Red Sox Release Justin Maxwell To Sign With KBO’s Lotte Giants
Outfielder Justin Maxwell has been released by the Red Sox to allow him to sign with Korea’s Lotte Giants, as Yonhap’s Jee-ho Yoo reports. He’ll receive a $280K salary in the KBO.
Maxwell, 32, was hitting .219/.310/.320 over 253 plate appearances on the year at Triple-A Pawtucket. That wasn’t enough to earn him a big league promotion despite some need at the major league level, and Boston obviously had decided it did not need him in the organization.
Before his middling start to the present season, though, Maxwell had taken over 250 turns at bat in three of the last four campaigns at the MLB level. All told, he has compiled a .220/.303/.399 batting line in 1,193 big league plate appearances, with 41 home runs and 28 steals.
At his best, Maxwell is a slightly above-average hitter with some pop, and he has also added some value with the glove and on the bases. Maxwell’s new club will certainly hope that he brings a silver hammer with him to the hitter-friendly KBO.
Notably, per the report, Maxwell was pursued because former big leaguer Jim Adduci was released after failing some sort of drug test.
Minor MLB Transactions: 4/1/16
Here are today’s minor moves from around the league:
- The Mets have announced that they’ve selected the contract of righty Jim Henderson. The former Brewers closer will be back in the big leagues for the first time since 2014. Henderson has battled shoulder issues in recent seasons, but he got good results in Spring Training, whiffing 13 batters in 10 2/3 innings. The hard-throwing 33-year-old has a lifetime 3.44 ERA, 12.1 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in three big-league seasons.
- The Red Sox have announced that they’ve signed outfielder Justin Maxwell to a minor-league deal, and he’ll report to Triple-A Pawtucket. The Marlins released Maxwell earlier this week. The 32-year-old hit .209/.275/.341 in 274 plate appearances with the Giants in 2015. Previously, he had played for the Nationals, Astros and Royals.
- The Rockies have signed shortstop Jeff Bianchi to a minor-league deal, Matt Eddy of Baseball America tweets. Bianchi played briefly for Boston last year, spending most of the year at Triple-A, where he hit .262/.329/.315. He has a .531 OPS in 404 career big-league plate appearances spread over four years, most of them coming with the Brewers.
- The Orioles have released 1B/OF Mike Carp and 3B/1B/OF Alex Liddi from minor-league camp, Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun writes. Carp, who’s played six seasons in the big leagues with the Mariners, Red Sox (with whom he won a World Series in 2013) and Rangers, played only briefly at the Triple-A level in the Dodgers organization in 2015. He’s a lifetime .254/.330/.414 hitter in the big leagues. Liddi played parts of three seasons for the Mariners from 2011 through 2013 and spent last season split between the Royals’ Double-A Northwest Arkansas affiliate and Jalisco in the Mexican Pacific Winter League.
Marlins Release Justin Maxwell, Don Kelly
The Marlins have released outfielder Justin Maxwell and infielder Don Kelly, as MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports (Twitter links). Both were in camp on minor league deals.
Mawell had exercised an opt-out clause, and obviously Miami was not willing to add him to the 40-man. His deal would have paid him $1.1MM at the major league level. The 32-year-old had an early-season renaissance with the Giants last year, but ultimately produced at just a .209/.275/.341 clip in his 274 plate appearances on the season.
Kelly, meanwhile, was an Article XX(B) free agent and thus would’ve been due a $100K roster bonus had he been kept in the minors. Now 36, Kelly took just one major league plate appearance last year, though he did make a big league showing for the seventh consecutive season. The glove-first infielder also only managed to suit up for a dozen minor league games with the Miami organization in 2015.
Marlins To Sign Justin Maxwell To Minors Deal
TODAY: Maxwell would earn a $1.1MM salary if he can crack the major league roster, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. The deal also includes an opt out just before the start of the season that would allow Maxwell to seek a new opportunity if he’s not ticketed for Miami at the end of camp.
YESTERDAY: The Marlins have agreed to a minor league deal with outfielder Justin Maxwell, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports on Twitter. Also agreeing to terms with the Fish were first baseman Xavier Scruggs and righty Paul Clemens.
Maxwell played a bigger-than-expected role with the Giants last year as injuries impacted the club’s outfield alignment. He got off to a nice start, but faded over time and finished the year with a .209/.275/.341 batting line over 274 plate appearances. Maxwell did produce above-average slash lines in 2012 and 2013 as an oft-used part-time player.
Scruggs, who just turned 28, will be moving away from the Cardinals system for the first time. He’s received a quick taste of the big leagues in each of the last two years, but has spent most of his time in the upper minors. After a strong .281/.367/.490 campaign in 2014, Scruggs took a step back last year and finished with a .222/.323/.386 slash in his 601 plate appearances.
Meanwhile, the 27-year-old Clemens has thrown just under 100 MLB innings, all of which were logged over 2013-14 with the Astros. He carries a 5.51 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in that limited time. Last year, Clemens pitched in the Phillies’ and Royals’ systems, tallying 81 frames with a 5.44 ERA.
Minor MLB Transactions: 9/5/15
Here are today’s minor moves from around the league.
- The Giants have outrighted outfielders Justin Maxwell and Ryan Lollis to Triple-A Sacramento, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. They had designated both for assignment last week. The veteran Maxwell is a solid defender but a somewhat light hitter who batted .209/.275/.341 in 274 plate appearances in the big leagues this year. It’s unclear whether he’ll accept the Giants’ assignment. The 28-year-old Lollis has had a breakout season in the minors, batting .325/.377/.459 in 299 plate appearances for Sacramento, but he had a somewhat sketchy track record before that and only has 13 plate appearances’ worth of big-league experience.
- The Cubs have released veteran reliever Rafael Soriano, MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat tweets. They had designated him for assignment in a flurry of roster moves last Tuesday. Soriano, 35, did not sign until June and then pitched only 5 2/3 innings for Chicago, allowing four runs before hitting the DL with shoulder trouble. Soriano has a 2.89 ERA, 9.1 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 14 seasons also spent with the Mariners, Braves, Rays, Yankees and Nationals.
- The Rays have outrighted infielder Hak-Ju Lee to Triple-A Durham, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Lee, a former top prospect and a key part of the 2011 Matt Garza trade between the Rays and Cubs, has struggled to hit at Durham in recent seasons, posting a .220/.303/.304 line in 360 plate appearances there in 2015. (Of course, the Rays still did just fine in that deal, also getting Chris Archer and Brandon Guyer.) The Rays designated him for assignment on Tuesday.
- The Orioles have selected the contract of veteran outfielder Nolan Reimold, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes. The Orioles outrighted Reimold last week, but as Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun tweets, Reimold accepted the outright after the Orioles told him they would promote him this month. As Kubatko points out, the righty might prove useful as the O’s face two lefties (David Price and Mark Buehrle) this weekend. He’s hit .227/.306/.340 in 108 plate appearances with Baltimore this season.
Giants Designate Justin Maxwell For Assignment
The Giants announced that they have designated outfielder Justin Maxwell for assignment in order to clear space on the 40-man roster for September callup Nick Noonan.
Maxwell, 31, batted .209/.275/.341 in 274 plate appearances with the Giants this year. He’s soaked up a number innings in the outfield as San Francisco has dealt with injuries to its entire starting outfield — Hunter Pence, Angel Pagan and Nori Aoki. Maxwell is capable of playing all three outfield spots and is a particularly good defender in the corner outfield positions. As Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area tweets, the move is at least somewhat surprising, as the team could’ve transferred Tim Lincecum to the 60-day disabled list. Lincecum has been on the DL since late June.
Giants Designate Gary Brown For Assignment, Add Justin Maxwell To Roster
The Giants have designated outfielder Gary Brown for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for fellow outfielder Justin Maxwell, who has been informed that he made the team, per Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links).
Maxwell, 31, entered the day with a .316/.361/.526 batting line and went 4-for-4. After a pair of solid seasons at the plate in 2012-13, Maxwell received just 45 plate appearances with the 2014 Royals and struggled to a .150/.222/.175 line. Capable of playing all three outfield spots, Maxwell has batted .230/.344/.407 against left-handed pitching throughout his career. Maxwell grew up a Giants fans, Schulman notes, so today’s news is likely particularly exciting for him.
Designating Brown for assignment was likely tough for the Giants, as he’s a former first-round pick and top 100 prospect whose career has yet to take off as many expected. Brown surfaced in the Majors for the first time in 2014, collecting three hits in seven at-bats. A center fielder, Brown has batted .277/.342/.415 in parts of five Minor League seasons.
NL West Notes: Tulowitzki, Maxwell, Padres
Here’s the latest from around the NL West…
- While Carlos Gonzalez specifically stated that he wanted to stay with the Rockies, Troy Tulowitzki somewhat tellingly only said “I want to win here” when asked by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale if he wanted to stay with the club. The Rockies discussed Tulowitzki with a few teams this winter (including the Mets), a process that GM Jeff Bridich said the star shortstop was kept fully informed about, even though there wasn’t much to discuss. “We had conversations this winter, and Tulo has an understanding what we’re thinking….We talked to teams, but there really is nothing that came close to being done,” Bridich said.
- Justin Maxwell can opt out of his minor league deal with the Giants if he isn’t on the club’s Major League roster by Tuesday, March 31, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The 31-year-old Maxwell is battling for a reserve outfield job and said he hasn’t decided what his next step will be if he’s told he isn’t making the roster.
- While the Padres have come up short in high-profile pursuits of Yasmany Tomas, Hector Olivera and Yoan Moncada, that doesn’t mean the club hasn’t been busy on the international signing front. In a profile of Padres international scouting director Chris Kemp, MLB.com’s Corey Brock reports that the team has signed 12 international players between the ages of 16-19 are close to deals with several others. Of particular note is right-hander Starlin Cordero, who is already throwing at 94 mph at age 16 and only two months after being converted to pitching from the outfield.
- Diamondbacks catching prospect Peter O’Brien has played back-to-back games in the outfield, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports. O’Brien was having problems throwing the ball back to the mound in games earlier this month and he since hasn’t been back behind the plate. Dubbed as the D’Backs’ catcher of the future by GM Dave Stewart and others within the organization, many scouts have questions about O’Brien’s long-term future behind the plate (even aside from his throwing issue).
- In NL West news from earlier today, Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times discussed the Dodgers with Jeff Todd on the MLBTR Podcast…Jeff also asked MLBTR’s readers to rank the Dodgers‘ many notable offseason moves…I profiled Juan Uribe as a possible trade candidate…the Padres claimed righty Jandel Gustave off waivers from the Royals…the Mets are checking in on both the Rockies and Dodgers as part of their search for relief pitching help.
Minor Moves: Maxwell, Gearrin, Turley, Tigers
Here are the latest minor league transactions from around baseball….
- The Giants signed outfielder Justin Maxwell, righty Cory Gearrin and lefty Nik Turley to minor league contracts, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports (Twitter link). Maxwell received significant playing time with the Astros and Royals in 2012-13, but he posted only a .397 OPS over 45 PA in 2014 as Kansas City moved on to other outfield options. He elected to become a free agent in October. Gearrin posted a 4.28 ERA, 8.8 K/9, and 2.06 K/BB rate in 69 1/3 IP out of the Braves bullpen from 2011-13 and missed all of 2014 due to Tommy John surgery. Turley, a 50th-round draft pick for the Yankees in 2008, has a 3.41 ERA, 8.3 K/9 and 2.1 K/BB rate over 551 1/3 career minor league innings in New York’s system.
- Also from Eddy, the Tigers signed right-handers Rafael Dolis and Alberto Cabrera to minor league contracts. The two righties are both 26 years old, both originally signed amateur contracts out of the Dominican Republic with the Cubs and both last pitched in the majors in 2013. Cabrera has a 5.20 ERA over 27 2/3 IP in the bigs, while Dolis has a 5.48 ERA over 44 1/3 IP. (Dolis spent last season with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate.)
- The Rockies signed left-hander Buddy Boshers to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding reports. Boshers’ Major League resume consists of 15 1/3 relief innings for the Angels in 2013, and the 2008 fourth-rounder has a 3.67 ERA, 2.43 K/BB rate and 448 strikeouts over 446 1/3 IP over seven seasons in the Angels’ farm system.
- Right-hander Anthony Bass has elected to become a free agent, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle reports (Twitter link). Bass was outrighted off the Astros’ 40-man roster last month. As Drellich notes, Bass was hampered by an intercostal strain in 2014 and only pitched 27 innings for the Astros, posting a 6.33 ERA and an equal amount of strikeouts (seven) and walks.
- The Indians signed catcher Adam Moore to a minor league deal that contains a Spring Training invitation, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo reports (Twitter link). Moore appeared in 60 games with the Mariners in 2010 but has since appeared in only 20 Major League games scattered over the last four seasons with Seattle, Kansas City and San Diego. The Padres outrighted Moore off their 40-man roster last month.
- The Angels signed left-handers Adam Wilk and Edgar Ibarra, the team announced (via Twitter). Wilk, 26, appeared in eight games with the Tigers in 2011-12 and has since pitched in South Korea and for the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate. Ibarra is only 25 years old but already has nine years of pro experience, posting a 4.13 ERA, 2.03 K/BB and 7.8 K/9 over 654 innings in the Twins’ minor league system.
Minor Moves: Free Agents, Blue Jays
Here are the latest minor moves from around the game.
- 1B Daric Barton (Athletics), OF Tyler Colvin (Giants), OF Justin Maxwell (Royals), SP Jair Jurrjens (Rockies), RP Wilton Lopez (Rockies) and R Troy Patton (Padres) have all elected free agency, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy tweets.
- Seven former Blue Jays have elected free agency, Eddy tweets. Among them is first baseman Dan Johnson, who the Jays outrighted earlier this week. Johnson collected 48 plate appearances in Toronto this season, but spent most of the year with Triple-A Buffalo, hitting .232/.381/.434 in 459 plate appearances there. The others who elected free agency are shortstop Jonathan Diaz, outfielders Cole Gillespie and Darin Mastroianni, and pitchers Bobby Korecky, Brad Mills and Raul Valdes.