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Juan Centeno

Diamondbacks Sign Juan Centeno To Minor League Deal

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The D-backs have signed veteran catcher Juan Centeno to a minor league contract for the 2022 season, per an announcement from their Triple-A affiliate, the Reno Aces (Twitter link). The MAS+ client will give Arizona some additional depth in the upper minors this season. Centeno spent the 2021 season with the Tigers’ Triple-A club but was never added to the big league roster, making him a minor league free agent who is eligible to sign during the ongoing lockout.

Centeno, 32, has played in parts of seven Major League seasons, most recently logging time with the 2019 Red Sox. He’s a career .223/.278/.323 hitter in 373 trips to the plate at the big league level, although the only time he’s seen much in the way of significant MLB exposure was with the Twins back in 2016. That season saw Centeno log 192 plate appearances while slashing a respectable .261/.312/.392 as the most oft-used backup to Kurt Suzuki. In addition to his time with the Twins and Red Sox, Centeno has seen brief stints with the Mets, Brewers, Astros and Rangers.

While Centeno’s MLB experience is fairly limited, he’s no stranger to Triple-A ball, where he’s spent parts of eight seasons since being selected by the Mets in the 32nd round of the 2007 draft. A career .278/.328/.353 hitter at that level, he’ll give the D-backs some experience to draw upon if a need arises. Centeno also possesses a career 35% caught-stealing rate (big leagues and minors combined), though it’s just 13% in his relatively tiny sample of MLB work.

Even before adding Centeno, the D-backs already had a fair bit of catching depth on the roster and slated to head to camp on non-roster deals. Carson Kelly figures to again shoulder the bulk of the workload behind the plate, while Daulton Varsho could split time between center field and catcher again in 2022. The Snakes also have 24-year-old Jose Herrera (25 in February) on the cusp of the big leagues after he delivered a .258/.364/.422 slash between Double-A and Triple-A in 2021. Additionally, the club inked Juan Graterol — another journeyman in the Centeno mold — to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite back in November.

Red Sox Sign Juan Centeno To Minor League Deal

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The Red Sox have re-signed catcher Juan Centeno, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).  Centeno’s minor league contract contains an invitation to Boston’s Major League Spring Training camp.

Centeno chose to become a free agent in November after the Red Sox outrighted him off their 40-man roster.  The 30-year-old backstop originally joined the Sox on a minor league deal last offseason and ended up appearing in seven MLB games during the 2019 season.

Those appearances marked seven straight seasons of Major League action for Centeno, though he has only 118 games and 371 total plate appearances as a big leaguer.  The bulk of that experience came in 2016, when he hit a respectable .261/.312/.392 over 192 PA with the Twins, though Centeno has primarily been used as a depth option at the MLB level.  Centeno will again return to that role in 2020, joining Jett Bandy as spring competition for Kevin Plawecki for the backup catching job behind incumbent Red Sox starter Christian Vazquez.

Red Sox Outright Juan Centeno

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The Red Sox have announced that catcher Juan Centeno was outrighted from the 40-man roster. He elected free agency.

Soon to reach his 30th birthday, Centeno will go out searching for the best possible opportunity this winter. He has appeared in the bigs in each of the past seven seasons, but still has only appeared in 118 games in total.

Centeno offers a relatively rare left-handed bat from the catching position, but hasn’t hit much in his opportunities. In 371 plate appearances in the majors, he carries a .223/.278/.323 batting line. Centeno slashed .248/.321/.350 in his 301 Triple-A plate appearances this season.

Red Sox Announce Series Of 40-Man Moves

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According to an official team release, the Red Sox are tinkering with the 40-man roster to make room for a number of September call-ups. Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com has the rundown on all the moves, which include the activation of left-hander David Price from the injured list. Newly-signed righty Jhoulys Chacin, catcher Juan Centeno, and outfielder Gorkys Hernandez have all been added to the 40-man roster. To make space for the above trio, injured pitchers Chris Sale and Steven Wright have been transferred to the 60-day injured list, while first baseman Joey Curletta was outrighted to Double-A.

Price last pitched for Boston in early August before a wrist issue forced him to the injured list—his second stint this season. As for much of his Red Sox tenure, it’s been a rocky year for Price, whose hefty contract looms in the face of good—not great—numbers.

Chacin, who yesterday inked a minor-league deal with Boston, will have a crack at the rotation as he seeks to redeem himself from a disappointing season in Milwaukee, which released him just a year removed from a stellar year. With the injury to Sale and many other options underperforming on the mound, Chacin represents a low-risk signee for a September audition.

Curletta has yet to make his big-league debut, and that milestone will have to wait a bit longer for the 25-year-old, a 2012 draftee of the Dodgers. He’ll remain with Double-A Portland though no longer on the Boston 40-man roster. He’s spent this season between the two levels of the upper minors, posting a combined .678 OPS with 14 home runs.

Centeno, 29, and Hernandez, 31, will each make their Red Sox debuts. Neither has appeared in the Major Leagues this season after inking minor-league contracts last winter. Centeno, who will offer depth beyond Christian Vazquez and Sandy Leon, is the owner of a career .227/.278/.331 batting line, playing parts of six Major League seasons with the Mets, Brewers, Twins, Astros, and Rangers. Hernandez made a name for himself with the Giants, where he played the previous three seasons. In 2018, he enjoyed a career year as he was given regular playing time, posting a .676 OPS to go with 15 home runs.

East Notes: Yankees, Phils, Herrera, Red Sox, Blue Jays

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The Yankees signed right-hander Luis Severino to a four-year, $40MM extension shortly before they were scheduled to face off against him in arbitration Friday. General manager Brian Cashman spoke about the buzzer-beating agreement Saturday, saying (via George A. King III of the New York Post): “We circled back 30 minutes before the hearing and I asked [agent Nelson Montes de Oca] if he wanted to circle back to my room again. The atmosphere was better, different. We both said we would rather not walk into this hearing and do what we have to do. We gave a little, they gave a little. The Severino extension may not be the last one the Yankees dole out before the season, as Cashman revealed that the club has “had conversations with some” unidentified players regarding new deals. Speculatively, center fielder Aaron Hicks, shortstop Didi Gregorius and reliever Dellin Betances – integral Yankees slated to reach free agency next winter – look like logical candidates.

Here’s the latest on a few other East Coast franchises:

  • Manager Gabe Kapler claims the Phillies aren’t guaranteeing a No. 1 job to center fielder Odubel Herrera, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Herrera’s a four-year starter in Philly who still has three guaranteed seasons left on the $30.5MM extension he signed in 2016, but he turned in an underwhelming showing in 2018. He’ll now compete for a place in center and right this spring with Roman Quinn, Nick Williams and Aaron Altherr, according to Kapler. Although, if the Phillies add superstar right fielder Bryce Harper in free agency, it’ll give the Herrera-Quinn-Williams-Altherr quartet one fewer position to fight over. Herrera, for his part, has worked hard in recent months to get himself into better shape, as Lauber details, and Kapler expects the 27-year-old to benefit from the Phillies’ hiring of first base/outfield/baserunning coach Paco Figueroa.
  • The Red Sox are expected to trade a catcher – be it Christian Vazquez, Sandy Leon or Blake Swihart – before the season. If that happens, they’ll likely be left with minor league signing Juan Centeno as their No. 3 backstop. Manager Alex Cora said Saturday he’d be “comfortable” in that scenario, pointing out he’s familiar with the veteran Centeno from their time with the World Series-winning Houston organization in 2017, per Christopher Smith of MassLive.com. Centeno’s contract does not include an opt-out clause, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski confirmed to Smith, so the Red Sox aren’t in danger of losing him before the season. However, as Smith notes, if Boston adds Centeno to its 40-man roster at some point and then tries to send him to the minors, it’ll need to pass him through waivers because he’s out of options.
  • Left-hander Ryan Borucki was one of the few bright spots on the Blue Jays’ pitching staff in 2018, a rookie year in which he turned in a 3.87 ERA/3.80 FIP over 97 2/3 innings and 17 starts. Nevertheless, while it appears the Jays are guaranteeing starting spots to Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez and newcomers Matt Shoemaker and Clayton Richard heading into the season, general manager Ross Atkins indicated this week that Borucki will have to battle for a role in their rotation this spring, Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com relays. The soon-to-be 25-year-old Borucki still looks to be the front-runner for the Jays’ No. 5 spot, though, as he’s clearly the most proven 40-man option left on their staff.

Red Sox, Juan Centeno Agree To Minor League Contract

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The Red Sox are in agreement with catcher Juan Centeno on a minor league contract, tweets MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo. The Magnus Sports client figures to receive an invite to Major League Spring Training.

Centeno, 28, appeared in 10 games for the Rangers this past season and joins the Boston organization with 111 games of MLB experience under his belt. He’s a career .227/.278/.331 hitter in 353 trips to the plate between the Mets, Brewers, Twins, Astros and Rangers. Centeno has shown a knack in terms of hitting for average at the Triple-A level, where he’s a .286/.330/.352 hitter in 1147 PAs, and he’s only struck out in 12.3 percent of his plate appearances at that level.

From a defensive standpoint, Centeno has thrown out 39 percent of would-be base thieves throughout his minor league career, but he’s at just 13 percent in that regard in the Majors. Baseball Prospectus gives him poor marks for his pitch-framing and blocking skills.

Christian Vazquez, Sandy Leon and Blake Swihart top Boston’s depth chart at catcher right now, though Swihart was rarely utilized at the position in 2018 while Leon’s anemic offense at least raises the question of whether the Sox will tender him a contract. Nonetheless, the addition of Centeno figures to be merely a means of adding some upper-minors depth for Boston in the early stages of the offseason, as there’s no clear path to the big league roster for him at this point.

Players Electing Free Agency

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Quite a few players will hit the open market this fall, and they’ll do so by way of varying mechanisms. The end of the regular season triggered a recent wave of free agents, consisting of a certain subset of players — namely, those who were outrighted from 40-man rosters during the season and accepted minor-league assignments at that time despite having the right to elect free agency. Players in that situation are entitled instead to hit the open market at season’s end, if they were not added back to the 40-man roster in the meantime.

As conveyed by Matt Eddy of Baseball America, who also covers quite a few other minor moves, these players have now elected free agency:

Athletics: RHP Raul Alcantara, LHP Danny Coulombe

Blue Jays: RHP Mike Hauschild, INF/OF Darnell Sweeney

Braves: LHP Rex Brothers, RHP Miguel Socolovich

Cardinals: LHP Tyler Lyons

Indians: RHP Evan Marshall, RHP Alexi Ogando

Mariners: RHP Christian Bergman, LHP Ross Detwiler, RHP Mike Morin, INF Zach Vincej

Marlins: OF JB Shuck

Mets: RHP Chris Beck, OF Bryce Brentz, RHP Scott Copeland, OF Matt den Dekker, INF Ty Kelly

Nationals: LHP Tommy Milone, OF Moises Sierra, RHP Carlos Torres

Orioles: RHP Jhan Marinez, INF Luis Sardinas

Padres: OF Matt Szczur

Phillies: INF Trevor Plouffe

Pirates: LHP Buddy Boshers, RHP Casey Sadler, RHP A.J. Schugel

Rangers: C Juan Centeno, LHP Anthony Gose, RHP Drew Hutchison, INF Tommy Joseph, RHP Chris Rowley

Rays: INF Brandon Snyder, RHP Ryan Weber

Reds: C Tim Federowicz, RHP Kevin Quackenbush

Tigers: INF Dixon Machado, RHP Jacob Turner

White Sox: RHP Tyler Danish

Outrighted: Centeno, Ngoepe, Enns

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Let’s run through a few recently-designated players who have cleared waivers and been outrighted:

  • Rangers backstop Juan Centeno could have elected free agency but chose instead to take an assignment to Triple-A Round Rock, the club announced. The 28-year-old, a relatively rare left-handed-hitting catcher, has seen action in each of the past six MLB campaigns. He also has not shown much at the plate, with a cumulative .227/.278/.331 batting line.
  • Also clearing waivers was Blue Jays infielder Gift Ngoepe. This is the first time he has been outrighted; without significant MLB service time on his record, he had no choice but to head to Buffalo. Not unlike Centeno, Ngoepe is a useful fielder who perhaps will never fully come around with the bat. He had a particularly rough run in limited action this year in Toronto, striking out a dozen times in just 19 plate appearances.
  • Finally, the Twins will hang onto reliever Dietrich Enns after he, too, cleared waivers under the same essential circumstances as Ngoepe. Soon to turn 27, Enns is off to a poor start this year at Triple-A, where he has given out 11 free passes to go with 11 strikeouts in twenty innings. If he can get back on track, though, perhaps he’ll eventually present a depth option for the Minnesota organization. In his six prior professional seasons, Enns has never finished with an earned run average of over 2.94. In 136 Triple-A innings, he carries a sparkling 2.25 ERA with a more pedestrian combination of 7.1 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9.

Rangers Designate Juan Centeno

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The Rangers have designated catcher Juan Centeno for assignment, per a club announcement. His roster spot will go to just-claimed backstop Carlos Perez.

Texas had already cleared a 40-man spot when they claimed Perez, but needed a place on the active roster. The moves, taken together, create an additional opening on the 40-man.

Centeno, a 28-year-old who hits from the left side, has played at the MLB level with five different organizations over the past six years. In 353 career plate appearances at the game’s highest level, he’s a .227/.278/.331 hitter.

AL Notes: Rays Trades, Pineda, Rangers

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Even though they’ve traded Evan Longoria, more moves should be expected for the Rays before Opening Day, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Rays ownership has directed the front office to reduce payroll, and the team still projects to have a higher Opening Day payroll in 2018 (currently $83.6MM) than it did in 2017 ($70MM). There’s no indication that Tampa Bay has to cut it back to that $70MM level, nor is there a specific target that has been reported in recent weeks. But Topkin notes that the Rays are in a tough position of having to move veterans — possibly Denard Span, Jake Odorizzi, Alex Colome, Corey Dickerson or Brad Miller — while also still trying to fill out the roster. The bullpen, for instance, is lacking in experience, while Miller is projected to be the first baseman. If the Rays can clear enough cash, it stands to reason that they could reinvest some of those dollars in lower-priced options at those two positions (especially, I’d imagine, if Miller is one of the players to be jettisoned, thus creating a further opening at first base).

A bit more from around the American League as the sports world still buzzes about the Super Bowl…

  • Twins right-hander Michael Pineda tells reporters that he threw for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery yesterday, making 30 throws from a distance of 60 feet (video link via the Minneapolis Star Tribune). Pineda, who signed a two-year, $10MM contract with Minnesota, declined to specify which other clubs he considered in free agency this offseason but said the concept of joining the Twins was one that immediately interested him when presented by his agent. The big righty said his expectation is that he’ll be able to get back on the mound before the end of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on July 18, 2017, though obviously there’s a long road ahead of him.
  • Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram profiles a number of options for the Rangers as they head into camp uncertain about who will serve as Robinson Chirinos’ backup behind the plate. Brett Nicholas is the front-runner at this time, Wilson notes, though Juan Centeno, Jose Trevino and non-roster invitees Curt Casali and Mike Ohlman are all in the mix as well. Wilson notes that if the decision were to be made on defense alone, the organization would go with the 25-year-old Trevino, who many with the organization feel could be a plus MLB defender now. But, Trevino’s offense cratered in Double-A last year (.241/.275/.323) after a very good 2016 season in Class-A Advanced (.303/.342/.434). The Rangers undoubtedly hope he can be a long-term piece for them, so they’ll likely send him to the minors to further his development.
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