Minor MLB Transactions: 7/17/16
Sunday’s minor moves from around baseball:
- The Dodgers have released outfielder Donavan Tate, whom they signed in December, tweets Matt Eddy of Baseball America. Tate went third overall to San Diego in the 2009 draft, but the 25-year-old still hasn’t gotten past the Single-A level, having hit an ineffective .226/.331/.321 in 1,229 plate appearances. At his peak, Tate ranked as Baseball Prospectus’ 29th-best prospect and Baseball America’s 53rd overall prospect entering 2010.
- The Royals have released right-hander Matt Alvarez, according to Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com (Twitter link). Alvarez, 25, had been in the Kansas City system since 2013. He posted a 5.04 ERA, 8.4 K/9 and 6.6 BB/9 in 157 minor league innings with the Royals.
- The Indians have released infielder Grofi Cruz, per Tribeinsider (Twitter link). Cleveland signed Cruz, then 16, out of the Dominican Republic for $400K in July 2012. Cruz didn’t pan out, however, batting .222/.271/.259 across a combined 498 PAs in Rookie ball and Low-A.
Minor MLB Transactions: 12/4/15
It’s been a huge day for news, with Zack Greinke and John Lackey agreeing to terms with new teams and the Red Sox officially announcing their signing of David Price. Here are some smaller moves that might have fallen through the cracks.
- The Dodgers have announced that they’ve outrighted righty Brooks Brown, clearing a spot on their 40-man roster. They claimed the 30-year-old from the Rockies in October after he pitched parts of two seasons in the Colorado bullpen, posting a 3.97 ERA, 6.3 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 59 innings.
- The Dodgers are also expected to sign outfielder Donavan Tate, Baseball America’s John Manuel tweets. Tate, now 25, has struggled to establish himself since the Padres drafted him with the third overall pick in 2009. In 2015, he hit .211/.290/.334 for Class A+ Lake Elsinore.
- The Yankees have signed infielder Pete Kozma to a minor league deal, Anthony McCarron of New York Daily News writes. Kozma was the Cardinals’ starting shortstop in 2013, but he failed to establish himself at the position and now has a career .222/.288/.293 line in parts of five big-league seasons. He has just three extra-base hits, all doubles, in his last two seasons, spanning 137 plate appearances. He is, however, solid in the field.
- The Twins have announced that they’ve signed lefty Aaron Thompson, catcher Juan Centeno and outfielder Joe Benson to minor league deals. Thompson pitched in 41 games for the Twins last season, posting a 5.01 ERA, 4.7 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 out of the bullpen. Centeno, a longtime Mets farmhand, served as a depth catcher in the Brewers system in 2015, batting .295/.312/.364 while backing up Nevin Ashley at Triple-A Colorado Springs. The 27-year-old Benson, a Twins second-round pick in 2006, hit .248/.351/.361 last season while playing in the Mets and Braves systems.
- The Royals have signed shortstop Orlando Calixte to a minor league deal, tweets MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan. The Royals non-tendered Calixte earlier this week after the 23-year-old batted .229/.287/.339 for Triple-A Omaha.
- The Royals have also signed outfielder Cody Decker to a minor league deal, Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan tweets. The 28-year-old Decker hit .252/.335/.488 for Triple-A El Paso in the Padres’ system in 2015.
- Righty Paul Clemens has signed a minor league deal with the Marlins that includes a Spring Training invite, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman tweets. Clemens struggled in parts of two seasons pitching for the Astros in 2013 and 2014, then carried those struggles over to the minors in the Phillies and Royals systems 2015. He should provide the Marlins with minor league depth.
NL West Notes: Brazoban, Castillo, Tate, Sanchez
Though the Dodgers' bankruptcy has been the biggest news to emerge from the NL West this week, there's plenty going on with the division's other teams. Here's the latest:
- The D'Backs announced that they called up right-hander Yhency Brazoban and left-hander Alberto Castillo from Triple-A Reno and optioned right-handers Esmerling Vasquez and Bryan Shaw to Reno.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, who first reported the Brazoban callup, notes that the reliever last pitched in the Major Leagues as a member of the 2008 Dodgers. Meanwhile, Castillo had a 1.83 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 39 1/3 innings at Triple-A this year.
- Padres prospect Donavan Tate received a 50-game suspension for violating MLB's drug prevention and treatment program, according to John Manuel of Baseball America. It's the second time that Tate, the third overall selection in 2009, has tested positive for a drug of abuse. The 20-year-old has a .294/.368/.471 line through 76 plate appearances in the lower minors this year.
- Triple-A manager Steve Decker told Chris Haft and Adam Berry of MLB.com that 21-year-old catching prospect Hector Sanchez probably needs more seasoning before he can contribute in San Francisco. The Giants recently promoted Sanchez from Class A to Triple-A, but would like to see him improve his plate discipline. They're searching for big league catchers in the meantime.
Odds & Ends: Jenks, Polanco, Tate, Marquis
Some links for Thursday…
- John Manuel of Baseball America ranks all 30 MLB farm systems at SI.com. The Rangers, Rays and Giants top the list.
- ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick lists nine potential free agent bargains.
- Keith Law, Dave Cameron and Tyler Hissey don't like the Placido Polanco deal from the Phillies' standpoint.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Pirates have tentative interest in Xavier Nady and Ron Villone, who are both Scott Boras clients.
- Sam Borden of the Journal News wonders how many long-term contracts the Yanks can take on.
- The Yankees get the sense that Andy Pettitte isn't done yet, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.
- They aren't expected to consider an extension for Joe Girardi this offseason.
- Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports that the White Sox have begun preliminary talks with arbitration-eligible reliever Bobby Jenks.
- Placido Polanco appears to be nearing a three-year deal with the Phillies, but the Astros have some interest in the Gold Glover, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.
- Curtis Granderson tells MLB.com's Jason Beck that he doesn't let the trade talk get to him.
- The Rockies have tentative plans to meet with Rafael Betancourt's representatives this coming Monday, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
- As Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports, Donavan Tate, the Padres' third overall selection in the June draft, was injured in an ATV accident. He broke his jaw, but should be ready for Spring Training.
- Jason Marquis had a falling out with the Rockies, so Jon Heyman of SI.com suggests he isn't likely to accept the team's offer of arbitration.
- MLB.com's Matthew Leach explains why long-term deals are becoming less frequent in MLB.
- Juan Castro passed his physical, so his deal with the Phils is now offiicial, according to Andy Martino of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Boras On The Strasburg Negotiations
Scott Boras told 619 Sports that he was never looking to sign Stephen Strasburg to a $50MM deal, despite reports that he was using Daisuke Matsuzaka's contract as a reference point for the number one overall pick.
"I can assure you our first offer was well less than half of that," Boras said.
Here are some more points Boras makes over the course of the interview:
- Boras says revenues around baseball have increased in the last decade, so he argues that money should trickle down to players and draft picks.
- He also suggests that more teams are holding onto their players, which leads to smaller crops of free agents.
- Boras says American players deserve as much as international ones.
- Boras says J.D. Drew didn't sign with the Phillies because they told him they didn't believe him.
- The agent praises Donavan Tate and Strasburg on their intelligence.
- Boras says every organization makes mistakes with players, but suggests adding players with questionable character hurts teams most of all.
- Check out the audio for Boras' description of deadline day. It's pretty interesting stuff.
Odds And Ends: Gordon, Crow, Ordonez, Tate
Links for Wednesday…
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star says the Royals' decision to demote Alex Gordon has more to do with performance than service time.
- Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press says the Tigers had better win, especially since they'll be stuck paying Magglio Ordonez $18MM next year, "barring an influx of common sense."
- Mark Zeigler of the San Diego Union-Tribune says Donavan Tate was eager and respectful throughout his first visit to Petco Park.
- Doug Tucker of the Associated Press reports that the Royals hope to start talking contract with top pick Aaron Crow now that they've seen what other first rounders signed for. Monday's deadline did not apply to Crow because he played independent ball this year.
Padres, Donavan Tate Agree To Terms
10:02pm: According to ESPN's Keith Law, Tate's bonus is $6.25MM, and will be spread out over five years according to MLB's provisions for two sport athletes. He was also a top football recruit committed to play both sports at UNC.
9:29pm: Baseball America's Jim Callis reports that the Padres have officially announced that they've signed Tate. The terms are still unknown.
8:35pm: Lee Hamilton at SDNN.com says the two sides appear to have reached a deal, and that a press conference to announce the signing will likely happen Tuesday. Hamilton mentions that the Padres "went beyond the $3.4 million recommended signing slot" to get the deal done (which we all expected), and reminds us that Tate is in San Diego.
5:44pm: Jon Heyman of SI.com is reporting that the Padres and third overall pick Donavan Tate are close to an agreement on a deal. Heyman says it's believed to be worth about $6MM. Over the weekend we learned that Tate and agent Scott Boras were looking for a $6.5MM bonus.
Tom Krasovic hears that Tate will take batting practice with the big league team tomorrow.
Gammons’ Latest: Tate, Turner, Oliver
In his latest blog post at ESPN.com, Peter Gammons says that there "are rumblings that the commissioner's office wants to hold off the announcement of some of the bigger deals so they do not impact others." He hears the following deals are done according to GMs:
- Padres and first rounder Donovan Tate at $6.7MM, which had been done for five days
- Tigers and first rounder Jacob Turner at $6.7MM
- Tigers and second rounder Andy Oliver at $1MM
Gammons also says that the Giants and first rounder Zack Wheeler are close to a deal at $3.4MM, and that there are "conflicting reports" on Colorado signing Tyler Matzek and Texas signing Matt Purke, both first round picks. The Indians and Alex White are deadlocked, but the Tribe could go near $2MM.
Padres Sign Williams; Tate Is Now In San Diego
The Padres signed their second rounder and appear to be making progress with their first rounder…
- ESPN.com's Keith Law says the Padres signed second rounder Everett Williams to a deal worth $775k. Some teams considered taking Williams in the first round, but backed off because they feared his bonus demands. Now that he signed for less than $1MM, Law says those fears seem unfounded in hindsight. Williams projects as a top-of-the-order hitter who can play center field.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America hears that first rounder Donavan Tate is in San Diego to take a physical. However, this doesn't mean the Padres will sign Tate, who they selected third overall in June.
Padres Confident About Signing Tate
Corey Brock at MLB.com says the Padres are confident they'll sign Donovan Tate, likely close to the midnight (eastern time) deadline tomorrow.
Yesterday, there was a report that the Padres had agreed to a deal for $6.5MM with their first round pick before Pads GM Kevin Towers said it wasn't "a done deal. Still working on it."
Brock notes that Tate is not the only pick that the Padres need to sign. Everett Williams and Keyvius Sampson, their 2nd and 4th rounders respectively, remain unsigned. Williams, says Brock, could be tricky to sign since he was perceived as a first round pick that slid into the second round.