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David Lough

Indians Sign David Lough

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The Indians have signed outfielder David Lough to a minor-league deal, per a club announcement. He’ll report to Triple-A Columbus.

Lough, 31, joined the Tigers on a minors deal over the winter but failed to crack the Opening Day roster. He had struggled to a .169/.210/.203 batting line over 63 Triple-A plate appearances, leading to his release.

While he has never been an impactful hitter, the southpaw-swinging Lough has shown more in the past. In over two thousand trips to the plate at the highest level of the minors, he has slashed .287/.338/.427 with 34 home runs.

Seeing action over each of the past five MLB campaigns, Lough hasn’t quite produced enough with the bat to hold down a steady job. All told, he owns a .254/.300/.371 batting line with 13 long balls through 820 big league plate appearances. But he has typically graded out as a plus defender in the corners and has also seen fairly frequent action in center, making him a flexible option.

For the Indians, Lough represents a depth piece as the club continues to develop its outfield mix. Lonnie Chisenhall and Michael Brantley are both hitting well, but the rest of the group is in some flux. Top prospect Bradley Zimmer has shown talent through six games, but he’s also striking out at a prodigious (42.1%) rate. Daniel Robertson is currently up with three other outfielders — Abraham Almonte, Brandon Guyer, and Austin Jackson — shelved on the 10-day DL.

Tigers, David Lough Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Tigers have agreed to a minor league contract with outfielder David Lough, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Lough, 31, spent last year with the Phillies and Marlins organizations. All 79 of his major league plate appearances came with Philadelphia, which designated him for assignment June 2 after he hit .239/.342/.313 there and .270/.331/.365 in 139 PAs with its Triple-A affiliate. Lough also struggled with Miami’s Triple-A club, albeit over a mere 32 PAs, with a .200/.226/.267 line.

In 820 trips to the plate with the Royals, Orioles and Phillies, the lefty-swinging Lough has batted .254/.300/.371 while garnering time at all three outfield spots. Detroit has two proven corner outfielders in Justin Upton and J.D. Martinez, but its only center field options – Tyler Collins, Mikie Mahtook, JaCoby Jones and Anthony Gose – haven’t established themselves. Neither has corner outfield reserve Steven Moya, so Lough could perhaps find his way to the Tigers’ bench at some point this year.

Marlins Sign David Lough

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The Marlins have signed outfielder David Lough to a minor league deal, according to Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. He’ll be joined in the organization by infielder Danny Muno, who was also just inked.

Lough, 30, had been with the Phillies this year but was recently given his release. Over 79 plate appearances at the major league level, he compiled only a .239/.342/.313 batting line, though he did manage to accumulate 9 walks against only 8 strikeouts. The numbers haven’t been all that much more promising at Triple-A, where Lough carries a .270/.329/.369 batting line in his 156 plate appearances — including four games worth of action in the Miami organization.

Still, the Fish are likely not planning to ask much of Lough if and when he makes it to the majors. He has typically rated as a quality defender and baserunner, and might well add some value in a limited role once rosters expand in just a few days.

Phillies Designate David Lough For Assignment

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The Phillies announced today that they’ve activated Cody Asche from the 15-day disabled list and designated outfielder David Lough for assignment to clear a spot for Asche on the active roster. Additionally, the team activated southpaw Mario Hollands, who underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2015, from the disabled list and optioned him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Lough, 30, inked a minor league contract with the Phils this offseason, and while he didn’t make the team out of Spring Training, he had his contract selected to the big league roster in mid-April Since April 18, Lough has appeared in 30 games for Philadelphia, batting .239/.342/.313 in 79 plate appearances. He’s long graded out as a defensively sound corner outfielder, and that was again the case in this season’s limited sample of innings.

The Phillies will have 10 days to trade, release or outright Lough, although if he clears outright waivers he’d have the option to reject an assignment to the minors in favor of free agency due to the fact that he’s been outrighted in the past. Lough is a career .254/.300/.371 hitter whose best seasons came in 2013-14 while serving as a platoon outfielder for the Royals and Orioles. He batted a combined .272/.310/.403 during that time, with the vast majority of his at-bats coming against right-handed pitching.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/18/16

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Here are the day’s minor moves from around the league…

  • The Phillies announced on Monday that they’ve optioned outfielder Cedric Hunter to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and selected the contract of veteran outfielder David Lough. The 30-year-old Lough will be added to a Phillies outfield mix that also features Rule 5 pick Tyler Goeddel, Odubel Herrera, Peter Bourjos and Darin Ruf (though Ruf has seen just nine innings in left field). Lough hit .280/.308/.320 in his brief time at Triple-A this year and is a lifetime .255/.295/.377 hitter in 741 big league plate appearances. He struggles against lefties but has shown solid ability versus right-handed pitching in his career and also draws praise for his outfield defense.
  •  The Blue Jays have released veteran catcher Humberto Quintero from their Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo, per a club announcement. The 36-year-old Quintero was enjoying a productive start to the season, having gone 4-for-15 with three doubles for the Bisons. His last extended stint in the Majors came in 2013 when he hit .237/.275/.366 in 140 plate appearances between the Mariners and Phillies. Quintero is a career .234/.267/.327 in 1423 Major League plate appearances.
  • Infielder Steve Lombardozzi has signed a contract with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the independent Atlantic League, the team announced. The 27-year-old Lombardozzi, who went to high school in Maryland, has spent parts of the past five seasons in the Major Leagues, splitting that time between the Nationals, Orioles and Pirates. A second-generation big leaguer, Lombardozzi is a career .263/.294/.336 hitter in 840 MLB PAs and has played second base, shortstop, third base and left field at the Major League level. He’ll look to use the Atlantic League as a launching point back into affiliated ball, as so many players before him have done.

NL Notes: Harvey, Liriano, Baez, Phillies

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Mets star righty Matt Harvey’s early season issues continued in a 7-5 loss to the Indians on Saturday. Harvey allowed three-plus runs for the third straight start, which is the first time that has happened in the fourth-year man’s career. In total, Harvey surrendered five earned runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings, adding four strikeouts against three walks. So far this season, Harvey has put up an ugly 5.71 ERA to go along with a 4.67 K/9 and 3.63 BB/9. Those numbers look nothing like his tremendous career totals (2.59 ERA, 9.31 K/9, 2.01 BB/9), but Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen doesn’t expect Harvey’s struggles to last. Warthen expressed belief after the game Saturday that Harvey has a mechanical problem that’s easily fixable, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com was among those to report (Twitter link). Warthen elaborated, saying that Harvey is hurting his consistency by collapsing his back leg in the stretch (Twitter link via Marc Carig of Newsday). Harvey was outstanding from the windup Saturday, allowing just one hit in 14 at-bats. On the other hand, Indians hitters teed off on him when he was in the stretch, going 5 for 8 with two doubles, three walks and a pair of steals, per Jordan Bastian of MLB.com (via Twitter). Harvey’s next scheduled start is against the lowly Braves on Friday. Both facing Atlanta and making the right adjustments in the meantime could put Harvey in position to revisit his dominant form for the first time this year.

Here’s more from the National League:

  • Pirates lefty Francisco Liriano is back to full strength after the team scratched him from his Wednesday start with a tight right hamstring, Adam Berry of MLB.com relays. Liriano, who threw a bullpen session Saturday, expects to start Tuesday in San Diego. “Everything feels normal,” Liriano said. “Ready to go on Tuesday. Everything went well today.” That’s welcome news for the Pirates, whose starting rotation isn’t particularly imposing on paper aside from Gerrit Cole and Liriano. In 11 innings this year, Liriano has posted a stellar 2.45 ERA, but his 7.36 BB/9 is unsightly and nearly twice his career number of 3.83.
  • After the Cubs activated him from the 15-day disabled list Friday, utilityman Javier Baez made his 2016 debut Saturday and went 2 for 4 with a double while giving veteran Ben Zobrist a breather at second base. Going forward, the Cubs hope to start Baez two or three times per week at various positions as they try to develop the 23-year-old, manager Joe Maddon said (via Cody Stavenhagen of MLB.com). “He’s got a high-maintenance swing and he’s young, so he needs to continue to get at-bats,” stated Maddon. “That’s the difficult part about all of this … to nurture him along right now along with a team that has a chance to do something really special this year.” After a poor 52-game showing at the plate with the Cubs in 2014 (.169/.227/.324), the former top-tier prospect improved last season to the tune of a respectable .289/.325/.408 line in 28 contests.
  • Imminent changes could be coming to the Phillies’ outfield, writes Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. “You can’t get around it. It’s not good,” manager Pete Mackanin said in regards to the league-worst .299 OPS Phillies left fielders have compiled and the .454 OPS their right fielders have posted. “In the short term, if we don’t show improvement, we’ll probably make a change,” Mackanin added. The Phillies did make a change Saturday when they put first baseman Darin Ruf in left, but the club doesn’t see him as a solution because of defensive concerns. That could open the door for at least one of Will Venable or David Lough, both of whom are in Triple-A. Venable has a May 1 opt-out in his contract if he isn’t on the Phillies’ big league roster by then. While the Phillies are considering calling up those two, prospect Nick Williams needs more time to develop and is not a candidate for a promotion, according to Mackanin.

Phillies Sign David Lough To Minor League Deal

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The Phillies announced on Monday that they have signed veteran outfielder David Lough to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training.

Lough, who turned 30 last week, has seen action in parts of four big league seasons — 2012-13 with the Royals and 2014-15 with the Orioles. This past season was, unequivocally, a struggle for the left-handed-hitting Lough, as he batted just .201/.241/.313 in 144 plate appearances with the O’s before being designated for assignment and eventually outrighted to Triple-A. Lough did return to the Majors in September for a bit, but because he finished the year having qualified as a Super Two player, the O’s non-tendered him rather than going through the arbitration process.

Prior to his 2015 struggles, Lough was a solid platoon option in the corner outfield. He’s never had much pop, but Lough combined respectable average and OBP marks against right-handed pitching with strong defense to provide value in K.C. and Baltimore. From 2013-14, Lough posted an overall batting line of .272/.310/.403, including a .277/.319/.411 slash against righties in that span. In 726 innings as a left fielder in his big league career, Lough has posted huge marks in Defensive Runs Saved (+20) and Ultimate Zone Rating (+13.5). He’s had similar success in right field (+9 DRS, +9.2 UZR in 639 2/3 innings), and he’s even drawn positive marks in a small, 347-inning sample in center field.

The Phillies currently have Cody Asche, Aaron Altherr, Peter Bourjos, Odubel Herrera and No. 1 overall Rule 5 Draft pick Tyler Goeddel in the mix for regular at-bats in the outfield this year. Lough will compete for the right to join that group, and if he’s able to land on the team and stick all year, he’d be controllable through the 2019 season, should the club keep him around.

2015-16 American League Non-Tenders

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Major League clubs have until 11pm CT tonight to tender contracts to players for the 2016 season. Remember that you can track all of the action using MLBTR’s Non-Tender tracker, and we offer a full list of non-tender candidates (in the estimation of MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes). Also important for reference is the set of arbitration salary projections from MLBTR and contributor Matt Swartz.

We’ll run down the list of American League non-tenders here, and update it as reports come in.

  • According to a club announcement this morning, the Yankees non-tendered righty Domingo German last night. By parting with the pre-arb-eligible hurler, New York cleared one open spot on its 40-man.
  • The Rangers announced that they won’t tender contracts to righty Nick Tepesch or outfielder James Jones. Neither player was arbitration eligible, but the decisions clear two 40-man roster spots. Tepesch missed the 2015 season battling shoulder injuries. Jones was recently acquired in a trade with the Mariners, though the main component of that deal for the Rangers was probably right-hander Tom Wilhelmsen. Texas hopes to retain both on minor league contracts, tweets the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Jeff Wilson.
  • The Blue Jays have non-tendered backup catcher Josh Thole and tendered the rest of their players, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet (via Twitter). Thole has served primarily as R.A. Dickey’s personal catcher due to his familiarity with the knuckleball for much of his time with the Blue Jays.
  • Outfielder David Lough has also been non-tendered by the Orioles, the club announced. Lough hit just .201/.241/.313 with the Orioles in 144 plate appearances this season but has a reputation as a good defensive outfielder in the corners and traditionally hit righties well prior to this season.
  • The White Sox have non-tendered Tyler Flowers and Jacob Turner. More on that decision here.
  • The Orioles will non-tender infielder Paul Janish, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. The defensively gifted journeyman was projected to earn a modest $600K in arbitration next season.

Earlier Updates

  • Righty Al Alburquerque will be non-tendered by the Tigers, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press tweets. The 29-year-old was projected to earn only $2.1MM, and Detroit could use pen depth, but it appears that the club decided to move on after watching the veteran contribute 62 innings of 4.21 ERA ball with 8.4 K/9 against 4.8 BB/9 last year.
  • The Athletics have announced that first baseman Ike Davis will not be tendered a contract, meaning he’ll become a free agent. The veteran was entering his final year of control at a $3.8MM projected salary. His non-tender was widely expected after a tough 2015 season, but became assured when the club swung a deal earlier today for his replacement.

AL East Notes: Davis, Orioles, Price, Yankees

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The Orioles remain tight-lipped on the progress of their offseason talks with Chris Davis and agent Scott Boras, but one person within the organization at least termed the discussions thus far as “productive,” writes MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko. According to Kubatko, the Orioles aren’t turned off by the notion that Davis could command a six- or seven-year pact ranging from $24MM to $26MM in annual value. If nothing else, he notes, the fact that the Orioles haven’t simply walked away due to that price tag is telling of their desire to retain Davis. However, waiting on Davis is at least somewhat risky, as it’s possible that many of Baltimore’s alternatives will sign elsewhere in the meantime, leaving little in the way of options should the team ultimately prove unable to retain the slugger.

A few more items pertaining to the AL East…

  • The Orioles are “searching everywhere” for outfield help, writes CSNMidAtlantic.com’s Rich Dubroff. At present, there are seven players on Baltimore’s 40-man roster with outfield experience, but only Adam Jones is the only established regular among them, Dubroff notes. Arbitration eligible players like David Lough and Nolan Reimold could be non-tendered next week, Dubroff writes, though Reimold is a better bet to return than Lough, he adds.
  • Former Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos was a recent guest on the WEEI Hot Stove show, and in discussing David Price’s impact on the Jays, Anthopoulos called him the “best teammate I’ve ever seen.” Anthopoulos lauded Price for his work ethic and the way in which that rubs off on other players as well as the leadership he exudes in the clubhouse. Said Anthopoulos: “He brings something else more than just the two ERA and the 240 innings and everything else. He leads. He sets a great example. He’€™ll be a great get for any team that gets him.”
  • Chad Jennings of the Journal News profiles some of the potential bargain help on the Yankees’ roster. While names like Dellin Betances and Luis Severino are obvious picks, Jennings also points out the potential bargain the team could have acquired in buying low on Dustin Ackley, who seems likely to handle the bulk of New York’s second base duties next season. Ackley hit a robust .288/.333/.654 in his tiny sample of work with the Yankees, but getting out of Safeco Field could help him realize his potential. Brendan Ryan’s $1MM salary looks like a bargain when compared to the two-year, $3.75MM contract commanded by a similar player — Cliff Pennington. And, the Yankees’ successful buy-low on Didi Gregorius last offseason has left the team with a shortstop whose production will far outreach his salary in the coming years.

List Of 2016 Super Two Qualifiers

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Presented below is the list of players who have qualified for Super Two status for arbitration purposes this year. (Service time in parentheses.) As MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes recently tweeted, the service time cutoff is 2.130. You can find arbitration salary projections for these players right here.

Click here to read more about how the Super Two concept works. Note that, as the link shows, the originally projected service time cutoff moved down as things played out over the course of the season. That brought some notable names into early arbitration qualification — namely, Calhoun and Rendon — which could have a big impact on their earning power in potential extension scenarios.

It’s also important to bear in mind that several of the players listed above have already agreed to long-term extensions: Gyorko, Lagares, and Archer. Notably, the size of the guarantee provided by Archer’s contract is dependent upon his Super Two status. By reaching it (as had been expected), he keeps a $25.5MM overall guarantee. That total would have been reduced to $20MM otherwise.

That contract structure reflects the importance of reaching Super Two status. Doing so not only bumps a player’s salary a year early, but sets a higher floor for future paydays.

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