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Josh Roenicke

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/11/18

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The latest minor moves from around baseball:

  • Right-hander Josh Roenicke is joining the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions in Taiwan, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. This will be the second straight season abroad for the 35-year-old Roenicke, who pitched in the Mexican League in 2017. Roenicke last appeared in the majors in 2013 as a member of the Twins, with whom he tossed 62 innings of 4.35 ERA ball. Prior to his Minnesota stint, Roenicke saw big league action with the Reds, Blue Jays and Rockies. Across 220 1/3 major league frames, he has logged a 4.17 ERA with 6.86 K/9, 4.78 BB/9 and a 46.7 percent groundball rate.

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/21/17

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The latest minor moves from around baseball:

  • Right-handed reliever Casey Janssen has signed with Acereros del Norte of the Mexican League, the team announced. The 35-year-old Janssen pitched in the majors for most of 2006-16, a 533-inning stretch in which he logged a 3.63 ERA, 6.18 K/9 and 2.77 BB/9. Nearly all of Janssen’s pro career has been spent in Toronto, where he was particularly strong across 172 frames from 2011-13 (2.46 ERA, 8.9 K/9, 1.99 BB/9 and 56 saves). Janssen spent 2015 with the Nationals and some of last season in the Boston organization, which released him in August.
  • One of Janssen’s ex-Blue Jays teammates, Josh Roenicke (another righty reliever), has also joined the Mexican League. Roenicke will compete for a spot with Pericos de Puebla, club president Jose Melendez announced (Twitter link). The 34-year-old last took a major league mound in 2013, when he threw 62 innings with the Twins. In 220 1/3 big league frames with four teams, Roenicke has combined for a 4.17 ERA, 6.86 K/9 and 4.76 BB/9. He spent the past three seasons at the Triple-A level with four other organizations.

Minor MLB Transactions: 3/7/16

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league, each courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy unless otherwise cited…

  • The Tigers have signed former Astros right-hander Lucas Harrell to a minor league contract, Eddy reports. Harrell reportedly threw for Detroit earlier in Spring Training, prior to the club’s deal with Bobby Parnell. While the Parnell deal was, at the time, believed to be the final move on the pitching side of the coin for the Tigers in Spring Training, Harrell will now be coming on board after all. Harrell, 30, spent the 2015 season pitching in Korea and logged a marginal 4.93 ERA in 171 2/3 innings with the LG Twins, though it should be noted that the KBO is a notoriously hitter-friendly league. Harrell’s 171 2/3 innings showed the durability that he’s displayed for much of his pro career. His best season came with Astros in 2012, when he tallied a 3.76 ERA in 193 2/3 innings (32 starts) out of the Houston rotation.
  • Also inking a minor league deal last week was right-hander Josh Roenicke, who inked such a pact with the Angels. The 32-year-old Roenicke (nephew of former Brewers manager and current Halos coach Ron Roenicke) last appeared in the Majors with the 2013 Twins, recording a 4.35 ERA across 62 innings of work. Though he was once a notable prospect in the Reds’ system, Roenicke never blossomed into a regular contributor in the rotation or bullpen at any of his big league stops. He’s spent the past two seasons with the Triple-A affiliates for the Rockies, Nationals and Brewers, recording a collective ERA north of 6.00.
  • The Cubs have signed outfielder Ryan Kalish to a minor league pact. Formerly a top prospect with the Red Sox, Kalish is quite familiar to Cubs executives Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer and Jason McLeod. The 27-year-old didn’t play in 2015 after a minor league deal with the Blue Jays reportedly fell through. Kalish saw his most recent professional action with the Cubs in 2014, when he logged 157 plate appearances with the big league club. He’s a lifetime .245/.293/.350 hitter in the Majors and a .257/.325/.405 hitter at the Triple-A level. He’ll serve as organizational depth with the Cubs, presumably, as the team already has a very crowded outfield picture at the big league level.
  • Shortstop Justin Sellers and first baseman Josh Satin have both signed with the Padres on minor league deals. The 30-year-old Sellers spent a bit of time with the Pirates and White Sox organizations last year but didn’t produce much in the minors. Sellers didn’t appear in the bigs last year, but he logged Major League time each year from 2011-14, hitting .198/.280/.294 across 287 plate appearances. Satin, meanwhile, spent parts of those same 2011-14 seasons with the Mets, batting .243/.346/.351. He spent last season with the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate, where he batted .247/.347/.357. Satin has typically been considerably more productive against left-handed pitching, making him a useful platoon option for the Padres’ system.

Minor Moves: Perez, Roenicke, Cabrera

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Here are today’s minor transactions from around the league…

  • The Mariners announced the signing of lefty Rafael Perez to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invitation. Perez posted a 3.64 ERA, 2.29 K/BB rate and 7.3 K/9 over 329 relief innings with the Indians from 2006-12, but he hasn’t since pitched off a big league mound. The southpaw has pitched in the minors for the Red Sox, Twins, Pirates and Rangers over the last two seasons.
  • The Brewers have signed right-hander Josh Roenicke to a minor league deal, per the club’s transactions page (a Spring Training invite is not mentioned, seemingly indicating that he will head to minor league camp). The 32-year-old Roenicke — the nephew of Brewers manager Ron Roenicke — spent the 2014 season with the Triple-A affiliates for the Nationals and Rockies, pitching to a combined 6.04 ERA with 4.5 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 89 1/3 innings (15 starts, 14 relief appearances). The former Reds prospect brings plenty of big league experience to the table in Milwaukee, as he has 220 1/3 career innings in the Majors. He most recently pitched to a 4.35 ERA in 62 innings with the Twins.
  • Right-hander Fernando Cabrera has agreed to a minor league deal with the Giants, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. The 33-year-old Cabrera hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2010 and hasn’t logged significant MLB innings since 2008, but he has an excellent track record at Triple-A, where he has compiled a 3.00 ERA with 10.0 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 467 2/3 innings in parts of 10 seasons. Cabrera was considered to be one of the Indians’ best prospects in the early 2000s, but he wasn’t able to fully tap into his potential.

Rockies To Sign Josh Roenicke

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The Rockies have signed right-hander Josh Roenicke to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Colorado Springs, reports MLB Daily Dish’s Chris Cotillo (on Twitter). Roenicke is a client of the Legacy Agency.

The 32-year-old Roenicke has spent the 2014 campaign with the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate and struggled to a 5.45 ERA with just 4.2 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9. However, prior to this season, he’d pitched at least 16 big league games per season over a span of five years. Most recently, Roenicke (the nephew of Brewers manager Ron Roenicke) pitched 63 innings of 4.35 ERA ball for the Twins in 2013. He fanned 45 batters in that time but also walked a troubling 36 hitters as well.

Command has always been an issue for Roenicke, who actually spent the 2012 season with the Rockies, pitching a career-high 88 innings. He turned in a 3.25 ERA that season and has posted a 3.33 ERA in 105 1/3 career innings with Colorado. Roenicke was once a fairly well-regarded relief prospect with the Reds, who flipped him to the Blue Jays along with Edwin Encarnacion in the Scott Rolen trade.

Minor Moves: Hernandez, De Paula, Roenicke, Feierabend, Hayes

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Here are the latest minor league transactions, with the newest moves at the top of the post…

  • The Rockies have outrighted Pedro Hernandez to Triple-A, according to the MLB transactions page. The 25-year-old lefty made one start for Colorado before he was designated. As he has previously been outrighted, Hernandez will have the right to elect free agency.
  • Reliever Jose De Paula has re-signed with the Giants on a minor league deal, per the MLB transactions page. The club had designated and then released him just days ago.
  • The Nationals have released righty Josh Roenicke, according to the International League transactions page. Roenicke had spent at least some time in the big leagues for each of the prior six seasons, and logged 150 2/3 between 2012-13. But moving to the starting rotation for the first time as a professional has not resulted in high-level production at Triple-A this year; Roenicke has struggled to a 5.45 ERA through 79 1/3 frames (15 starts) with 4.2 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9.
  • Ryan Feierabend of the Rangers has accepted an outright assignment rather than electing free agency, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The left-hander made his way back to the bigs for the first time since 2008 with a Texas club that has cycled through more than its fair share of arms this year.
  • The Royals outrighted Brett Hayes to Triple-A after the catcher cleared waivers, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (Twitter link).  As the backup behind workhorse starter Salvador Perez, Hayes hasn’t seen much action this year, appearing in 27 games and posting a .362 OPS over only 53 PA.
  • The Diamondbacks signed right-hander Graham Godfrey, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports.  Godfrey posted a 5.09 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 46 innings with the A’s in 2011-12 and he spent last season pitching for the Red Sox and Pirates’ Triple-A affiliates.
  • The Diamondbacks released first baseman Wagner Mateo earlier this week, according to the Pioneer League’s transactions page.  Mateo originally signed a contract as a 16-year-old with the Cardinals worth a $3.1MM bonus in 2009 but St. Louis voided that deal after Mateo’s physical revealed apparent vision problems.  Mateo signed a $512K contract with the D’Backs a year later and hit .230/.312/.349 over 802 pro plate appearances, never getting above the High-A ball level.  He also posted an 8.87 ERA over 22 1/3 relief innings over the last two seasons.
  • The Reds released right-hander Adam Russell last week, as announced via Twitter by their Triple-A Louisville affiliate.  Russell posted a 3.95 ERA, 7.0 K/9 and 1.46 K/BB rate over 86 2/3 relief innings with the White Sox, Padres and Rays from 2008-11, and he’s since toiled in the minors with four other organizations.  He had a 4.33 ERA, 8.7 K/9 and 1.79 K/BB in 35 1/3 IP this season with Louisville.
  • Zach McAllister and Evan Scribner were both respectively optioned to Triple-A by the Indians and Athletics over the weekend.  The two righties were both on optional assignment waivers after being designated off their team’s 25-man rosters (but not the 40-man rosters) on Friday, though they were procedural moves rather than traditional DFAs, and neither player was in any danger of being claimed by another club.
  • To monitor players who have been properly designated for assignment, check out MLBTR’s DFA Tracker, as a whopping 10 players currently reside in “DFA limbo.”

Nationals Sign Josh Roenicke

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9:38pm: Roenicke's deal includes a June 15th opt-out clause, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com.

11:44am: The Nationals announced (via Twitter) that they have agreed to a minor league contract and an invitation to Major League Spring Training with right-hander Josh Roenicke. The 31-year-old Legacy Agency client spent the 2013 campaign pitching out of the Twins' bullpen but was outrighted off the 40-man roster and elected free agency back in October.

The Twins claimed Roenicke off waivers from the Rockies following the 2012 season, and he appeared in 63 games for Minnesota in his lone year with the club (he also appeared in 63 games for Colorado the year prior). With Minnesota, Roenicke posted a 4.35 ERA with 6.5 K/9, 5.2 BB/9 and a 41.1 percent ground-ball rate. In addition to clearly struggling with his command, Roenicke's 91.4 mph average fastball velocity was a career-low, as was his ground-ball rate. 

Roenicke, the son of former Orioles outfielder Gary Roenicke and nephew of current Brewers manager Ron Roenicke, is also the brother-in-law of Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond (per Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post on Twitter). Once a well-regarded bullpen prospect in the Reds organization, Roenicke was traded to the Blue Jays along with Zach Stewart and Edwin Encarnacion in the deal that sent Scott Rolen to Cincinnati.

In 220 1/3 innings, Roenicke has a career ERA of 4.17 with 6.9 K/9, 4.8 BB/9 and a 46.7 percent ground-ball rate between the Reds, Jays, Rockies and Twins.

Quick Hits: Bailey, Burnett, Twins, Samardzija

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Even though most of Alex Rodriguez's 2014 salary will be wiped out by his season-long PED suspension, the controversial slugger's contract is still ranked as the worst in baseball by Grantland's Jonah Keri.  Of Keri's list of the 15 worst contracts in the sport, the Dodgers have four, the Yankees, Angels and Braves each have two and the Reds, Rangers, Phillies, Blue Jays and White Sox have one each.

Here are some items from around the baseball world…

  • The Reds and Homer Bailey are "still talking" about a multiyear contract, GM Walt Jocketty tells MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.  "There has not been a lot of progress, but good conversations anyhow," Jocketty said.  Bailey's arbitration hearing is scheduled for February 20 and there is a $2.9MM gap ($11.6MM to $8.7MM) between his demands and the Reds' offer for a 2014 contract.  This is Bailey's last season under contract with Cincinnati and the two sides are reportedly far apart on a long-term deal.  Sheldon suggests that the Reds will be watching the Indians' case with Justin Masterson, as he and Bailey have posted comparable numbers over the last three years and Masterson is also scheduled to be a free agent next offseason.
  • The Pirates offered A.J. Burnett a $12MM contract for 2014, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).  This obviously fell short of the $16MM Burnett received from the Phillies earlier today.
  • The Twins aren't one of the teams interested in Emilio Bonifacio, 1500 ESPN's Darren Wolfson reports (via Twitter).  Bonifacio cleared release waivers and became a free agent earlier today.  The Orioles are known to be one of at least nine teams interested in the speedy utilityman.
  • Also from Wolfson, a Twins official said that the club "had extensive talks" about Erisbel Arruebarruena but he was judged to be too expensive.  The Cuban shortstop agreed to a deal with the Dodgers today that could be worth as much as $25MM.
  • The Cubs can afford to be patient in trading Jeff Samardzija, Fangraphs' Jeff Sullivan argues, as teams may be more willing to meet Chicago's large asking price once the free agent pitching market thins out and teams get more desperate once the season begins.
  • Right-hander Josh Roenicke is drawing interest from a "handful of teams" and could be signed soon, a source tells MLB Daily Dish's Chris Cotillo (Twitter link).  Roenicke posted a 4.35 ERA, 6.5 K/9 and 1.25 K/BB rate in 62 relief innings with the Twins in 2013 before being outrighted off Minnesota's roster in November.
  • Also from Cotillo, right-hander Blake Hawksworth has retired.  Hawksworth posted a 4.07 ERA and 1.85 K/BB over 124 games (eight as a starter) with the Cardinals and Dodgers from 2009-11 before elbow and shoulder injuries derailed his career.  Hawksworth has taken a job with the Boras Corporation, his former agency.
  • Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill discussed the club's recent signing of Carlos Marmol with Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald.
  • Luis Ayala chose to sign a minor league deal with the Nationals since they (as the Expos) were the franchise that originally signed him and he still has many friends in the organization, the veteran reliever tells Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.  Several teams were linked to Ayala this offseason but the bidding came down to the Nats, Tigers and Phillies.

Twins Outright Roenicke, De Vries, Thomas, Martis

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The Twins have outrighted center fielder Clete Thomas and right-handers Josh Roenicke, Cole De Vries and Shairon Martis off their 40-man roster, the team announced via press release.

The Twins claimed Roenicke, 31, off waivers from the Rockies last offseason, and he spent the entire season in the team's bullpen. Roenicke posted a 4.35 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 5.2 BB/9 in 62 innings for Minnesota, appearing in 63 games and earning one save along the way. Roenicke is eligible for arbitration this offseason, but because he has more than three years of service time and was outrighted off the 40-man roster, he is eligible to elect free agency.

Thomas came to the plate 322 times for the 2013 Twins despite slashing just .214/.290/.307 and striking out in 28.6 percent of his plate appearances. Thomas' sound defensive play kept him in the lineup, as he appeared at all three outfield positions and totaled a UZR/150 mark of +9.6 in 727 1/3 innings.

De Vries was injured for most of the season and allowed 18 runs in 15 innings at the Major League level. The 27-year-old's minor league numbers didn't look much better, as he posted a 7.02 ERA in 50 innings at Triple-A. 

Martis totaled a 4.26 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 80 1/3 innings in the minors and yielded six runs in 9 2/3 Major League innings. The Curacao native reached the Majors in 2013 for the first time since pitching more than 100 innings for the 2008-09 Nationals.

Twins Claim Josh Roenicke, Thomas Field

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The Twins claimed reliever Josh Roenicke and infielder Thomas Field off of waivers from the Rockies, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports (Twitter links). Neither player has become arbitration eligible yet.

Roenicke made 63 relief appearances for the Rockies this past season, completing 88 2/3 innings. The 30-year-old posted a career-best 3.25 ERA with 5.5 K/9, 4.4 BB/9 and a 50.2% ground ball rate with Colorado. His average fastball checks in at 92.3 mph and he generated swinging strikes with 8.8% of his offerings.

Field, 25, appeared in two games with the Rockies this past season. He spent most of the year at Triple-A, where he posted a .246/.315/.400 batting line in 494 plate appearances as the team's primary shortstop.

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