Collin Cowgill

Indians Acquire Collin Cowgill, Designate Nick Hagadone

By Steve Adams | December 2, 2015 at 8:13pm CDT

The Indians have acquired outfielder Collin Cowgill from the Angels in exchange for cash considerations and designated left-hander Nick Hagadone for assignment, per a club announcement. MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez reported (via Twitter) that Cowgill was headed to Cleveland just before the trade was announced.

Cowgill, 30 next May, gives the Indians a strong defensive option in the outfield corners, though he comes with a light bat. The right-handed hitter comes to Cleveland with a .236/.299/.334 batting line in 745 trips to the plate as a Major Leaguer and a .188/.233/.290 line in just 74 PAs last season in Anaheim. However, Cowgill is a standout left/right fielder in the eyes of defensive metrics such as Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved and also has the ability to play center field. Cowgill has saved 28 runs in 1336 innings of corner defense, per DRS. UZR agrees, pegging him at +25 runs in that time. He’s average to below-average in center, per those same metrics, but he’s played just 370 innings there in his career.

Hagadone’s removal from the 40-man roster isn’t entirely unexpected, as the lefty reliever underwent elbow surgery in late July that was projected to sideline him for six to nine months. He was projected to receive just $700K in arbitration, but the Indians probably didn’t want to commit the dollars nor the roster spot to Hagadone without knowing when he could return to the mound. He also has a fairly spotty track record as a Major Leaguer; while he worked to a sound 3.55 ERA with a 55-to-18 K/BB ratio in 50 2/3 innings from 2014-15, his big league work prior to that point amounted to a 5.59 ERA in 67 2/3 innings.

Per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian, Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said that he has interest in keeping Hagadone in the organization despite removing him from the 40-man roster (Twitter link).

AL West Notes: Kazmir, Angels, Mariners, Correa

By Steve Adams | May 27, 2015 at 7:30pm CDT

Athletics left-hander Scott Kazmir left today’s start against the Tigers with soreness in his throwing shoulder, and manager Bob Melvin told reporters after the game that Kazmir is undergoing an MRI (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Jane Lee). It’s not known at this time whether or not Kazmir will require a stint on the disabled list, but as an impending free agent and a potential trade target, that status of Kazmir is one that could have significant impact on storylines around the game in the coming months. To this point in the season, Kazmir has been brilliant, notching a 2.93 ERA with 8.8 K/9, 3.9 BB/9 and a 47.1 percent ground-ball rate in 58 1/3 inning. Kazmir is earning $11MM in the second and final season of a two-year, $22MM contract.

Here’s more from the AL West…

Following the Angels’ trade for Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Marc Krauss could find himself headed back to Triple-A, but the team could also place Collin Cowgill on the disabled list, writes Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com. Gonzalez’s notebook post looks at several roster situations for the Angels, including the team’s uncertain second base situation and the injury status of right-hander Mike Morin, who doesn’t sound to be returning anytime soon. Morin will miss “weeks, not days,” per manager Mike Scioscia.
The Mariners have been operating with a six-man bullpen for a couple of days as a means of delaying the need to make a decision on the team’s veterans, writes Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. Delaying a move by even a few days gave the Mariners time to further examine trade possibilities, Dutton notes, but they’ll soon need to add a reliever to the mix. Candidates include Lucas Luetge, Mayckol Guaipe and Kevin Gregg, though Gregg would require a 40-man roster move and force the team’s hand even sooner. Players currently at risk, Dutton writes, are Rickie Weeks, Willie Bloomquist, Justin Ruggiano and Dustin Ackley. It seems highly unlikely that the Mariners would do something as drastic as designating Ackley for assignment, but if they’re truly exploring trade possibilities, he’d likely have the most appeal of the four players listed by Dutton. One way to buy a bit more time would be to option Chris Taylor back to Triple-A to make room for a reliever that’s already on the 40-man roster.
Astros GM Jeff Luhnow tells Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle that there will be no second-guessing on when the team should have brought up top prospect Carlos Correa, regardless of how the season ends. Luhnow says that despite Correa’s gaudy numbers at Triple-A, he’s still benefiting from the time there, as he’s being exposed to more offspeed pitches than ever before and being forced to make adjustments within at-bats. Luhnow said that even in an extreme scenario such as missing the playoffs by one game, there would be too many factors — managerial moves, daily roster decisions, player performances — to say whether or not promoting Correa early would’ve altered the course of the season.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: Friday

By Steve Adams | January 16, 2015 at 5:55pm CDT

With the deadline to exchange arbitration figures set for noon CT, there figure to be a large number of agreements to avoid arb today, as there were yesterday. All arbitration agreements can be followed using MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker, and we’ll keep track of today’s smaller agreements in this post, with all projections coming courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz…

Righty Henderson Alvarez agreed to a $4MM deal with the Marlins, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reported earlier today on Twitter. Alvarez had been projected to earn $4.5MM after putting up a huge 187-inning, 2.65 ERA campaign entering his first season of arb eligibility.
The Athletics have agreed to a $1.4MM deal with righty Ryan Cook that includes, MLB.com’s Jane Lee reports on Twitter. Cook gets a slight increase over the $1.3MM he had been projected to earn. Oakland has also inked outfielder Sam Fuld to a $1.75MM deal, per Mike Perchik of WAPT (via Twitter). He too lands just above his projection, which was for $1.6MM.
Outfielder Collin Cowgill avoided arbitration with the Angels for $995K, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez tweets. He was projected to earn $900K.
Righties David Carpenter and Nathan Eovaldi both have deals with the Yankees, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News reports on Twitter. Carpenter will earn about $1.3MM while Eovaldi will take home $3.3MM
The Rockies have a deal in place with lefty Rex Brothers, tweets MLB.com’s Thomas Harding. Brothers was projected to earn $1.3MM but will take home $1.4MM, Harding adds via Twitter.
ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers reports that the Cubs have settled with both Travis Wood and Luis Valbuena (Twitter links). Wood will receive $5.686MM — a bit north of his $5.5MM projection, while Valbuena will earn $4.2MM, per Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald (on Twitter). Valbuena was projected to earn $3.1MM.
Mike Perchick of WAPT in New Jersey has a wave of arbitration agreements, starting with the Astros and Hank Conger settling on a $1.075MM, which is just $25K behind Swartz’s projection (Twitter link).
Also via Perchick, the Athletics and Brett Lawrie settled on a $1.925MM contract (Twitter links). Lawrie, who had been projected at $1.8MM, was acquired by Oakland in the Josh Donaldson blockbuster.
Rockies backstop Michael McKenry will earn $1.0876MM in 2015, via Perchick. McKenry was projected by Swartz to earn $1.5MM.
Michael Pineda and the Yankees settled on a $2.1MM salary for the upcoming season, Perchick tweets, which is a direct match with Swartz’s projection.
Domonic Brown and the Phillies settled on a one-year pact worth $2.6MM, via Perchick, which represents a difference of just $100K between Swartz’s projection and the actual figure. Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com tweets that Ben Revere has avoided arbitration as well, and the club now announces that he’ll earn $4.1MM — $100K north of his $4MM projection.
Red Sox setup man Junichi Tazawa agreed to a $2.25MM payday, according to Perchick. Swartz had pegged him for a $2MM contract.

Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star reports (on Twitter) that Royals hurlers Tim Collins and Louis Coleman have settled for $1.475MM and $725K, respectively. Collins was projected at $1.5MM and Coleman at $700K.
The Rays have avoided arb with all of their eligible players. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that John Jaso will earn $3.175MM in 2015 after being projected at $3.3MM. Topkin also tweets that Logan Forsythe ($1.2MM projection) will earn $1.1MM. Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune reports (via Twitter) that Alex Cobb will receive $4MM (was projected at $4.5MM), Jake McGee will earn $3.55MM (projected $3.8MM) and Rene Rivera will earn $1.2MM (projected $1.3MM). Lastly, Drew Smyly will earn $2.65MM in 2015 with $50K of bonuses available based on games started, tweets Topkin. He was projected to earn $3MM.
Jason Castro will receive $4MM from the Astros for the 2015 season, tweets MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. He’d been projected at $3.9MM. Meanwhile, southpaw Tony Sipp settled on a $2.4MM deal with Houston, per the Chronicle’s Even Drellich (on Twitter). That figure is significantly higher than his $1.5MM projection.
The Twins and Casey Fien settled on a $1.375MM salary for 2015, tweets 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson, which is a bit north of his $1.1MM projection.
Marco Estrada will receive $3.9MM from the Blue Jays in 2015, tweets Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi, which comes in lighter than his $4.7MM projection.
Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times reports (on Twitter) that the Angels and Fernando Salas have settled on a one-year, $1.37MM deal for the 2015 season that comes in just shy of his $1.4MM projection.
Hernandez also tweets that the Dodgers will pay Justin Turner $2.5MM in 2015 — which is $300K north of his $2.2MM projection.
The Cubs and Jake Arrieta settled at $3.63MM for 2015, tweets Heyman, which is south of Swartz’s $4.1MM estimate.
The Pirates and Francisco Cervelli settled at $987.5K, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports — a figure that is $112K below MLBTR’s projection.
Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet tweets that Jared Hughes and the Pirates have settled at $1.075MM, or $25K less than his projected $1.1MM payday.
The Athletics and Josh Reddick agreed to a $4.1MM salary, per Heyman, which is $400K higher than his projected salary of $3.7MM.
Trevor Plouffe and Eduardo Nunez have settled on $4.8MM and $1.025MM salaries, respectively, with the Twins, reports Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The duo projected to earn respective salaries of $4.3MM and $1.2MM.
Shawn Kelley’s agent, Mike McCann, tweets that his client agreed to a $2.835MM salary with the Padres, which is $335K higher than his $2.5MM projection.
ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin reports that Dillon Gee ($5.3MM) and Ruben Tejada ($1.88MM) have both settled on 2015 salaries with the Mets (Twitter links). Their respective projections called for salaries of $5.1MM and $1.7MM.
The Padres and Andrew Cashner have settled on a one-year, $4.05MM deal to avoid arb, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. The figure is a bit south of the talented but oft-injured righty’s $4.3MM projection.
Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (on Twitter) that Kevin Jepsen and the Rays have settled on a one-year, $3.025MM pact to avoid arbitration. That figure is a ways north of his $2.6MM projection.
Heyman tweets that Michael Saunders and the Blue Jays have avoided arb with a $2.875MM, one-year deal. Saunders was acquired from the Mariners in a swap for J.A. Happ this season and will serve as Toronto’s everyday left fielder. He had projected to earn $2.9MM.
Heyman also tweets that Juan Nicasio and the Dodgers have avoided arb with a one-year, $2.3MM deal. Nicasio was picked up from the Rockies after being designated for assignment earlier this offseason. That’s just a bit less than his $2.4MM projection.
Justin Ruggiano and the Mariners are in agreement on a one-year, $2.505MM deal to avoid arbitration, tweets Heyman. That figure represents just a $5K difference from his $2.5MM projection. Ruggiano should pair with Seth Smith to form a very solid platoon in right field for the Mariners.
Heyman adds that Antonio Bastardo has avoided arb and will earn $3.1MM in 2015. The Pirates acquired Bastardo from the Phillies this offseason, and he had been projected to earn $2.8MM in his final year of team control.
Agent Tom O’Connell tweets that the Padres and Dale Thayer have avoided arb by agreeing to a one-year, $1.375MM contract. The 34-year-old Thayer has been an excellent find for the Padres after signing a minor league deal prior to the 2012 season. In three years with San Diego, the Mets and Rays farmhand has notched a 3.02 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9. He’s also picked up eight saves along the way, filling in at various points when Huston Street was injured or unavailable.
The Rangers announced that they’ve agreed to a one-year deal with lefty Ross Detwiler, who was acquired this offseason in a trade with the Nationals. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets that Detwiler will earn $3.45MM — a bit north of his $3MM projection. Detwiler has had success as a starter and reliever in his big league career. He shifted back to the bullpen in 2014 but should compete for a rotation spot in 2015 with his new team.
Zack Cozart and the Reds have avoided arb by settling on a one-year, $2.35MM pact, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Cozart, who was projected to earn $2.3MM, is one of the game’s best defensive shortstops but batted a meek .221/.268/.300 in 2014. He’s controllable through the 2016 season.
Twins lefty Tommy Milone has agreed to a $2.775MM salary for the 2015 season, reports Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Acquired for Sam Fuld at the trade deadline, Milone struggled in 2014, posting a 7.06 ERA in five starts for the Twins, but a 3.91 career ERA at the time of the trade suggests that he can deliver improved results in 2015. Milone was projected to earn $2.8MM in 2015.
Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports (via Twitter) that the Cubs and Welington Castillo have avoided arb by agreeing to a one-year, $2.1MM contract, matching Swartz’s projection exactly. The 27-year-old Castillo has batted .255/.323/.393 in 845 plate appearances as the Cubs’ primary catcher over the past two seasons, though he figures to have a reduced role in 2015 following the acquisition of Miguel Montero. As such, his name has frequently surfaced in trade rumors this offseason.
The Pirates and catcher Chris Stewart have agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.225MM to avoid arb, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. The defensively gifted backstop hit .294/.362/.331 in 154 plate appearances with the Pirates last year and may see more time at the plate now that he’ll be splitting catching duties with Francisco Cervelli rather than Russell Martin. He falls just shy of his $1.3MM projection.
Marlins right-hander Aaron Crow has avoided arb by agreeing to a $1.975MM salary that is just $25K shy of his $2MM projection, tweets Heyman. Crow posted a career-worst 4.12 ERA with a career-low 5.2 K/9 in 59 frames for the Royals last season, but Miami clearly sees him as a rebound candidate, given the fact that they sent lefty Brian Flynn to the Royals in December to acquire Crow’s final two years of arbitration eligibility.
MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat tweets that the Cubs have avoided arb with Chris Coghlan by agreeing to a one-year, $2.505MM deal. The 2009 NL Rookie of the Year enjoyed a resurgent season in his first year with Chicago, hitting a healthy .283/.352/.452 with nine homers in 432 plate appearances. He figures to platoon with offseason signee Chris Denorfia in left field. Coghlan significantly overshot his $1.4MM projection.
Yusmeiro Petit and the Giants have avoided arb by agreeing to a one-year, $2.1MM deal, tweets Heyman. The 30-year-old Petit had a brilliant season in 2014, setting a new Major League record for consecutive batters retired (46) and working to a 3.69 ERA with 10.2 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 117 innings between the bullpen and the rotation. Metrics like FIP (2.78) and SIERA (2.84) feel he pitched much better than his ERA would indicate. Petit did well, topping his $1.6MM projection.
The Rays and Desmond Jennings have avoided arb by agreeing to a $3.1MM salary for 2015, according to Heyman (Twitter link). The 28-year-old had somewhat of a down season at the dish in 2014, batting .244/.319/.378 with 10 homers and 15 steals, and a knee injury late in the season limited him to 123 games. Jennings’ contract falls in line with his $3.2MM projection. He will receive an additional $25K for reaching 550 PA, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
The D-Backs and Jeremy Hellickson have avoided arb by settling on a one-year, $4.275MM pact, tweets Heyman. Hellickson, acquired this offseason from the Rays, posted a 4.52 ERA in 63 2/3 innings with 7.6 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in an injury-shortened season. The former Rookie of the Year was projected to earn $3.9MM.

Angels Acquire Collin Cowgill

By Steve Adams | June 25, 2013 at 5:19pm CDT

The Mets announced, via Twitter, that they have traded Collin Cowgill to the Angels in exchange for minor league outfielder Kyle Johnson. Angels director of communications Eric Kay tweets that Cowgill has been optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake and adds that Ryan Madson was transferred to the 60-day DL to make room on the 40-man roster.

Cowgill, 27, has a .173/.189/.327 slash line in 53 plate appearances for the Mets this season, though he's career .307/.381/.476 hitter in 885 Triple-A plate appearances. The Mets designated him for assignment last week after they acquired Eric Young Jr. from the Rockies.

Johnson, 23, was the Angels' 25th round pick in last year's draft. The Washington State product is hitting .310/.414/.424 with two homers and 30 stolen bases in 297 plate appearances for Class A Burlington. He did not rank among the Angels' Top 30 prospects, according to Baseball America. Yesterday, Mike Puma of the New York Post reported that the Mets unsuccessfully attempted to trade Cowgill to the Angels in exchange for Triple-A right-hander Matt Shoemaker.

Mets Acquire Eric Young Jr., Designate Collin Cowgill

By Zachary Links | June 18, 2013 at 10:28pm CDT

The Mets announced that they have acquired Eric Young Jr. from the Rockies in exchange for right-hander Collin McHugh. In a related move, the Mets have also designated Collin Cowgill for assignment.

Young Jr. was designated for assignment last week in order to make room for the activation of right-hander Chris Volstad. The outfielder posted a .316/.377/.448 slash line in 196 plate appearances last year but has hit just .242/.290/.352 with one homer in 180 PAs this year. The 28-year-old has experience at all three outfield positions as well as 49 games at second base.

McHugh has 11 big league games under his belt but has spent the 2013 season with the Mets' Triple-A affiliate. In nine starts for Las Vegas, McHugh has a 2.87 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9. Despite his success there, he'll report to the Rockies' Double-A affiliate, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter).

Cowgill, 27, has a .173/.189/.327 slash line in 53 plate appearances this year. In parts of three seasons at the Triple-A the outfielder has hit .307/.381/.476.

Mets Acquire Collin Cowgill

By Mike Axisa | December 18, 2012 at 11:47am CDT

The Athletics have traded outfielder Collin Cowgill to the Mets for minor league infielder Jefry Marte, the team announced. The trade frees up a 40-man roster spot for Oakland, who officially announced the Hiroyuki Nakajima signing as well.

Cowgill, 26, was originally drafted by the Diamondbacks before being sent to the A's in the Trevor Cahill trade. He's a .255/.319/.311 hitter in 219 career big league plate appearances and a .315/.384/.482 hitter in 741 career Triple-A plate appearances. As a right-handed hitter with plenty of experience in all three outfield spots, Cowgill has a strong chance to open the season with New York.

Marte, 21, hit .251/.322/.366 in 513 plate appearances at the Double-A level in 2013, his first season above Single-A ball. Baseball America did not rank him as one of the Mets' top 30 prospects in their Prospect Handbook before the season, though he did rank 26th one year ago. Marte has spent the majority of his career at third base.

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