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Jason Coats

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/7/19

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Here are Thursday’s minor moves from around the game…

  • The Rays re-signed outfielder Jason Coats to a minor league pact and invited him to MLB Spring Training, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Coats, who’ll turn 29 later this month, spent the 2018 season with Tampa Bay’s Triple-A affiliate, where he hit .247/.293/.448 with 15 home runs. Coats has a bit of big league time under his belt, having tallied 28 games with the White Sox in 2016. While he struggled to get on base last season, though, he has a stronger track record in Triple-A overall, where he’s a .277/.327/.462 hitter in nearly 1300 plate appearances.
  • The Dodgers have signed righty J.D. Martin to a minor league pact, tweets Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. A first-rounder way back in 2001, Martin never established himself in the Majors but has been working to reinvent himself as a knuckleballer over the past three seasons. Martin spent last year with the Rays’ Double-A affiliate, where he posted a 4.49 ERA with 5.1 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9 in 124 1/3 innings of work. Those numbers aren’t exactly encouraging, though the knuckleball is still fairly new to Martin. As Rosenthal notes, he’ll work with Dodgers adviser Charlie Hough on further refining his ability to utilize the increasingly rare pitch.
  • The Dodgers have also signed veteran Cody Asche to a minor league deal, tweets J.P Hoornstra of Southern California News Group. Asche, 28, spent the entire 2018 season in AAA, hitting .220/.304/.399 across 368 plate appearances. He last appeared in the majors with the Chicago White Sox in 2017, where he played 19 games mostly as a DH. Hoornstra notes that Asche will not receive an invite to spring training with Los Angeles.
  • The Mets have signed left-handed pitcher Sean Burnett to a minor league contract, tweets the New York Post’s Ken Davidoff. The deal, Davidoff notes, does not include an invite to MLB spring training. Burnett spent the 2018 season pitching primarily with the Marlins’ AAA affiliate, where he posted a 5.49 ERA, although he flashed more promising peripherals. He struck out 10.5 batters per nine innings while walking just 2.3, good for a 4.6 K/BB ratio. Burnett, 36, has not pitched in the majors since 2016. For his career, he has pitched to a 3.52 ERA in 378 1/3 major-league innings.

Minor MLB Transactions: 3/13/2017

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

  • The Cubs announced that they’ve granted right-hander Maikel Cleto his release. The hard-throwing 27-year-old hasn’t appeared in the Majors since tossing 29 1/3 innings for the 2014 White Sox. Since that time, Cleto has had some Triple-A success in both the White Sox and Braves organizations, logging a combined 2.75 ERA with 11.5 K/9 against 4.6 BB/9. Cleto has never had much of an issue missing bats, but his control has always been problematic for years. He owns a 6.60 ERA and a 58-to-30 K/BB ratio in 45 Major League innings.

Earlier Moves

  • Outfielder Jason Coats has re-signed with the Rays on a minor league deal after being released earlier this winter, per Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. Tampa Bay claimed Coats, 27, off waivers from the White Sox back in January, but he tore his UCL the same day that he was claimed, prompting the Rays to cut him loose to free up a 40-man roster spot. Now, he’ll spend the 2017 season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery as a member of the Rays organization, it seems. Coats batted just .200/.298/.340 in a brief MLB debut last year (58 plate appearances), but he had a huge year with Triple-A Charlotte, batting .330/.394/.519 with 10 homers, 22 doubles and a pair of triples in 332 PAs.

Rays Release Jason Coats

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The Rays announced that they’ve released outfielder Jason Coats to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Colby Rasmus, whose one-year deal with the team is now official. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that the decision stems from the fact that Coats tore his UCL later the same day that he was claimed off waivers from the White Sox. He’ll require Tommy John surgery to repair the issue and presumably miss the 2017 season.

The 27-year-old Coats made his Major League debut with the ChiSox in 2016, batting .200/.298/.340 in a tiny sample of 58 plate appearances. However, he also posted a monster year in Triple-A Charlotte, where he batted .330/.394/.519 with 10 homers, 22 doubles and a pair of triples in just 332 plate appearances. That breakout makes his injury quite untimely, as Coats could’ve conceivably gotten a look in the Majors as a reserve in 2016 even after the addition of Rasmus. Tampa Bay already traded Mikie Mahtook to the Tigers this month, while other outfield options such as Taylor Motter and Richie Shaffer were sent to Seattle earlier in the winter. The Rays have also acquired Mallex Smith in addition to Rasmus, but Coats, who has 350+ innings at all three outfield positions in the minors, certainly could’ve at the very least challenged for a role at some point in 2017.

Rays Claim Jason Coats, Designate Dylan Floro

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The Rays have claimed outfielder Jason Coats off waivers from the White Sox. In a corresponding move, the team designated righty Dylan Floro for assignment.

Coats, 27 next month, was designated for assignment by the White Sox recently when they claimed fellow outfielder Willy Garcia off waivers from the Pirates. A former 29th-round selection by Chicago, Coats made his Major League debut with the ChiSox in 2016, batting .200/.298/.340 in a tiny sample of 58 plate appearances. Coats has spent more time in right field than any other outfield spot (by a wide margin) in his minor league career, but he does have 350 innings of work or more at all three positions. He’s also coming off a monster year in Triple-A Charlotte, where he batted .330/.394/.519 with 10 homers, 22 doubles and a pair of triples in just 332 plate appearances.

Floro recently turned 26 and, like Coats, made his big league debut in 2016. He picked up 15 innings out of the Tampa Bay bullpen and allowed seven earned runs (4.20 ERA) with 14 strikeouts against four unintentional walks to go along with a 54.7 percent ground-ball rate. Floro averaged a respectable 92.5 mph on his fastball and enjoyed a successful season at the Triple-A level, logging 50 innings with a 2.88 ERA, 7.2 K/9, 1.6 BB/9 and a 56.5 percent ground-ball rate. Given his excellent control (career 1.3 BB/9 in the minors) and strong ground-ball tendencies, it seems as though he could be a candidate to be claimed if the Rays ultimately expose him to outright waivers.

White Sox Claim Willy Garcia, Designate Jason Coats For Assignment

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The White Sox announced on Friday that they’ve claimed outfielder Willy Garcia off waivers from the Pirates and designated fellow outfielder Jason Coats for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. Garcia was designated for assignment by the Pirates last weekend to open space for Ivan Nova on Pittsburgh’s roster.

The 24-year-old Garcia posted solid numbers throughout his minor league tenure until reaching the Triple-A level, where he’s struggled to a .245/.290/.388 batting line in 790 plate appearances across the past two seasons. However, Garcia delivered strong production at the Double-A level in parts of two seasons, hitting .285/.324/.467 with 23 homers and 11 steals in 698 trips to the plate. Baseball America rated him 12th among Pirates prospects just last offseason, praising his “incredible” arm and above-average speed. While Garcia’s plate discipline is a major concern, per BA (and he indeed at a near-27 percent clip last year), their post-2015 scouting report noted that improvement in that regard could lead to an everyday corner outfielder.

Coats, meanwhile, will turn 27 next month. The former 29th-round pick made his big league debut in 2016, tallying 58 plate appearances and batting .200/.298/.340 in that brief cup of coffee. Coats did post a huge season with Triple-A Charlotte last season, slashing .330/.394/.519, and he’s delivered reasonably productive results throughout his minor league career. A right-handed hitter, Coats is primarily limited to the outfield corners.

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