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Dioner Navarro

Indians Release Dioner Navarro

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The Indians have released catcher Dioner Navarro, Baseball America’s Kegan Lowe reports.  Navarro signed a minor league deal with the Tribe last winter, and hit .211/.339/.274 over 115 plate appearances (in 29 games) for Triple-A Columbus.

It marked a return to affiliated baseball for Navarro, who sat out the 2017 season entirely due to family health reasons and whose 2018 action was limited to 20 games with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League and 22 games in the Venezuelan Winter League.  He’ll turn 36 in February, and seems to be in line for another minors contract this offseason in another veteran depth role.

Navarro hit .250/.309/.370 over 3351 Major League plate appearances for seven different teams from 2004-16.  The bulk (458) of his 1009 games came with the Rays, a stint that included an All-Star Game selection in 2008, though Navarro also saw regular or semi-regular duty as a member of the Dodgers, Cubs, and Blue Jays.

25-Man Roster Notes: Indians, Pirates

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Here’s the latest on some veteran players signed to minor league contracts are faring in their bids to make the Opening Day roster…

  • The Indians reassigned outfielder Brandon Barnes, catcher Tim Federowicz, and infielder/outfielder Mike Freeman to their minor league camp, MLB.com’s Mandy Bell reports (Twitter link).  Catcher Dioner Navarro will remain with the Tribe’s MLB Spring Training camp for now, though he has also been informed that he won’t be on Cleveland’s Opening Day roster.  It isn’t yet known if any of this group will opt out of their minor league deals in order to pursue opportunities elsewhere, though Bell hears that Federowicz will “check with his agent.”
  • Francisco Liriano can opt out of his minors deal with the Pirates on Wednesday, though The Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel (via Twitter) believes the veteran southpaw will break camp with the team.  Liriano hasn’t exactly excelled this spring, posting a 5.14 ERA over seven innings while allowing more walks (six) than strikeouts (five).  Still, Liriano has an advantage since Pittsburgh has just two left-handed pitchers (closer Felipe Vazquez and Steven Brault) on the 40-man roster, creating the need for more southpaw depth in the bullpen.  Should Liriano crack the big leagues, he’ll earn a guaranteed $1.8MM, with another $1.5MM available in potential incentives.

Indians Sign Ryan Flaherty, Dioner Navarro

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The Indians have inked minors deals with infielder Ryan Flaherty and catcher Dioner Navarro, according to a club announcement. (H/t MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.) Both receive MLB camp invites.

Many Braves fans were encourage by a hot start to the 2018 season from Flaherty, though his early heroics never appeared sustainable and were largely a function of a .450 average on balls in play through his first 60 trips to the plate. Following that hot streak, Flaherty crumbled and hit .147/.223/.193 through season’s end. Flaherty, a career .216/.286/.347 hitter through parts of seven MLB seasons (1452 PAs) will give the Indians some depth at second base, shortstop and third base.

Navarro, meanwhile, didn’t appear in the big leagues or even in affiliated ball in either of the past two seasons. He’s a career .250/.309/.370 hitter in part of 13 MLB campaigns but will need to reestablish himself — be it in Spring Training or in Triple-A — after an underwhelming showing with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League in 2018. With the Ducks, Navarro batted .268/.299/.437 — albeit it in just 20 games.

Dioner Navarro Plans To Sign With Long Island Ducks

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Free-agent catcher Dioner Navarro plans to resume his career as a member of the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Navarro will return to the field toward the end of July, Topkin adds.

The 34-year-old Navarro last played in 2016, having taken the past year and a half off to help his wife through “significant health issues,” Topkin writes. In his most recent action, the switch-hitting Navarro batted .207/.265/.322 in 334 plate appearances divided between the Blue Jays and White Sox.

While Navarro struggled in 2016, the journeyman has combined for a better career line (.250/.309/.370) across 3,551 plate appearances with eight teams, and he has thrown out a respectable 28 percent of would-be base stealers as a defender. In his best offensive season, 2013, Navarro slashed a terrific .300/.365/.492 with a personal-high 13 home runs in 266 PAs with the Cubs. Navarro also has an All-Star nod under his belt, as he earned a place on the American League team in 2008 – a year in which he hit .295/.349/.407 in 470 PAs and caught 38 percent of attempted base stealers as a member of the pennant-winning Rays.

NL News & Rumors: D-backs, Cubs, Padres, Reds, Marlins

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The Diamondbacks are aiming to improve their bullpen and have reached out to a pair of familiar free agent relievers, Brad Ziegler and Daniel Hudson, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Ziegler previously spent parts of six seasons with the Diamondbacks, who traded him to Boston in July. New D-backs executive vice president and general manager Mike Hazen was the Red Sox’s GM at the time, of course, so he’s familiar with Ziegler. Hudson, meanwhile, has been with Arizona since 2010. The 29-year-old has recorded a 4.50 ERA, 9.07 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 128 innings as a reliever over the past two seasons.

More from Arizona and a few other NL cities:

  • Along with bolstering his bullpen, Hazen hopes to add left-handed hitters, he told Piecoro. “I think being a little more left-handed could certainly help us,” Hazen said. “Pigeonholing it into one specific focus, I think, would be too complicated to try to pull off. I think we can be opportunistic about that.” The Diamondbacks have four established or potential regulars who are either lefties or switch-hitters in third baseman Jake Lamb, outfielder David Peralta, catcher Chris Herrmann and infielder Ketel Marte, notes Piecoro. They could trade outfielder Yasmany Tomas in an attempt to become less right-handed, but there’s not much of a market for him, sources informed Piecoro. While Tomas belted 29 home runs in 2016, the 26-year-old’s .272/.313/.508 line wasn’t great overall; further, he doesn’t provide defensive or baserunning value and still has $48.5MM coming his way through the 2020 season.
  • The Cubs made attempts over the past couple years to acquire right-hander Tyson Ross from the Padres and could pursue him in free agency, according to Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago. “The Padres were close to trading Ross to the Cubs for Starlin Castro,” a major league source who worked for one of the teams told Levine. “San Diego execs were mixed on asking for Castro or Javier Baez. The deal went down to the wire in late July of 2015 but never got to the point of exchanging medicals.” Ross was a front-of-the-rotation starter at that point, but he only threw 5 1/3 innings last season and is currently recovering from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. The Padres non-tendered him Friday.
  • The rebuilding Reds are committed to giving regular playing time to young middle infielder Jose Peraza in 2017, general manager Dick Williams and manager Bryan Price told C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). That’s particularly notable with two up-the-middle veterans – second baseman Brandon Phillips and shortstop Zack Cozart – in place. Cincinnati attempted to deal Phillips last offseason, but he took advantage of his ability to block a trade. Phillips, who has one year and $14MM left on his contract, is reportedly more open to waiving his no-trade clause this offseason. Cozart also has one year of club control remaining, and he nearly went to the Mariners prior to last summer’s non-waiver trade deadline. Seattle has since acquired Jean Segura, taking it out of the running for Cozart, but he could still interest other shortstop-needy teams looking for a capable and affordable stopgap. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a $4.7MM arbitration award for Cozart.
  • With Jeff Mathis headed to Arizona, the Marlins are in the market for a veteran backup catcher, per Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. Free agents like Geovany Soto and Dioner Navarro are candidates to end up in Miami as the main reserve behind J.T. Realmuto, writes Frisaro.

Blue Jays Acquire Dioner Navarro

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The Blue Jays have acquired catcher Dioner Navarro from the White Sox, both teams have announced. Lefty Colton Turner is headed back to Chicago in the deal.

Navarro, 32, will return to Toronto, where he had played over 2014-15 before joining the South Siders this winter on a one-year, $4MM deal. He’ll presumably function as both a reserve catcher and bench bat for the Jays, who utilize Russell Martin as their starter behind the dish and also have Josh Thole on hand as a receiver.

[RELATED: Updated White Sox & Blue Jays Depth Charts]

It’s not yet clear how the playing time will shake out, but the switch-hitting Navarro could nudge the left-handed-hitting Thole out of his role as the primary backup — if not off of the roster entirely. Thole owns a meager .151/.246/.198 slash line over his 124 plate appearances on the season. But he is also the personal catcher for knuckler R.A. Dickey, and with the Jays also in need of another bat off of the bench, it’s possible to imagine both players co-existing on Toronto’s 25-man.

While Navarro has been a solid hitter at times in the past — he put up a composite 107 OPS+ over 2013-15 — this hasn’t been his finest season. He is carrying only a .210/.267/.339 batting line with six home runs in his 298 plate appearances on the year for the White Sox.

Still, Navarro brings a sturdy veteran presence to a familiar clubhouse, and won’t cost much in terms of cash to add to the mix. The remainder of his contract will only cost Toronto around $850K. Plus, with roster set to expand within the week, he won’t clog things up too badly and can add flexibility.

In Turner, the Sox will land a 25-year-old southpaw who has shown some promise at times this year. He was dominant at the High-A level, allowing just two earned runs on 19 hits over 31 2/3 innings while generating 13.4 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9. But he has stalled since moving up to Double-A for the first time, where he has been tagged for six earned in 10 1/3 frames with a less-than-stellar 10:8 K/BB ratio.

White Sox Reportedly Open To Dealing Veteran Bats, Relievers

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4:34pm: GM Rick Hahn acknowledged that his club will not be pursuing short-term upgrades to the MLB roster, as Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago was among those to tweet. He added that the Sox will be willing to consider all other transactions.

Those comments don’t squarely paint Chicago as a seller, but certainly lean as strongly in that direction as might be expected in a public statement. Hahn bemoaned the fact that, as he put it, the team is “mired in mediocrity,” so it certainly appears that the organization is ready to shake things up.

1:20pm: The White Sox appear to have reversed course in the midst of a significant slump, as Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the club is now open to selling off veteran pieces this summer (Twitter link). The Sox intend to keep their rotation intact — taking Chris Sale, Jose Quintana and presumably Carson Fulmer and Carlos Rodon off the table, much to the chagrin of interested parties — and are intent on holding onto top shortstop prospect Tim Anderson as well. Other than that, however, Nightengale suggests that the rest of the roster is “in play.”

Optimistic fans will likely take the report and try to come up with ways in which the potentially selling Sox could be overwhelmed to part with Sale or Quintana, but FOX’s Ken Rosenthal emphasizes (via Twitter) that Sale won’t be moved, reporting that an unnamed team is said to have offered Chicago a “king’s ransom” for its ace within the past 48 hours, only to be met with a flat “no.” Another rival executive tells Rosenthal that teams have been asking for Quintana in trades for years, and the Sox have steadfastly refused (Twitter link).

Nightengale’s report is fairly surprising in that it suggests that Sox will at least entertain the notion of trading outfielder Adam Eaton, who has become one of baseball’s biggest bargains thanks to his elite all-around play and affordable contract. (I’d have pegged him to be among the “untouchable” group.) Eaton is hitting .271/.353/.393 with five homers, 11 steals and exceptional defense in right field, and he’s guaranteed just $21MM through the 2019 season (plus two options valued at $9.5MM and $10.5MM for the 2020 and 2021 campaigns). FanRag’s Jon Heyman reported earlier this morning that the Sox have already been receiving calls on Eaton, although I have to imagine that the asking price on him would be exorbitant.

Slugging first baseman Jose Abreu, too, would be a consideration under such criteria. He’s had a bit of a down season overall, slashing .266/.323/.423 but has turned things around at the plate dating back to June 1 (.299/.349/.478).  He’s owed $38.04MM through the end of the 2019 season, including the remainder of this year’s salary, though his contract allows him to opt into arbitration following the 2016 season if he wishes.

Heyman also reported this morning that closer David Robertson is receiving quite a bit of attention on the trade market as clubs look to acquire impact relievers. While Robertson’s 4.03 ERA on this season is a departure from his normal excellence, he’s been clobbered for 10 of his 17 earned runs in just two of his 37 appearances this season but has been largely effective outside of those hiccups. He’s owed $29.45MM through the end of the 2018 season and is still averaging 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings, though he’s also averaging 4.9 walks in that same stretch as well. Both Nate Jones and Dan Jennings are having strong seasons and come with three-plus years affordable control (Jones via a three-year, $8MM extension with a pair of club options and Jennings via arbitration). Jones’ strong season and considerable control could make him tough to surrender, though.

Beyond those long-term assets, the South Siders have several other short-term and mid-term assets that are controllable through the end of the 2017 campaign as well as a few rentals. Todd Frazier, Brett Lawrie, Melky Cabrera and Zach Duke are each free agents at the end of the 2017 season, while Dioner Navarro, Alex Avila and Justin Morneau are free agents following the current season. Frazier is tied for the Major League lead with 28 homers and is due an arbitration raise on his $8.25MM salary, while Lawrie has been about league-average at the plate and will get a bump from his $4.125MM salary. Cabrera has quietly been quite solid at the plate dating back to June 1 of last season, hitting .294/.338/.456 with 20 homers in 827 plate appearances, but the remaining $20.66MM on his deal is fairly steep. Duke is owed about $7.52MM from now through the end of his own contract and has logged a 2.97 ERA with 10.5 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and a 58.1 percent ground-ball rate this year.

The change in course is a fairly surprising turn of events for a White Sox team that just last month proactively sprung to add James Shields in a trade with the Padres (Shields has righted the ship after a pair of early implosions with Chicago) and also added Justin Morneau while shedding Jimmy Rollins to open shortstop for Anderson. That series of win-now moves hasn’t changed the club’s fortunes, though, leading to a potentially uncharacteristic sell-off from a Sox club that is typically loath to do so. Owner Jerry Reinsdorf has long been said to be against such sales, and indeed, the Sox chose to hold onto the majority of their pieces last summer in spite of an opportunity to ship out veteran pieces, most notably Jeff Samardzija.

It remains, of course, far from clear that the Sox will clean house in any way. The very fact that they’re insistent in holding onto Sale, Quintana, etc. suggests they intend to aim for better results as soon as the 2017 season. As such, major dealings shouldn’t necessarily be the expectation, but the very fact that the Sox are open to the idea represents a rather significant philosophical change from where the team stood four to six weeks ago.

Central Notes: White Sox, Frazier, Cubs, Indians, Pearce

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Even after adding Brett Lawrie, Alex Avila and Dioner Navarro, GM Rick Hahn wants to continue to upgrade the White Sox’ offense, Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com writes. “We’re pleased with the improvements we’ve made thus far, but in our minds we hope to continue and don’t feel we’re done,” says Hahn. The White Sox finished last in the AL in runs scored last season, with 622. One potential trade target who could provide a big boost to the White Sox is Todd Frazier of the Reds, about whom CSN Chuck Garfien reports the White Sox have had talks (on Twitter). Right now, however, there doesn’t seem to be much traction between the two sides, with the White Sox believing the Reds are asking for too much. A Frazier acquisition doesn’t necessarily seem likely, but if it were to occur, Lawrie would likely move to second base, one of several positions where the White Sox struggled last year. The Reds are reportedly shopping Frazier aggressively. Here are more quick notes from the Central divisions.

  • The Cubs and Indians discussed a trade that would have sent either Carlos Carrasco or Danny Salazar to Chicago, FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi tweets. In return, the Indians would have received a package including outfielder Jorge Soler. Talks between the two sides appear to have stalled, however, so it does not seem a deal is imminent.
  • The Indians have had interest in Steve Pearce, tweets Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer. Pearce is coming off a .218/.289/.422 season in Baltimore, but he was terrific in 2014 and is capable of playing first base or either corner outfield spot, plus second base in a pinch. That sort of flexibility would surely be valuable to Cleveland, although he’d likely mostly play outfield there. Pearce’s market has mostly been quiet this winter (although he’s been connected to the Rangers). As MLBTR’s Jeff Todd noted in September, it’s difficult to tell how teams will value Pearce, given his unusual skill set and the strange manner in which his career has unfolded.

White Sox Sign Dioner Navarro

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The White Sox continued to reshape their catching corps on Friday, officially announcing the signing of veteran switch-hitter Dioner Navarro to a one-year, $4MM contract.

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Chicago has now completed a total overhaul of its backstop situation this winter. The club signed Alex Avila to a one-year deal, non-tendered Tyler Flowers last night, and has now brought in Navarro to share time with his fellow free agent signee.

Navarro, a client of MDR Sports Management, served as the Blue Jays’ primary receiver in 2014 after signing a two-year deal. He put up a solid .274/.317/.395 slash with 12 home runs. But he lost his starting role last year when the Jays added Russell Martin. In his 192 turns at the plate in 2015, Navarro slashed .246/.307/.374, which was still good for an 88 OPS+.

On the defensive side of the ledger, Navarro was one of the league’s worst-rated pitch framers in 2014. But he’s generally rated more as a below-average framer than an awful one, and he returned to that status last year. More broadly, Defensive Runs Saved has pegged Navarro right at league average in terms of overall performance behind the plate.

It remains to be seen exactly how the South Siders will deploy this two-backstop unit, but presumably both were enticed to join the team by the promise of significant time. Avila, who hits from the left side, is much more productive against right-handed pitching, slashing .251/.348/.423 over his career with the platoon advantage. The opposite is true of Navarro, who has hit lefties to the tune of .270/.336/.439. GM Rick Hahn would surely be thrilled to get that kind of combined production from the position for a limited overall investment.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the agreement (on Twitter).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Free Agent Notes: Navarro, Madson, Leake, Soria, Flowers

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Switch-hitting catcher Dioner Navarro is a “name to keep an eye on” in connection to the White Sox, says Yahoo’s Jeff Passan (links to Twitter). The sense among competitors for Navarro’s services is that something could come together quickly between Navarro and the ChiSox now that Tyler Flowers has been non-tendered, according to Passan, who calls Navarro the “top” offensive catcher on the market. I’d posit that Wilin Rosario certainly gives Navarro a run for his money in that regard, though Navarro probably comes with the better defensive reputation of the two. Regardless, a match between the Sox and Navarro certainly seems plausible.

A few more notes on some various free agents for those who are joining me in the realm of insomnia…

  • MLB.com’s Jane Lee reports that the Athletics are interested in right-hander Ryan Madson, with one source telling her that the A’s are a “legitimate suitor” for Madson’s services. Oakland is “square in the mix” for Madson, says Lee’s source. She notes that the former Phillies closer, who enjoyed a brilliant bounceback campaign in Kansas City this past season, is looking for a multi-year deal. While Oakland has already picked up reliever Liam Hendriks from Toronto, Lee writes that the team isn’t shying away from the concept of adding another relief arm. She adds that GM David Forst has stated that payroll won’t be a deterrent in the team’s pursuit of an additional setup arm.
  • The Giants still haven’t engaged in talks with right-hander Mike Leake, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. While San Francisco is widely believed to be interested in retaining the right-hander it acquired in late July, Schulman says the belief is that the team’s pursuit of ace Zack Greinke needs to be resolved before a serious effort to re-sign Leake is made. Greinke is reportedly deciding between the Giants and his former club (and San Francisco division rival), the Dodgers.
  • The Blue Jays and Royals are among the clubs monitoring the market for right-hander Joakim Soria, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link). The Tigers are out of the mix for Soria after acquiring Francisco Rodriguez, he adds. Both Toronto and K.C. are known to be interested in relief help, though a recent report from Crasnick indicated that the Blue Jays aren’t inclined to pay top dollar for any bullpen arms right now, and Soria is reportedly seeking a $27MM total over a three-year span, which seems to make the two an unlikely match.
  • CSN Chicago’s Dan Hayes tweets that the White Sox’ decision to non-tender Flowers might have been a blessing in disguise for the catcher. One scout texted Hayes shortly after the news of Flowers’ non-tender broke, telling Hayes that Flowers “should thank” the White Sox for cutting him loose, because his belief is that Flowers will get more than his projected $3.5MM arbitration salary in this market. That seems potentially steep to me, considering the fact that Alex Avila and Geovany Soto have both signed for under $3MM, but Flowers did post standout framing numbers last year and does have some pop, so clubs are sure to be interested. If nothing else, he could probably surpass that number by way of incentives in a one-year deal with a new club.
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