injured List
  • Royals Release Hunter Dozier
  • Yankees Release Aaron Hicks
  • Brewers Sign Julio Teheran To Major League Deal
  • Red Sox Move Corey Kluber To Bullpen
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2023-24 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2024-25 MLB Free Agent List
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Arbitration Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Cionel Perez

Astros Place Yordan Alvarez, Jose Urquidy On Injured List

By Steve Adams | July 13, 2020 at 4:22pm CDT

4:22pm: James is back with the team, per Mark Berman of Fox 26. He was away from camp because he was awaiting the birth of his second child, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com was among those to report.

3:27pm: The Astros have placed five players on the injured list, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports. 2019 Rookie of the Year Yordan Alvarez, right-handers Jose Urquidy, Shawn Dubin and Ralph Garza, and lefty Cionel Perez have all been shelved, though it’s not clear why in any of those cases. Rome tweets that Alvarez and Urquidy haven’t been present for the week-plus of Summer Camp to date, and manager Dusty Baker has attributed their absence to a “condition that prevents them from reporting to the field.”

Many teams throughout the league have had varying degrees of difficulty with regard to coronavirus testing delays, but it’s been a frequent issue for the Astros. Houston canceled last Monday’s workouts entirely, had no pitchers on hand yesterday and saw Alex Bregman miss a workout late last week due to delays in his test results.

As for Alvarez and Urquidy, their absence to date is especially troubling in its own right. That promising young pair’s health and well-being is of course the most important issue, but their importance to the club’s success can’t be understated, either. Alvarez immediately broke out as one of the league’s most feared bats last year when he hit .313/.412/.655 with 27 homers in just 369 plate appearances. Urquidy was all but assured a rotation spot behind Justin Verlander, Zack Greinke and Lance McCullers Jr., having pitched to a 3.95 ERA (3.68 FIP) with a 40-to-7 K/BB ratio in 41 innings last year.

The Astros were already thin in the rotation behind those top three names, and McCullers carries some uncertainty himself, as this will be his first action back after 2018 Tommy John surgery. Urquidy’s absence could further create openings for some combination of Brad Peacock, Austin Pruitt and Framber Valdez on the starting staff. Right-hander Josh James has not yet reported to Summer Camp.

Share 0 Retweet 5 Send via email0

Houston Astros Cionel Perez Jose Urquidy Josh James Yordan Alvarez

19 comments

Astros Promote Kyle Tucker

By Steve Adams | September 2, 2019 at 8:26am CDT

Top outfield prospect Kyle Tucker will headline the Astros’ September call-ups, per Jake Kaplan of The Athletic (Twitter links). He’ll be joined by catcher Garrett Stubbs and left-hander Cionel Perez at the big league level today. Infielder/outfielder Myles Straw could be recalled later this week, too, once he’s met the 10-day minimum requirement for an optional assignment.

This won’t be the big league debut for Tucker, who ascended to the Majors as a 21-year-old in 2018. Tucker tallied only 72 plate appearances last season, though, and didn’t immediately distinguish himself in the sparse playing time he was allotted. He’s had another strong showing in Triple-A this season — albeit not as strong as last season’s .332/.400/.590 output through 100 games. That said, Tucker did recently polish off a 30-30 season with Round Rock; through 536 plate appearances this season he batted .266/.354/.555 with 34 long balls and 30 steals.

Tucker, 22, ranked inside the top 20 prospects in Major League Baseball on the midseason rankings of Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, Fangraphs, MLB.com and ESPN. He’s widely regarded as a potentially plus hitter with plus raw power who can cover enough ground in the outfield to play any of the three slots — though right field is typically believed to be his best position.

Houston’s outfield mix is crowded with Michael Brantley, George Springer, Josh Reddick and Jake Marisnick all in the fold, but Tucker should get some opportunities to showcase himself as a potential long-term piece in that outfield rotation and, perhaps, for a playoff roster spot. Each of Brantley, Springer, Reddick and Marisnick is signed or controlled through 2020, so there’s no immediate opening for next season unless the club makes some type of outfield move in the offseason. However, president of baseball operations Jeff Luhnow has steadfastly declined to include Tucker in trade proposals for the past two years, suggesting that Tucker is indeed viewed as a likely building block for the ’Stros.

Looking to the other call-ups, Stubbs will give the Astros a bit of depth behind the dish, joining Robinson Chirinos and Martin Maldonado as a third option. The 26-year-old also has a bit of outfield experience but isn’t likely to factor into that equation much — if at all. He batted .240/.332/.397 in 235 plate appearances with Round Rock this season. The 23-year-old Perez, like most pitchers, struggled in this season’s high-octane offensive environment in Triple-A, working to a 5.36 ERA with 8.2 K/9, 4.6 BB/9, 1.15 HR/9 and a 53.2 percent ground-ball rate in 47 innings. Houston doesn’t currently have a left-hander in the ’pen, so despite the fact that Perez has missed time with a forearm issue, he’ll join the club and give manager A.J. Hinch an option. Straw, 24, has batted .233/.353/.291 in 103 plate appearances with the Astros in 2019 and hit .322/.393/.396 with a homer and 19 steals in 309 Triple-A plate appearances.

Share 0 Retweet 11 Send via email0

Houston Astros Top Prospect Promotions Cionel Perez Garrett Stubbs Kyle Tucker

49 comments

Astros Option Corbin Martin

By Jeff Todd | June 4, 2019 at 5:12pm CDT

5:12pm: The Astros announced that they’ve optioned Martin to Triple-A. It’s not clear who’ll step into his spot in the rotation, as the corresponding move was the recall of lefty reliever Reymin Guduan. As The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan points out (via Twitter), they’ll need a fifth starter on Saturday but can get through the next turn in the rotation with only four starters due to an off day next week.

11:05am: Though the Astros aren’t committing to a rotation change just yet, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle writes that one may not be far off. Corbin Martin has not made it past the fourth inning since his debut outing.

Martin’s first showing was a good one. But in his four intervening starts, he has allowed 10 earned runs on 20 hits with a 10:11 K/BB ratio in 14 innings.

The ’Stros are showing a fair bit of patience, but obviously won’t be satisfied with these sorts of results. Martin has struggled to get ahead of hitters, keep his pitch count down, and stay in the zone. And though the organization can afford some added audition time with a nine-game division lead, it also will be wary of tempting fate while several of its best players are on the injured list.

Skipper A.J. Hinch affirmed that the organization believes in Martin as a long-term option, citing his stuff and “mentality” as reasons for a “really good” long-term outlook. But Hinch says that for Martin “to stay in the rotation and be effective, not just for the foreseeable future but his entire career, it’s important for him to mix in some good outings and make sure he can get us deep in games.” Whether Martin will get one more chance to turn the corner remains to be seen.

The ’Stros certainly have alternatives. Collin McHugh would be an obvious choice, though he’s on the IL. Josh James, Framber Valdez, and Brady Rodgers could all slide over from the bullpen. It’d certainly be easy enough for the team to piggyback a few of those pitchers to get the length needed for a game or two, perhaps allowing one or more pitchers to stretch out fully on the fly.

Looking down on the farm, there are two 40-man starters — Cionel Perez and Rogelio Armenteros — camped out at Triple-A. Neither has been particularly impressive to this point of the season, at least in terms of earned runs, though both have swing and miss capabilities. It might have been hoped that top prospect Forrest Whitley would be ready for a taste of the big leagues, but he has been hammered early on at Round Rock and doesn’t seem likely to be tapped in the near future.

Share 0 Retweet 3 Send via email0

Houston Astros Brady Rodgers Cionel Perez Collin McHugh Corbin Martin Forrest Whitley Framber Valdez Josh James

57 comments

Astros Notes: Kikuchi, Abreu, Goldschmidt

By Mark Polishuk | December 9, 2018 at 10:17pm CDT

Here’s the latest from Houston…

  • It doesn’t appear as if the Astros will make a push for Japanese left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, The Athletic’s Jake Kaplan reports (subscription required).  Such teams as the Phillies, Yankees, Giants, Dodgers, Rangers, Mariners, and Padres have been linked to Kikuchi’s services, though there has been speculation that the teams on the west coast may have a bit of an advantage due to geography.
  • Also from Kaplan’s piece, he details the Astros’ most notable needs heading into the Winter Meetings, namely another starting pitcher and another bat, preferably a left-handed hitter for lineup-balance purposes.  (Though GM Jeff Luhnow has said of his hitter search, “We’re not going to be wed to it having to be a lefty or a righty or having it be a specific position.“)  Listing a few speculative names who could be potential fits for the Astros, Kaplan opines that Robbie Ray, Michael Brantley, Jose Martinez, Daniel Murphy, or Nelson Cruz could all be possible trade or free agent targets.
  • The Astros have been in touch with the White Sox about Jose Abreu, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports.  Abreu has been on Houston’s radar before, including at last year’s trade deadline.  Latest reports suggest that the Sox may not part with Abreu in the offseason (if at all) since they’d be selling low in the wake of a somewhat disappointing season for the first baseman.  Abreu hit .265/.325/.473 with 22 homers over 553 PA for Chicago in 2018, a marked dropoff from the .883 OPS he posted over his first four Major League seasons.
  • Speaking of first base targets, Fancred Sports’ Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link) that the Astros included pitching prospects Cionel Perez and J.B. Bukauskas in talks with the Diamondbacks about Paul Goldschmidt, before Arizona sent Goldschmidt to the Cardinals.  MLB.com ranks Perez and Bukauskas 5th and 8th, respectively, in their list of the top 30 prospects in Houston’s farm system, though it could be argued that neither were in the Astros’ true upper tier of young arms.  Forrest Whitley, for instance, is a consensus top-10 prospect in baseball, while MLB.com also had Josh James ahead of Perez and Bukauskas in their ranking.  Bukauskas cracked the preseason top-100 prospect lists from MLB.com and Baseball America, though an injury-shortened 2018 season dimmed his ranking and recent reports suggested that the Astros may be using Bukauskas as a trade chip.  Perez, a 22-year-old southpaw from Cuba, made his MLB debut last season, though between he and Bukauskas, they didn’t have the Major League readiness that St. Louis offered the D’Backs (namely Luke Weaver and Carson Kelly) for Goldschmidt.  Still, the Astros’ apparent willingness to give up two controllable young arms for premium talent is an interesting hint about how far they’ll go to make a significant hitting upgrade.
Share 0 Retweet 6 Send via email0

Arizona Diamondbacks Chicago White Sox Houston Astros Cionel Perez J.B. Bukauskas Jose Abreu Paul Goldschmidt Yusei Kikuchi

24 comments

Astros Select Framber Valdez

By Jeff Todd | August 21, 2018 at 2:59pm CDT

The Astros have selected the contract of lefty Framber Valdez, as MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart was among those to report on Twitter. He’ll take the roster spot of fellow young southpaw Cionel Perez, who was optioned back to Triple-A.

Valdez, 24, gets the call not long after reaching the highest level of the minors for the first time. In his 103 innings on the season, most of them at Double-A, he’s carrying a 4.11 ERA with a healthy combination of 11.3 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9. Valdez has also induced grounders on more than half of the balls put in play against him.

The move will put Valdez on the roster in time for the evening’s contest, in which the ’Stros are expected to utilize multiple relievers. He’ll come out of the pen but will offer some extra innings. As Jake Kaplan of The Athletic notes on Twitter, Valdez would have required protection from the Rule 5 draft over the winter regardless.

Share 0 Retweet 3 Send via email0

Houston Astros Transactions Cionel Perez

17 comments

Injury Notes: Deal Medicals, Matz, Devenski, Nicasio, Kinsler

By Jeff Todd | August 3, 2018 at 9:59pm CDT

WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford took an interesting look at changes that have been made to the process of assessing health in trades. The 2016 Drew Pomeranz swap, and more particularly the fallout from it, sparked the development of a much more robust system for documenting and assessing medical matters. While thee’s obviously an advantage in enhancing the scrutiny, it also leads to what Bradford calls a “tremendously tedious process.”

Here’s the latest on some injury situations around the league:

  • The Mets announced today that they have placed lefty Steven Matz on the 10-day disabled list with a flexor pronator strain. That sounds a bit frightening, though indications are that it’s not a terribly concerning injury situation. Still, any arm troubles are somewhat more worrisome for a young hurler that has experienced so many already since his 2015 debut. Matz, who will be replaced on the active roster by right-hander Corey Oswalt, joins Phillip Evans on the shelf. The 25-year-old infielder suffered a non-displaced fracture of his tibia, though it is perhaps still possible he’ll be able to return to action this season.
  • The Astros have placed reliever Chris Devenski on the 10-day disabled list with left hamstring tightness, the club announced. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by southpaw Cionel Perez. Devenski had been cruising through another dominant season before he imploded very recently. Devenski had a 1.32 ERA as of July 1st, but has since allowed 13 earned runs in seven outings — including eight without recording an out over his past two appearances. Clearly, something isn’t quite right, so the ’Stros will give him a chance to get back to full health before the stretch run.
  • Also heading to the DL is Mariners righty Juan Nicasio, the team announced. He’ll be replaced by reliever Chasen Bradford. Knee problems have been an issue for the 31-year-old Nicasio this year. He’s now sporting a 6.00 ERA through 42 frames on the season, though he’s also carrying a sparkling 53:5 K/BB ratio.
  • Just-acquired Red Sox second baseman Ian Kinsler is likewise set to hit the DL after leaving tonight’s game with a tight hamstring, Bradford tweets. The seriousness isn’t yet apparent, but it doesn’t appear to be a major source of concern. Kinsler will be replaced for the time being by infielder Tony Renda.
Share 0 Retweet 2 Send via email0

Boston Red Sox Houston Astros New York Mets Seattle Mariners Chasen Bradford Chris Devenski Cionel Perez Drew Pomeranz Ian Kinsler Juan Nicasio Phillip Evans Steven Matz Tony Renda

15 comments

Astros To Promote Cionel Perez

By Jeff Todd | June 28, 2018 at 11:14pm CDT

The Astros will call up young southpaw Cionel Perez, per Jake Kaplan of The Athletic (via Twitter). He’ll take the open roster spot created when Carlos Correa was placed on the 10-day DL.

Perez was already on the 40-man roster, as he needed to be protected from the most recent Rule 5 draft. Accordingly, the move is not necessarily a particularly consequential one.

That said, this will be his first turn at the game’s highest level. And it stands to reason that the ’Stros would not have made the move unless they were interested to see how the highly regarded lefty looks in the MLB bullpen.

Perez, 22, has been a nice addition to the Houston farm since signing in 2016 out of Cuba — a process that had some twists and turns but left him with a $2MM signing bonus. He entered the current season ranked 6th among the organization’s prospects by MLB.com.

Questions remain as to Perez’s long-term outlook as a starter. Per MLB.com, he’s still refining his primary three-pitch mix — sinker/slider/change — and faces concerns about his small stature. There’s also the matter of the elbow concerns that gummed up his original deal with Houston.

That said, Perez has sure looked the part this year. In his 57 1/3 Double-A frames, he carries a 2.20 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9. He has compiled that stat line over ten starts and four relief appearances, so clearly the Astros aren’t pushing him too hard. Perez tallied 93 2/3 total innings in 2017, his first professional campaign, so he wasn’t quite set up for a full workload this year.

All things considered, it’s certainly possible that Houston could look at Perez as a potential multi-inning relief asset. He’d still be able to return to the rotation in the long run. It’s more likely, though, that this call-up will represent only a first taste of the majors. The Astros’ pen has been rather dominant, after all, though it’d be nice to have another option available if any cracks begin to form.

Share 0 Retweet 6 Send via email0

Houston Astros Top Prospect Promotions Transactions Cionel Perez

15 comments

Players Added To The 40-Man Roster

By Steve Adams | November 20, 2017 at 6:47pm CDT

As detailed earlier this morning at MLBTR, the deadline for Major League clubs to add players to the 40-man roster in order to protect them from next month’s Rule 5 Draft is tonight. Because of that, there will be literally dozens of moves between now and 8pm ET as teams make final determinations on who to protect and who to risk losing in next month’s Rule 5 draft. This process will lead to smaller-scale trades, waiver claims and DFAs, but for some clubs the only necessary moves will simply be to select the contracts of the prospects they wish to place on the 40-man roster. We’ll track those such moves in this post…

  • Heading onto the Blue Jays’ roster, per a club announcement, are righty Connor Greene, lefty Tom Pannone, first baseman Rowdy Tellez, and catchers Dan Jansen and Reese McGuire.
  • The Rays have selected the contracts of righties Brent Honeywell, Diego Castillo, Yonny Chirinos, and Jose Mujica, lefty Ryan Yarbrough, first baseman/outfielder Jake Bauers, and outfielder Justin Williams, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
  • The Diamondbacks placed lefty Jared Miller on the MLB roster, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports on Twitter.
  • A list of six players is heading onto the Reds’ 40-man, per Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter): infielders Alex Blandino and Shed Long, outfielder Jose Siri, and righties Jose Lopez, Jesus Reyes, and Zack Weiss.
  • The Padres and Brewers have joined the teams announcing their additions. For San Diego, lefties Jose Castillo and Brad Wieck are heading to the 40-man. Milwaukee has selected shortstop Mauricio Dubon, catcher Jacob Nottingham, and righties Marcos Diplan and Freddy Peralta.
  • The Marlins and Yankees just struck a trade relating to their 40-man maneuvering, and each announced their selections shortly thereafter. Miami is placing outfielder Braxton Lee on the MLB roster along with righties Merandy Gonzalez, Pablo Lopez, and James Needy. New York, meanwhile, will select righties Albert Abreu, Domingo Acevedo, and Jonathan Loaisiga to the 40-man along with outfielder Billy McKinney and infielders Thairo Estrada and (last but not least) Gleyber Torres.

Click to check in on other teams that have selected players to their 40-man rosters …

Read more

  • Righties Hunter Harvey and David Hess join catcher Austin Wynns in ascending to the Orioles’ 40-man roster, the team announced.
  • The Astros have added lefty Cionel Perez and righty Dean Deetz to their 40-man, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle tweets.
  • Heading onto the Mets’ 40-man are infielder Luis Guillorme and right-handers Tyler Bashlor, Gerson Bautista, and Corey Oswalt.
  • The Royals are adding lefties Eric Stout and Tim Hill as well as Meibrys Viloria to their MLB roster, per a club announcement.
  • The Rockies announced the selection of the contracts of four players: outfielder Yonathan Daza, lefty Sam Howard, backstop Chris Rabago, and righty Jesus Tinoco.
  • Joining the Angels’ 40-man are outfielder Michael Hermosillo and righties Jaime Barria, Jesus Castillo, and Jake Jewell, per a club announcement.
  • Lefties Stephen Gonsalves and Lewis Thorpe, as well as righty Zack Littell, have been selected onto the Twins’ big league roster, MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger tweets.
  • The Pirates placed top prospect Austin Meadows and righties Luis Escobar and Dario Agrazal on their 40-man, the club announced.
  • The Cardinals announced that they’ve selected the contracts of left-hander Austin Gomber, right-hander Derian Gonzalez and outfielders Tyler O’Neill and Oscar Mercado, bringing their 40-man roster count to 39. Each of the three ranked within the top 20 farmhands in the organization, per MLB.com’s rankings.
  • The Rangers announced that they’ve added right-handers Jonathan Hernandez and Ariel Jurado; lefties Brett Martin and Joe Palumbo; catcher Jose Trevino; and infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the 40-man roster today. Texas also picked up 40-man righty Ronald Herrera in a trade with the Yankees this afternoon. All but Kiner-Falefa ranked among the team’s top 30 prospects, per MLB.com, led by Jurado at No. 9. The Rangers’ 40-man roster is now at 37 players.
  • The Nationals announced that they’ve selected the contracts of third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez and right-hander Jefry Rodriguez, thus adding both to the 40-man roster. MLB.com ranked Gutierrez 12th among Nationals farmhands. The Nats still have three open spots on their 40-man roster, so they could make further additions by adding players from outside the organization between now and the deadline. They could also simply save those spots for future trade or free-agent acquisitions.
  • The Red Sox have selected the contracts of left-hander Jalen Beeks and right-handers Chandler Shepherd and Ty Buttrey. Both Beeks and Shepherd ranked among Boston’s top 30 prospects, per MLB.com. Boston’s 40-man roster is now full with that trio of additions.

Note: Players that signed at 18 years of age or younger and have played five seasons of pro ball are Rule 5 eligible unless added to the 40-man roster today. Players that signed at 19 or older and have played four seasons are also eligible if they’re not added to the 40-man roster today. (In other words, college draftees out of the 2014 class, high school draftees out of the 2013 class and most international amateurs signed in the 2013-14 international period are eligible this year if not protected.)

Share 0 Retweet 6 Send via email0

Arizona Diamondbacks Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Cincinnati Reds Colorado Rockies Houston Astros Kansas City Royals Los Angeles Angels Miami Marlins Milwaukee Brewers Minnesota Twins New York Mets New York Yankees Pittsburgh Pirates Rule 5 Draft San Diego Padres St. Louis Cardinals Tampa Bay Rays Texas Rangers Toronto Blue Jays Transactions Washington Nationals Ariel Jurado Austin Gomber Austin Meadows Austin Wynns Billy McKinney Braxton Lee Brett Martin Chandler Shepherd Cionel Perez David Hess Derian Gonzalez Gleyber Torres Hunter Harvey Isiah Kiner-Falefa Jalen Beeks Jefry Rodriguez Joe Palumbo Jonathan Hernandez Jose Trevino Kelvin Gutierrez Merandy Gonzalez Oscar Mercado Ronald Herrera Stephen Gonsalves Ty Buttrey Tyler O'Neill Zack Littell

27 comments

AL West Notes: Maxwell, Avisail, Healy Trade, Rangers, Astros

By Steve Adams | November 16, 2017 at 2:30pm CDT

Despite recent allegations of aggravated assault and disorderly conduct, Bruce Maxwell is still viewed by the Athletics as their catcher next season, GM David Forst told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle at this week’s GM Meetings. “We’ll let the criminal proceedings play out,” said Forst, “But from a baseball standpoint, I expect Bruce to be our catcher next year.” Maxwell has already plead not guilty to the charges brought forth against him after he allegedly waved a gun in the face of a Postmates delivery employee last month. The Chronicle’s Susan Slusser reported earlier this week that there’s no trial date yet, but a hearing wouldn’t occur until early 2018.

Even without Maxwell’s off-the-field issues, though, catcher would seem to be a potential area for improvement for the Athletics. Maxwell will turn 27 in a month, has batted just .251/.331/.354 in 354 MLB plate appearances over the past two seasons and has thrown out a respectable but unspectacular 25 percent of opposing base thieves in his big league career. Baseball Prospectus rated him as an excellent pitch framer coming up through the minors, though he’s yet to post quality marks with the A’s.

More from the AL West…

  • Within that same piece, Shea also reports that the A’s have some interest in White Sox outfielder Avisail Garcia. Oakland is known to be on the lookout for a right-handed-hitting outfielder that can play left field now that the trade of Ryon Healy has opened the door for Khris Davis to serve as the DH. While Garcia, 26, checks some boxes for Oakland, however, he’s not a perfect fit; the young slugger is only controlled for another two seasons, making him more of a mid-term play than a long-term asset. Beyond that, he’s only played 118 innings in left field as a big leaguer, and his defensive ratings in right field haven’t been positive on the whole (though they’ve improved dramatically in the past two seasons). The Sox will be open to moving Garcia, though, who figures to be one of many options Oakland pursues this winter.
  • Forst told reporters following last night’s Healy trade that the Mariners first contacted the Athletics about Healy “right after” the regular season ended (link via MLB.com’s Jane Lee). The two sides talked on and off over the past month, and Forst notes that right-hander Emilio Pagan, one of two players Oakland received in the deal, is someone they’ve tried to acquire from the Mariners in the past. “Once it was clear [Pagan] could be part of this deal, then we spent the last week or so trying to work it out,” said Forst. Lee notes that the A’s will continue to seek bullpen help and could place an emphasis on finding a left-handed reliever.
  • Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto also spoke with reporters following last night’s trade and firmly stated that Healy is expected to be the team’s regular first baseman (link via Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times). “We are planning on Ryon playing first base in an every-day or near-every-day role or basis,” said Dipoto shortly after praising Healy’s all-fields power. “…He’s performed quite well against left-hand pitching. You saw a little bit of a dip against righties. But I think that’s the league adjusting to Ryon and now is his chance to adjust back.” Divish also has quotes from Healy about being traded and further quotes from Dipoto on the difficulty of informing Pagan that he’d been dealt.
  • Rangers GM Jon Daniels said at the GM Meetings that his team is approaching the 2018 season with the mindset that Delino DeShields Jr. will be the center fielder, writes Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. That doesn’t entirely rule out the possibility of signing a center fielder, as Daniels stated that DeShields could end up in left if the team lands a center fielder “that makes us better as a club.” It does, however, suggest that center field may not be a top priority for Texas this winter. Daniels praised DeShields for his defensive improvements in center over the past couple of seasons, reminding that he’s a converted second baseman who has been learning on the job.
  • Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle runs down some of the decisions the Astros will face as they look to set their roster in advance of the Rule 5 Draft, noting that outfield prospect Ramon Laureano could prove one of the most difficult calls to make. The 23-year-old Laureano elevated his prospect stock with a huge 2016 campaign (.319/.428/.528 between Class-A Advanced and Double-A) but faltered significantly in his first full season in Double-A. Kaplan notes that lefty Cionel Perez “is certain to be protected” and also lists some other candidates that could land on the 40-man roster by next Monday’s deadline.
Share 0 Retweet 1 Send via email0

Chicago White Sox Houston Astros Oakland Athletics Seattle Mariners Texas Rangers Avisail Garcia Bruce Maxwell Cionel Perez Delino DeShields Emilio Pagan Ramon Laureano Ryon Healy

49 comments

Astros Agree To New Deal With Cuban Lefty Cionel Perez

By Steve Adams | December 9, 2016 at 9:21am CDT

The Astros and young Cuban left-hander Cionel Perez have agreed to a new deal that comes with a $2MM signing bonus, reports MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter). Houston and Perez had originally agreed to a $5.15MM signing bonus back in September, but in October it was reported by Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen and ESPN’s Keith Law that the deal had been voided for medical reasons. The precise medical problem that derailed the first deal remains unclear.

The new arrangement comes with less financial risk for Astros, who in addition to the bonus figure are also on the hook for a 100 percent luxury tax due to the fact that they’d already exceeded their 2016-17 international bonus pool. As such, Perez drops from a $10.3MM total expenditure to a $4MM total expenditure for the Astros, who clearly are intrigued by Perez’s talent despite some apparent physical red flags.

Perez, 21 next April, ranks fourth on Sanchez’s list of top 30 international prospects at MLB.com. He’s undersized, though Sanchez notes that he still has room to add to his 5’11”, 170-pound frame. Perez already features a fastball in the 92-95mph range, and that velocity could tick upward a bit as he continues to grow. Perez also shows good feel for a slider and changeup, Sanchez continues. Longenhagen offered similarly high praise for Perez at Fangraphs, rating him seventh among international prospects. While Longenhagen’s report is down a bit more on Perez’s slider, he also notes that Perez flashes a potentially plus curveball. At the time of Perez’s original signing, Baseball America’s Ben Badler wrote that the changeup was a fairly new pitch for Perez, who has only added it since leaving Cuba. His slider has improved since leaving Cuba as well, Badler notes.

Perez spent just two seasons playing in the Cuban National Series, logging a 2.20 ERA while pitching as a professional at ages 17 and 18. He totaled 139 innings with 100 strikeouts against 61 walks, although 13 of those free passes were issued intentionally. Perez should be ticketed for the lower levels of the minor leagues to begin his pro career in the United States.

Share 0 Retweet 8 Send via email0

2016-17 International Prospects 2016-17 International Signings Houston Astros Cionel Perez

14 comments
« Previous Page
Load More Posts
Show all

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

    Top Stories

    Brewers Designate Luke Voit For Assignment

    White Sox To Activate Liam Hendriks From Injured List

    Royals Release Hunter Dozier

    Yankees Release Aaron Hicks

    Brewers Sign Julio Teheran To Major League Deal

    Red Sox Move Corey Kluber To Bullpen

    Athletics Reach Tentative Stadium Funding Deal With Nevada Lawmakers

    NPB Watch: May Edition

    Yankees Designate Aaron Hicks For Assignment

    Cubs Designate Eric Hosmer For Assignment

    Mets Select Gary Sanchez, Place Tim Locastro On 60-Day IL

    Astros To Activate Jose Altuve

    Rays Recall Taj Bradley, Plan To Keep Him In Rotation

    Kumar Rocker To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Anibal Sanchez Announces Retirement

    Willson Contreras To Return To Catching Duties On Monday

    Rockies Place Antonio Senzatela On 15-Day IL Due To Elbow Sprain

    Cubs, Marcus Stroman Had Preliminary Extension Talks

    Drew Rasmussen Shut Down For Two Months With Flexor Strain

    Tyler Mahle To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Recent

    The Opener: Bader, Mullins, MLBTR Chat

    Cedric Mullins Leaves Game Due To Right Abductor/Groin Injury

    West Notes: Lamet, Munoz, Hudson, Rendon, Rodriguez

    Cardinals Notes: Mozeliak, O’Neill, Carlson, Nootbaar

    MLBTR Chat Transcript

    Angels Outright Reyes Moronta

    Padres Claim Gary Sanchez Off Waivers From Mets

    Submit Your Questions For The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast!

    White Sox Place Jimmy Lambert On 15-Day Injured List

    Rays Release Chris Muller

    ad: 300x250_5_side_mlb

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Shohei Ohtani Rumors
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Go Ad-Free
    • 2023-24 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2024-25 MLB Free Agent List
    • MLB Player Chats
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    ad: 160x600_MLB

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • Feeds by Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version