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East Notes: Tillman, Bonifacio, Nats, Kendrick

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Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman received a cortisone injection in his right shoulder today, as Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun writes. Manager Buck Showalter told reporters that the O’s are “encouraged” with Tillman’s recent progress and are planning to see how he reacts to the cortisone shot a few days from now before determining exactly when Tillman can return to the mound. Showalter again stated that Tillman isn’t expected to be ready for Opening Day, but Encina notes that the cortisone injection will hopefully allow Tillman to debut for the Orioles at some point in April. Certainly the Orioles will hope for a speedy recovery, as Tillman represents one of the top three arms in their rotation. But for Tillman, personally, there’s quite a bit at stake, as he’s slated to become a free agent at season’s end.

More from the game’s Eastern divisions…

  • Veteran utilityman Emilio Bonifacio is making a “strong push” to break camp with the Braves at the end of Spring Training, according to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Bonifacio had a pair of poor seasons in 2015-16 and acknowledged to O’Brien that his conditioning in recent seasons has fallen off. Bonifacio reported to camp in better shape than he has in the past couple of years and has performed well while showing the ability to play all second base, third base and all three outfield positions. The Braves don’t currently have a fourth outfield option that has much in the way of center-field experience, so the versatile Bonifacio could fill a need in that regard.
  • While the Nationals aren’t publicly acknowledging the possibility, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post writes that the team can very likely only carry one of Adam Lind or Clint Robinson on the bench this season. And, with Lind having inked a Major League contract with an option for the 2018 campaign earlier this year, he’s the likelier candidate to claim that vacant bench spot. The 32-year-old Robinson is out of minor league options, so he’d have to clear waivers or break camp with the team if the Nationals hope to retain him.
  • Right-hander Kyle Kendrick has improbably gone from a long shot to make the Red Sox’ roster to perhaps their best option to serve as the team’s sixth starter, writes Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Drellich notes that Boston’s crowded rotation picture, featuring stars like Chris Sale, David Price and Rick Porcello, made it difficult to lure starting depth on minor league deals. Kendrick, though, was drawn to a winning environment in Boston. Additionally, his agent, John Boggs, also represents Sean O’Sullivan, who spoke highly of his own experience with the Sox in a role similar to the one for which Kendrick is competing. Kendrick explains to Drellich that he was plagued by shoulder troubles in recent years and altered his pitch selection at the Rockies’ request upon moving to Coors Field. His hope is that with his more traditional mix of pitches and a healthy shoulder, he can return to the form that allowed him to log a 4.30 ERA in 862 innings with the Phillies from 2009-14.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/9/16

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • The Astros added infielder Reid Brignac on a minor-league deal, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports on Twitter. His contract includes a spring invite. Brignac, 30, has bounced around quite a bit since his days as a frequent contributor to the Rays earlier in his career, appearing most recently with the Braves. The former top prospect has appeared in each of the last nine major league seasons, but hasn’t cracked 100 plate appearances in a single year since 2011. All told, Brignac owns a .219/.264/.309 batting line over 951 trips to the plate in the majors.

Earlier Moves

  • Southpaw Sean Burnett will head to camp with the Phillies, according to SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). If he can crack the roster, Burnett will receive a $1.25MM salary if and when he pitches in the majors, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter links). The deal also includes $1.75MM in available incentives along with a March 26 opt-out date, per Nicholson-Smith. Burnett, 34, returned to the majors in 2016 with the Nationals after missing time due to injury. He posted a 3.18 ERA with three strikeouts and a walk over 5 2/3 innings across ten appearances in his return to D.C., and figures to have a shot at earning a lefty specialist role in Philadelphia.
  • The Braves have a minor-league deal in place to bring back infielder Emilio Bonifacio, Cotillo tweets. Now 31, Bonifacio has played in the majors in ten consecutive seasons. But his opportunities have dwindled of late, and he spent most of 2016 at Triple-A. In his 471 plate appearances at Gwinnett, Bonifacio slashed a solid .298/.356/.369. He could conceivably challenge for a utility role next spring.
  • Outfielder Junior Lake will join the Red Sox on a minor-league pact, per Cotillo (via Twitter). The 26-year-old, a right-handed hitter, cracked the majors briefly this past season with the Blue Jays and has appeared in each of the past four MLB campaigns. But Lake has seen only 51 games of action since playing an active reserve role for the Cubs in 2013-14. He hit .231/.314/.352 over 318 plate appearances last year at Triple-A.
  • Righty Logan Bawcom is headed to the Padres on a minor-league deal, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. Bawcom has yet to crack the big leagues, but showed well in the upper minors last year in the Dodgers organization. Spending most of his time at Triple-A, the 28-year-old posted 98 innings of 1.93 ERA ball over a dozen starts and 24 relief appearances, with 7.3 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9.
  • The Mariners outrighted lefty Dean Kiekhefer, the club announced. He had recently been designated for assignment. A 22-inning MLB debut in 2016 didn’t go very well, as Kiekhefer pitched to a 5.32 ERA for the Cardinals, but he has posted sub-3.00 earned run averages in each of the past three seasons in the upper minors.
  • Catcher Johnny Monell is heading to Korea, but it’s the KT Wiz and not the NC Dinos who’ll sign him. Cotillo had reported a connection to the Changwon-based Dinos yesterday, but says that the destination changed after that arrangement fell through. (Twitter link.)

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/17/16

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Here are the latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Rangers outrighted left-hander Michael Roth to Triple-A after he accepted the assignment, club executive VP of communications John Blake tweets.  Roth was designated for assignment earlier this week.  The southpaw appeared in just one game for the Rangers this season (allowing six ER over 3 2/3 relief innings) while posting a 2.97 ERA, 2.24 K/BB rate and 5.8 K/9 over 145 1/3 innings at Triple-A, with 23 of his 28 outings coming as a starter.
  • The Braves selected the contracts of utilityman Emilio Bonifacio and third baseman Rio Ruiz from Triple-A Gwinnett, the team announced.  Catcher A.J. Pierzynski and righty Rob Whalen were shifted to the 60-day DL in corresponding moves to create roster space.  Bonifacio was outrighted off Atlanta’s 40-man roster earlier this summer, and the veteran has appeared in just 15 games for the Braves in 2016.  Ruiz, 22, is getting his first taste of the majors after hitting .271/.355/.400 with 10 homers and 24 doubles over 533 Triple-A plate appearances this season.  MLB.com ranked Ruiz as the 15th-best prospect in the Braves’ system.

Braves Outright Emilio Bonifacio

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TODAY: Bonifacio has been outrighted off the Braves’ 40-man roster and assigned to Triple-A, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets.  Bonifacio had the option of rejecting this assignment and becoming a free agent, but he will indeed head to Gwinnett.

THURSDAY: The Braves announced this afternoon that they’ve activated infielder Gordon Beckham from the disabled list and designated veteran utilityman Emilio Bonifacio for assignment in order to clear a spot on the roster.

Bonifacio, 31, was brought up to the Majors last month after opening the season in Triple-A. He appeared in 15 games with Atlanta in what was his second stint with the Braves (he also played for Atlanta back in 2012) and batted .129/.206/.129 in 36 trips to the plate this time around. The fleet-footed Bonifacio has enjoyed better results at Triple-A Gwinnett this season, hitting .271/.321/.319 in 252 trips to the plate. Assuming he’s outrighted, Bonifacio has the necessary service time to reject an assignment to a minor league club in favor of free agency, though it’s not uncommon for veterans in his spot to accept an outright assignment.

In parts of 10 big league seasons, Bonifacio is a career .257/.314/.334 that has averaged 34 stolen bases per 162 games played.

Mallex Smith Out 8-10 Weeks Due To Fractured Thumb

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The Braves announced today that left fielder Mallex Smith has been placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a fractured left thumb that will sideline him for the next eight to 10 weeks. To fill his spot on the roster, the Braves have selected the contract of fleet-footed veteran Emilio Bonifacio from Triple-A.

[Related: Updated Atlanta Braves depth chart]

Smith, 23, came to Atlanta in the 2014-15 offseason’s Justin Upton trade and worked his way onto the big league roster earlier this season when Ender Inciarte hit the disabled list. However, even upon Inciarte’s activation, Smith stuck on the roster. The speedster is hitting .237/.312/.379 with three homers and 14 steals in the Majors this season and has drawn excellent marks from both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating while splitting his time between left field and center field.

Bonifacio will be returning to the Braves for his second stint, having previously spent the second half of the 2014 campaign with Atlanta following a trade from the Cubs. He’s hitting .271/.321/.319 with 22 stolen bases through 252 plate appearances with the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate this season. Presumably, he’ll see quite a bit of time in left field, though he’s also plenty experienced at second base and has more than 1000 big league innings at the hot corner, so Atlanta could bounce him around the diamond as needed.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/1/16

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Here are today’s minor transactions from around baseball:

  • The Indians have placed catcher Roberto Perez on the disabled list with a thumb injury and recalled Adam Moore from Triple-A to take his place, according to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link). Perez, Yan Gomes’ backup, was a 1.7-fWAR player in just 70 games last year, but he has only appeared in four contests this season, going without a hit in 15 PAs. In 287 big league PAs, the 31-year-old Moore and has hit a weak .201/.241/.309.
  • The Nationals activated catcher Wilson Ramos from the bereavement list before their game against the Cardinals on Sunday and optioned backstop Pedro Severino to Triple-A, per Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com (on Twitter). Ramos, a career .259/.301/.413 hitter over 1,839 big league PAs, batted a solid .316/.328/.491 with two home runs and threw out four of eight base stealers in April. Severino appeared in only one game and logged three PAs in Ramos’ absence.
  • The White Sox have activated closer David Robertson from the bereavement list and optioned right-hander Tommy Kahnle to Triple-A, reports Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago (Twitter link). Robertson, who hasn’t pitched since Wednesday, has converted eight of nine save opportunities this season in dominant fashion. The 31-year-old has racked up 13 strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings of work while surrendering a single run. Kahnle threw an inning for the White Sox prior to today and walked two batters.
  • The Braves recalled utilityman Emilio Bonifacio from Triple-A and optioned right-handed reliever Chris Withrow on Sunday morning. However, because of a rule technicality the Braves were unaware of, they can’t activate Bonifacio today, tweets David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Specifically, the Braves need to wait 30 days from the date they released Bonifacio (April 6) to activate him, per O’Brien (Twitter link).  Atlanta brought back the switch-hitting Bonifacio on a minor league deal after it released him. He owns a career .259/.316/.337 line in 2,807 major league plate appearances and will lengthen the Braves’ bench if he’s ultimately activated. Atlanta needed reserve depth after it had utilized a 13-man pitching staff over the last couple weeks, as Mark Bowman of MLB.com wrote Saturday. Withrow, a former Dodger, threw seven innings with the Braves prior to today, striking out four and allowing three earned runs on five hits and five walks. Those seven frames were Withrow’s first in the majors since 2014, as he underwent Tommy John surgery that year and later required surgery on a herniated disk in his lower back.

Braves Re-Sign Emilio Bonifacio To Minor-League Deal

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The Braves have re-signed veteran infielder/outfielder Emilio Bonifacio to a minor-league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Gwinnett, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Last we heard, the Braves had designated Bonifacio for assignment last week, so it appears he got through waivers.

The Braves signed Bonifacio to a big-league deal last offseason, but he didn’t make the team, as the Braves opted for Jeff Francoeur and Drew Stubbs as backup outfield options. Bonifacio collected 82 plate appearances for the White Sox last year, but he played for the Braves for part of the 2014 season. For his career, Bonifacio has batted .259/.316/.337 while playing seven different positions and for eight different teams.

Braves Designate Emilio Bonifacio For Assignment

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The Braves have designated infielder/outfielder Emilio Bonifacio for assignment, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s David O’Brien tweets. Bonifacio signed a one-year, $1.25MM deal with the team in December. Nonetheless, the Braves had other options they liked better in camp, and Bonifacio’s fate was likely sealed by Jeff Francoeur making the team and the Braves adding Drew Stubbs in a late-breaking move.

Bonifacio played sparingly for the White Sox in 2015, but collected 426 plate appearances in 2014, some of those with the Braves after arriving in a July trade. In the last three seasons, he’s batted .243/.291/.325 in 969 plate appearances while playing second, third, shortstop and all three outfield positions.

NL East Notes: Nationals, Belisle, Phillies, Hunter, Francouer

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Over the years, we’ve heard much about the Cardinals Way – an organization-wide process credited with developing several untouted prospects into major league regulars. More recently, the Pirates Way of developing pitchers has been mentioned more and more frequently. The Nationals have developed their own Way, writes Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. Janes goes into the details of a system that depends on consistency from the minor league coaching staff. Catchers are a lynchpin in helping pitchers to develop. Coordinators rove between the affiliates as pseudo-quality control officials. The details provide an interesting glimpse under the hood of the Nationals minor league system.

Here’s more from the NL East:

  • Nationals reliever Matt Belisle may decide to opt out of his contract tomorrow afternoon, writes Bill Ladson of MLB.com. Belisle inked a minor league contract with the Nationals earlier in the winter. His opt out day is tomorrow. To this point, he’s allowed three runs in five and one-third innings. Washington does appear to have a full bullpen in place without Belisle, making it hard to see a spot for him on the 40-man roster. Belisle himself is unsure if he’ll exercise the opt out. His best years came in Colorado from 2011 through 2013.
  • The Phillies still have two or three unclaimed spots in their bullpen, writes Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. Manager Pete Mackanin said the club may add an arm via trade or waivers. There’s also “a good possibility” the team will roll with three left-handed relievers. Dailer Hinojosa, Jeanmar Gomez, David Hernandez, and Brett Oberholtzer are the four guys with relative secure jobs. Salisbury believes veteran Edward Mujica is likely to make the team too, while Andrew Bailey has fallen off in recent outings. Rule 5 pick Daniel Stumpf may be at an advantage if the organization wants to keep him. He would be one of the lefties. Salisbury has a full account of the 12 relievers still in the mix.
  • Injuries to the Phillies outfield could open an opportunity for minor league journeyman Cedric Hunter, writes Salisbury. The 28-year-old received five plate appearances from the Padres in 2011. The rest of his career has been spent in the minors. Hunter hit .283/.331/.420 in 515 Triple-A plate appearances with the Braves last season. He also hit 12 home runs with 11 stolen bases. Mackanin is impressed with Hunter’s work in camp, saying “he’s looked good all spring. He’s squared the ball up as well as anyone all spring and he’s shown a good arm. I like him a lot.” The lefty could make for a useful platoon option with Rule 5 pick Tyler Goeddel.
  • Updating a report from yesterday, Braves outfielder Jeff Francoeur is likely competing with Emilio Bonifacio and Michael Bourn for one of two spots, writes Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Bowman suggests the club is set to either trade or release Nick Swisher, but their plans for Bonifacio and Bourn are less certain. Last season, Francouer drew praise from Phillies players and coaches for his role as a mentor. The Braves are in a similar rebuild, adding value to mentor-type veterans.

NL East Notes: Mujica, Frieri, Francoeur, Foltynewicz, Gant

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Let’s take a look at a few spring roster battles out of the NL East to round out the evening …

  • Like most organizations, the Phillies have several opt-out dates approaching — particularly in their relief corps. As MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes, the Phils face potential decisions on Edward Mujica (Saturday) and Ernesto Frieri (next Thursday) in short order, with Andrew Bailey (May 1) and James Russell (June 1) to follow. Mujica seems destined for a big league job, says Zolecki, while it’s not clear that Frieri will make it onto the active roster after rough results thus far.
  • Members of Braves brass like Jeff Francoeur as a right-handed bench bat, which means the club could elect to give him its last outfield spot over Nick Swisher and Emilio Bonifacio, according to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Braves brought Swisher to camp with the hope that he’d show well enough to entice another team to trade for him. While Swisher has hit .294/.429/.382 in 34 at-bats, a deal hasn’t come along. Thus, the Braves could ultimately eat the 12-year veteran’s entire $15MM salary in order to get rid of him. Bonifacio, who’s due a much more palatable $1.25MM this year, is potentially movable. If not, the Braves will have an easier time eating his contract than Swisher’s.
  • Elsewhere, Mike Foltynewicz is favored to beat out Williams Perez and Manny Banuelos for the Braves’ fifth starter spot, per O’Brien. Regardless, the Braves won’t need a fifth starter until April 12, so they might start the season with an eight-man bullpen. That would ostensibly bode well, at least temporarily, for the out-of-options Jose Ramirez and Rule 5 pick Dan Winkler.
  • MLB.com’s Mark Bowman agrees that Foltynewicz is making a strong case for a rotation slot with the Braves. He has recovered quicker than expected from a scary bout with a blood clot. Meanwhile, John Gant has remained in the running longer than might have been expected. Per Bowman, the 23-year-old, who came over in last year’s Juan Uribe/Kelly Johnson swap with the division-rival Mets, may be in line behind Foltynewicz and Jhoulys Chacin.
  • Meanwhile, the Braves will be looking around for southpaw relievers as players begin to shake loose from other organizations, Bowman suggests. Ian Krol has underwhelmed and doesn’t seem likely to take a roster spot, leaving Alex Torres as perhaps the only southpaw currently in camp who’ll be on the Opening Day roster. One internal option that could re-enter the picture, he adds, is Hunter Cervenka, who has already been shipped down to minor league camp.

Connor Byrne contributed to this post.

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