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Hernan Iribarren

NL Central Notes: Iribarren, Kang, Pina/Marinez, Williams

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Hernan Iribarren has enjoyed a largely unremarkable major league career, but he still has an interesting personal tale to tell C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Once a reasonably notable prospect, Iribarren hasn’t quite yet appeared in fifty MLB games. And at 32 years of age, he’s unlikely to make a significant on-field impact for the Reds organization even if he does crack the MLB roster. Still, writes Rosecrans, Iribarren’s presence will continue to be felt, as he has provided invaluable mentoring to a variety of Cincinnati players — most notably, fellow Venezuelan infielders Jose Peraza and Eugenio Suarez.

Here’s more from the NL Central:

  • GM Neal Huntington suggested that the Pirates are basically resigned to the fact that third baseman Jung Ho Kang will not be available on Opening Day, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports on Twitter. There still has not been any movement on Kang’s visa application following his conviction for driving drunk in his native South Korea. Even assuming he’s able to make it over in short order, there’ll probably be at least some time required for him to get up to speed.
  • The Brewers have informed catcher Manny Pina and righty Jhan Marinez that they’ll be on the active roster to open the year, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy reports (Twitter links). Both were among the many Milwaukee 40-man members who enter the year without any options, so the news means that the club will avoid the need to expose them to waivers. Pina, 29, has a thin MLB track record but will share duties behind the plate with either Jett Bandy or Andrew Susac; the latter is currently dealing with neck and back issues, clouding his outlook, though both still have options. As for Marinez, he will have a chance to follow up on his solid 2016 season, in which he threw 62 1/3 innings of 3.18 ERA ball with 7.2 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9.
  • Meanwhile, the Brewers received some disappointing news on the farm, as righty Devin Williams is headed for Tommy John surgery, per Jim Callis of MLB.com (via Twitter). In the most recent prospect rankings of the MLB.com team, Williams takes the 18th spot among Milwaukee farmhands. The 22-year-old, a second-round pick in 2013, reached the High-A level last year and is said to carry future mid-rotation upside.

NL Central Notes: Masterson, Iribarren, Ramirez

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The Reds worked out free-agent righty Justin Masterson today, reports MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon (on Twitter). The 31-year-old Masterson (32 later this month) is eyeing a return to the Majors after spending the 2016 campaign with the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate following 2015 shoulder surgery. While it’s now been several years since Masterson pitched up to his ceiling — he logged a 3.45 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and a 58 percent ground-ball rate in 2013 — there certainly wouldn’t be any risk in adding him to the team’s mix of arms in camp. Right-hander Anthony DeSclafani just dodged a bullet after a minor elbow scare, and right-hander Homer Bailey is out for the first couple months of the season following elbow surgery. Unsurprisingly, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes that the Reds would only have interest in a minor league deal for Masterson.

Here’s more from the NL Central…

  • The Reds are giving serious consideration to carrying utility infielder Hernan Iribarren on their Opening Day roster, MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon reports. Iribarren, 32, appeared in 24 games last year for Cincinnati, doubling his prior tally in the majors. He posted good results at Triple-A, too, after struggling in prior years at the highest level of the minors. But while he offers some versatility, he doesn’t play shortstop, and the overall profile doesn’t suggest he ought to have a real shot at serving as more than an injury replacement. Still, manager Bryan Price explains that the organization values Iribarren’s makeup and also thinks it may be possible “to get the best of him a little bit late in his career than most.”
  • Brewers first base prospect Nick Ramirez is attempting a conversion back to the mound, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports. For the time being, at least, he’ll work as a two-way player — as he did in college — though it sounds as if the early returns speak in favor of full dedication to pitching. The southpaw has already regained the feel for his change, the key pitch in his arsenal. “Somehow, my pitches got better with the five-year hiatus,” he says. Ramirez struggled to a .206/.316/.404 batting line in 329 Double-A plate appearances last year, his third-straight year at that level, but it seems he may have found another path to the majors.

Reds Announce Minor-League Signings, Non-Roster Invitations

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The Reds have announced 18 non-roster invitations to MLB camp this spring, as C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. That includes a variety of internal players as well as a few outside additions: southpaw Lucas Luetge along with catchers Rob Brantly and Shawn Zarraga.

Luetge, 29, spent 2016 at Triple-A for the Angels after spending parts of four seasons in the majors with the Mariners. He ended the campaign with 55 2/3 innings of 4.85 ERA pitching. Though he managed a healthy 9.4 K/9, Luetge continued to issue a few too many free passes (4.7 BB/9).

The 27-year-old Brantly has seen action in three major league seasons, hitting .225/.286/.317 over 392 plate appearances. At Triple-A with the Mariners last year, he slashed .244/.268/.432 over 315 trips to the plate. He also chipped in a personal-best 14 long balls.

Zarraga, also 27, will also join the group of backstops hoping to establish a place in the pecking order. He reached base at a useful .384 clip in 99 Double-A plate appearances with the Dodgers in 2016, but struggled with the bat in limited action at the highest level of the minors. Zarraga is still looking for his first crack at the majors.

Other players receiving big league invites include, on the position-player side, catcher Chad Wallach, infielders Brandon Dixon, Tony Renda (who was recently outrighted), and Zach Vincej, utilitymen Hernan Iribarren (who will stay with Cincinnati after also being outrighted) and Patrick Kivlehan (claimed and then outrighted in October), as well as outfielders Sebastian Elizalde and Gabriel Guerrero (who was claimed, non-tendered, and then re-signed to a minors deal). Among pitchers, lefties Ismael Guillon and Nick Routt are joined by righties Alejandro Chacin, Jimmy Herget, Tyler Mahle, Evan Mitchell, Kevin Shackelford, and — perhaps most intriguingly — just-signed Cuban hurler Vladimir Gutierrez.

Reds Outright Caleb Cotham, Yorman Rodriguez, Hernan Iribarren

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The Reds announced today that right-hander Caleb Cotham, outfielder Yorman Rodriguez and infielder Hernan Iribarren have all been outrighted off the 40-man roster.

Of the three, Cotham, 29 next week, played the most notable role in 2016. The reliever was one of four players that Cincinnati acquired from the Yankees in exchange for Aroldis Chapman, but he was unable to provide much in the way of value prior to his removal from the roster. In 24 1/3 innings, Cotham yielded 20 earned runs on 32 hits and 12 walks with 21 strikeouts, resulting in a 7.40 earned run average. All of that work came in the first two months of the season, as some inflammation in his right shoulder landed Cotham on the 15-day disabled list, and he suffered a knee injury in the minors that ultimately ended his season.

Rodriguez, 24, has been one of the Reds’ top 20 prospects in each of the past eight offseasons, per Baseball America, but a hamstring injury cost him nearly all of the 2016 season. Rodriguez appeared in just 11 games, all coming at the Double-A level, and batted .346/.370/.385. He batted .269/.308/.429 in 85 Triple-A games last season and missed significant time with a calf injury. Baseball America’s report on him from last winter noted that he’s an above-average runner with a plus arm in right field but fringe-average power and a hit tool that’s average, at best. Rodriguez was a high-profile signing for Cincinnati back in 2008 when he received a $2.5MM bonus as a 16-year-old out of Venezuela, but he was never able to deliver on that investment.

Iribarren, 32, improbably returned to the Major Leagues after a six-year absence and hit well for the Reds in a limited role. The veteran utilityman slashed .311/.311/.444 with three triples in 45 plate appearances, while spending time in center field and right field as well as at second base. Iribarren has just 74 plate appearances in the Majors but has played parts of a dozen seasons in the minors and batted .300/.359/.393 while appearing at every position on the diamond except catcher. Iribarren has even thrown 11 2/3 innings with the Reds’ Triple-A team from 2014-16, somewhat remarkably yielding only one run on four hits and two walks. However, he’s also only struck out a pair of batters and hit three men as well.

Minor Moves: Valdez, Graham, Iribarren, Morales, Jackson, Hensley

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We'll keep track of today's minor moves here (information courtesy of MLB.com transactions page):

  • Righty Jose Valdez has inked a minor league contract with the Red Sox. The 30-year-old has seen 24 big league games with the Astros, but worked last year at Triple-A, putting up a 5.72 ERA in 39 1/3 innings. Valdez has shown the ability to miss bats (career 8.7 K/9), but also tends to miss spots (5.2 BB/9).
  • Tyler Graham, a 29-year-old outfielder, has signed a minor league deal with the Giants. Graham spent all of 2006-11 with the San Francisco organization, then split 2012 between the Giants and Diamondbacks. He got a cup of coffee with the D-Backs (two plate appearances), but ended up out of the MLB structure thereafter. Last year, he bounced between four Independent and Mexican League clubs. In his last full Triple-A season, 2011, Graham posted a .273/.337/.338 line with 60 stolen bases.
  • The Reds have signed a minor league deal with second baseman Hernan Iribarren. The 29-year-old Venezuelan received 29 plate appearances over 2008-09 but has yet to return. Last year, with the Rockies' Triple-A affiliate, Iribarren slashed .312/.367/.407 in 286 plate appearances.
  • Outfielder Angel Morales has reached agreement on a minor league contract with the Marlins. The 2007 third-round pick had spent his entire career with the Twins organization, reaching the Double-A level last year at age 23. Morales earned the promotion with a .297/.364/.525 start to the year in 234 High-A plate appearances, but failed to follow up in the penultimate level of the minors (.169/.230/.307 in 184 plate appearances).
  • The Nationals have signed southpaw Zach Jackson to a minor league deal. Now 30, Jackson saw 105 1/3 innings over the 2006-09 period after being drafted in the first round of the 2004 amateur draft. Jackson has bounced around the league, failing to stick as a starter. Last year, after converting full-time to relief for the Royals, he pitched to a 1.32 ERA in 41 innings at Double-A and Triple-A. Jackson managed a sturdy 2.57 K:BB ratio in 2013, but did so on the back of just 4.0 K/9 (against a career-low 1.5 BB/9).
  • Washington also signed righty Clay Hensley to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite, MLB.com's Bill Ladson reports on Twitter. The 34-year-old last saw MLB time in 2012 with the Giants, when he had a 4.62 ERA over 50 2/3 innings of relief. Over his career, Hensley has started 49 big league games and appeared in over 200 others out of the pen. He threw to a 2.57 ERA in 35 Triple-A innings last year with Reds and Brewers affiliates, registering 9.8 K/9 against 4.9 BB/9 in the process.
  • One player appears in MLBTR's DFA Tracker with an unresolved case: Carlos Peguero of the Mariners.

Minor Moves: Rockies, Jayson Nix, Travis Webb

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Here are some minor transactions from around baseball…

Minor Deals: Iribarren, Yankees, Zavada, Hernandez

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The latest minor league deals, with fresh updates up top:

  • The Rockies have signed utilityman Hernan Iribarren to a minor league contract, reports MLB.com's Thomas Harding.  Iribarren, 26, last played in the majors with Milwaukee in 2009, and spent last season playing with Texas' Triple-A affiliate.  Harding says Iribarren's deal includes an invitation to Colorado's Major League Spring Training camp.
  • The Yankees claimed righty Brian Schlitter from the Cubs, according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat (on Twitter). Schlitter, 25, appeared in seven games for the Cubs last year. He spent most of the season at Triple-A Iowa, where he posted a 3.15 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 45 2/3 innings.
  • The D'Backs re-signed lefty Clay Zavada. The 26-year-old thrived in 49 relief appearances in 2009, posting 9.2 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9. He spent part of the 2010 season at Triple-A Reno, but appeared in just five games before undergoing Tommy John surgery. 
  • The Royals re-signed right-hander Gaby Hernandez. Hernandez started 22 games for Kansas City's Triple-A affiliate in 2010, posting a 4.91 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 144 2/3 innings. The Mets selected Hernandez in the third round of the 2004 draft and he has also spent time in the Marlins and Mariners organizations.
  • The Padres added some catching depth, signing Guillermo Quiroz. The 29-year-old, who has big league experisnce with the Mariners, Blue Jays, Rangers and Orioles, spent last year in Seattle's minor league system. The backstop hit .286/.347/.431 in 361 minor league plate appearances. The Mariners have added two former Padres catchers this winter: Miguel Olivo and Josh Bard (a player I thought could have fit well on the 2011 Padres). San Diego already has former Mariner Rob Johnson, and the Padres continue to look for catching depth.

Rangers Claim Hernan Iribarren Off Waivers

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12:13pm: The Rangers have claimed Iribarren, tweets Haudricourt. Texas was on the lookout for a utility player after voiding Khalil Greene's contract. 

12:03pm: The Brewers have placed infielder Hernan Iribarren on waivers according to Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel, and they expire today. Iribarren is out of options, and needs to clear waivers to go to the minors.

The 25-year-old is a .185/.241/.296 hitter in 29 big league plate appearances, though he's a .314/.371/.418 hitter in the minor leagues. Iribarren has spent the majority of his time at second base, though he's also seen a little time at third and in the outfield. 

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