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Brewers Sign Jay Jackson

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The Brewers have inked a minors deal with righty Jay Jackson, per a club announcement. It would pay him $1MM if he can crack the major-league roster, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports (Twitter link)..

When last we saw him on this side of the Pacific back in 2015, Jackson had finally (albeit briefly) cracked the majors after seven seasons in the upper minors. Despite that milestone, and a generally productive season at Double-A and Triple-A after moving into a full-time relief role, Jackson’s outlook was decidedly uncertain. He ended up being set free by the Padres to pursue an opportunity in Japan.

Now 31, Jackson has been plying his trade in the interim in with Nippon Professional Baseball’s Hiroshima Carp. Through three seasons, he has spun 176 innings of 2.10 ERA ball with 9.8 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9. It’ll be interesting to see whether he can carry some of that success back with him to the affiliated ranks, though the hard-throwing righty will first need to earn his way onto the 40-man roster.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/29/17

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We’ll keep track of the game’s minor transactions for the day here…

  • Right-hander Jay Jackson has re-signed with the Hiroshima Carp of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, the team announced (English link via the Japan Times). He’ll take home $1.5MM for the 2018 season. Jackson, 30, had reportedly garnered interest from multiple MLB clubs, though his return to the Carp on a one-year deal suggests that any offers he may have received didn’t match the strength of a $1.5MM guarantee. The former Cubs farmhand and top 100 prospect (per Baseball America) won’t turn 31 until next offseason, though, so he could further drum up MLB interest with another strong performance in NPB. Thus far, in two seasons with the Carp, Jackson has logged 130 1/3 innings of relief with a pristine 1.86 ERA, 9.9 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9. Jackson briefly appeared in the Majors with the 2015 Padres and 4.89 ERA in nearly 600 Triple-A innings, though the bulk of those came as a starter.

International Notes: Matsui, Ruf, Verrett, Jackson

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Former major leaguer Kazuo Matsui has rejoined his first professional team, the Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball (hat tip to Kyodo News). The 42-year-old was not offered a contract by his previous team, the Rakuten Eagles, and will now reportedly take on both outfielder and coaching duties for the Lions. “I felt strongly about continuing my playing career,” Matsui said. “I know the competition will be tough but I’ll get more motivated playing against younger players.” Matsui hit .267/.321/.380 while stealing 102 bases across 2,555 major league plate appearances with the Mets, Rockies and Astros from 2004-2010, with whom he played mostly second base. During his Japan career, however, Matsui put up fantastic offensive numbers (including 201 career homers). He earned four Gold Glove Awards as well as the 1998 Pacific League MVP Award.

Some other things happening in foreign territory…

  • Former Phillies outfielder/first baseman Darin Ruf has found some success in Korea, hitting 31 homers and leading the entire Korean Baseball Organization with 124 RBI. According to the Yonhap News Agency, the Samsung Lions recently re-signed him for the 2018 season on a $1.5MM deal. During his career in the U.S., Ruf played at the MLB level during parts of five seasons, bouncing back and forth between the Phillies and their Triple-A affiliate. Across 833 major league plate appearances, he played at roughly replacement level, showing poor plate discipline (8.2 BB%, 27.5 K%) but decent power (.193 ISO).
  • Elsewhere in the KBO, the NC Dinos have inked former major league pitcher Logan Verrett to a pact worth $800K (also via the Yonhap News Agency). Verrett had a 4.62 ERA during his major league career with the Mets and Orioles. A whopping 15.5% HR/FB rate may have done him across his 150 career MLB innings, along with a very low 6.84 K/9.
  • According to a tweet from ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, multiple MLB teams have shown interest in former Padres pitcher Jay Jackson. Crasnick notes that Jackson has been one of the best setup men in Japan over the last two seasons. Jackson only pitched 4 1/3 innings at the major league level in 2015, but did flash a 95.1 MPH fastball. He also put up a 2.54 ERA in 63 2/3 innings with the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate that same season.

Padres Release Jay Jackson To Pursue Opportunity In Japan

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The Padres have released righty Jay Jackson so that he can sign with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in Japan, MLB.com’s Corey Brock tweets. Jackson had been on the Padres’ 40-man roster since September. This marks the second time this week that the Padres have lost a reliever to Japan — Marcos Mateo appears set to sign with the Hanshin Tigers.

The 28-year-old Jackson made his big-league debut in 2015, pitching 4 1/3 innings and striking out four while allowing three runs and one walk. The hard thrower spent most of the season with Triple-A El Paso, posting a 2.54 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 over 63 2/3 innings. Jackson, formerly a top prospect with the Cubs, is also a veteran of the Marlins, Pirates and Brewers systems.

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/14/15

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Here are the latest minor moves from around baseball, with the newest transactions at the top of the post…

  • The Padres announced several roster moves, including the selection of right-hander Jay Jackson and infielder Cody Decker’s contracts from Triple-A.  Right-hander Casey Kelly and southpaw Robbie Erlin were also recalled from Triple-A, while Yonder Alonso was placed on the 60-day DL with a lower back strain.  Jackson and Decker are both reaching the bigs for the first time after long pro careers.  Jackson was a ninth-round pick for the Cubs in the 2008 draft and cracked Baseball America’s top 100 prospects list (at #98) prior to the 2010 season.  The righty has a 4.31 ERA, 8.2 K/9 and 2.63 K/BB rate over 857 2/3 IP in the minors with the Cubs, Marlins, Pirates, Brewers and Padres.  Decker, a 22nd-round pick in 2009, has 154 homers and a .265/.348/.524 slash line over 2929 career PA in San Diego’s farm system.
  • The Phillies announced that they have selected the contract of infielder Chase d’Arnaud from Triple-A.  In a corresponding move, second baseman Cesar Hernandez was placed on the 60-day disabled list with a dislocated left thumb.  D’Arnaud joined the Phillies on a minor league deal last winter and has hit .268/.317/.354 over 540 PA for Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season, playing mostly third and short over his 120 games.  D’Arnaud (the older brother of Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud) debuted in the Show by playing in 48 games for the Pirates in 2011 but has only appeared in 16 MLB contests since, and hasn’t recorded an official plate appearance since 2012.
  • The Astros have selected the contract of infielder Matt Duffy from Triple-A.  Duffy fills the 40-man roster spot left by Scott Feldman, who was moved to the 60-day DL due to his season-ending shoulder injury.  Not to be confused with the Giants infielder of the same name, this Matt Duffy was Houston’s 20th-round pick in the 2011 draft and is reaching the majors for the first time in five pro seasons.  Duffy hit .294/.366/.484 with 30 homers and 104 RBI in 557 Triple-A plate appearances this year and was named the Pacific Coast League’s MVP.

Padres Sign Ramiro Pena To Minor League Deal

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The Padres announced their list of non-roster invitees today, and among several previously reported names (e.g. Brett Wallace, Scott Elbert, Jose Valverde, Jason Lane and Marcos Mateo) was the news that the team had signed Ramiro Pena to a minor league deal and invited him to Spring Training.

Pena, 29, has spent the past two seasons with the Braves, batting a combined .258/.315/.385 over the course of 272 plate appearances, although his 2013 numbers were considerably better than his 2014 numbers. Pena, who has also spent parts of four seasons with the Yankees, is experienced at second base, third base and shortstop, having totaled at least 339 big league innings at each of the positions. Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating feel that his best positions are third base and shortstop, where he’s well above-average and average, respectively, though the sample size of his work at all three positions is too small to represent a truly accurate level of his defensive capabilities.

The Padres have a good deal of uncertainty around the infield, and Pena should provide them insurance. Will Middlebrooks and Yangervis Solarte will compete at third base, though Middlebrooks will need to prove that he is healthy an can cut down on his strikeouts to cement himself as a regular. Jedd Gyorko figures to man second base, but he’s coming off a dreadful season in which he slumped to a .210/.280/.333 batting line just one season after looking like a Rookie of the Year candidate. At shortstop, Alexi Amarista and Clint Barmes are the top in-house options, and neither brings much upside at the plate, though Barmes is an excellent defender.

The Padres also announced that catcher Griff Erickson and right-hander Jay Jackson have been signed to minor league deals and invited to camp. Jackson, a former top prospect with the Cubs, struggled to a 4.93 ERA in 111 innings with the Triple-A affiliates for the Pirates and Brewers in 2014. The 27-year-old struck out 115 batters against 52 walks last year. Erickson, meanwhile, has spent his whole career with the Dodgers and batted an impressive .297/.384/.510 in his first extended taste of Triple-A action last season (60 games), though the standard disclaimer about the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League should be applied to those statistics.

Cubs Acquire John Grabow, Tom Gorzelanny

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4:50pm: The Pirates' return of Hart, Ascanio, and Harrison is confirmed by a press release from the Cubs.  Gorzelanny will head to Triple A Iowa.  The Pirates keep adding arms; I guess this means they like Hart more than Gorzelanny.

4:47pm: ESPN Chicago says the Cubs sent pitchers Kevin Hart and Jose Ascanio to Pittsburgh for Grabow and Gorzelanny.  Ed Price, via Twitter, says the Cubs are also sending third baseman Josh Harrison. 

4:43pm: Finally a possible name as part of the package going to Pittsburgh.   Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus, via Twitter, hears pitching prospect Jay Jackson may be in the deal.  Jackson, a starting pitcher, was a ninth-round pick last year and ranked ninth on Baseball America's list of Cubs prospects.

3:22pm: Via Twitter, Kovacevic says Grabow and Gorzelanny to the Cubs is almost or "just about" done, while Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times says they closed the deal for Grabow. ESPNChicago's Jon Greenberg says the Cubs are "in the process of finalizing" the deal for Grabow.  Heyman terms the deal for both hurlers as "very close."

Gorzelanny, who is from Evergreen Park, IL, has a 2.48 ERA in 15 Triple A starts this year.  He won 14 games in the bigs in '07, but was derailed by back, shoulder, and finger problems in '08.  We still don't know what the Pirates will get back in this deal, but it ought to be something decent.

2:56pm: Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Cubs and Pirates are discussing a deal that would send Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny to Chicago. No deal is in place and other teams remain interested in Grabow. 

2:21pm: Heyman (via Twitter) thinks the Cubs are getting closer on Grabow, and could acquire another pitcher as well.

1:27pm: SI's Jon Heyman says the Cubs and Pirates are in "serious discussions" about Grabow.

11:58am: ESPN's Jayson Stark says the Cubs are "strictly mining the lefthanded reliever market" and not looking for a bat.  Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald concurs.

10:51am: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports say the Cubs prefer Pittsburgh's John Grabow over Washington's Joe Beimel, and they continue to discuss the lefty reliever with the Pirates.  The FOX report suggests the Cubs will stay internal for their Reed Johnson replacement.

Grabow currently ranks as a Type A free agent in the wacky world of Elias, but for his team to have a chance at draft picks they'd have to offer him arbitration and risk paying him more than $2.3MM if he accepts.

9:02am: The Cubs are looking for a left-handed hitter who can play right field, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.  While they're not optimistic about a deal, the plan would be to create a platoon with the disappointing Milton Bradley.  Wittenmyer says the Cubs have about $2-3MM of payroll room to work with.

Two players on the radar: Mark Teahen of the Royals and Jeremy Hermida of the Marlins.  The Royals are looking for a center fielder in return, however.  Teahen has $1.37MM left on his contract.  Hermida has $847K remaining.  Both players can be under team control through 2011.  Either player would still leave some wiggle room for the Cubs to acquire a left-handed reliever.

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