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A’s Sign Jake Fishman, Deolis Guerra To Minor League Deals

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The A’s announced a number of non-roster invitations to Spring Training this afternoon. Among those invited to camp were relievers Jake Fishman and Deolis Guerra, indicating both recently joined the organization on minor league deals. Oakland also signed first baseman Kevin Cron.

Fishman reached the big leagues for the first time with the Marlins in 2022. The southpaw had a few separate stints with Miami and made seven appearances altogether. He tallied 11 innings, allowing five runs while striking out six and issuing three walks. The sinkerballer averaged only 87.5 MPH on his fastball and under 76 MPH on his slider, but he had a nice year in Triple-A.

Through 56 appearances with Miami’s top affiliate, Fishman posted a 2.25 ERA. He induced grounders at an excellent 54.2% clip and struck out a serviceable 23.1% of opponents. The Union College product walked 8.5% of batters faced in the minors, and he held same-handed hitters to an awful .191/.270/.270 line across 142 plate appearances in Triple-A. Despite that strong showing, he was outrighted off Miami’s 40-man roster at the end of the end of the season and qualified for free agency. Also a former member of the Blue Jays organization, Fishman will compete for a situational role similar to the one already held by Sam Moll in Oakland.

Guerra is a familiar face for Oakland fans. The 33-year-old was second on the team in relief innings in 2021, soaking up 65 2/3 frames across 53 outings. He had a solid if unremarkable year, posting a 4.11 ERA while putting up roughly average strikeout and walk rates (23% and 7.4%, respectively). A veteran journeyman who’d previously suited up for the Pirates, Angels, Brewers and Phillies at the MLB level, Guerra looked to have carved out a multi-year role in the Oakland bullpen.

That was thrown off track before the 2022 season even began, however. Guerra battled some elbow pain in Spring Training, and he underwent Tommy John surgery a week into the regular season. He spent the whole year on the injured list and was non-tendered at the end of the season. While the A’s weren’t prepared to carry him on the 40-man roster all winter after a lost season, they quickly brought him back with a chance to earn a spot yet again. Given the mid-April timing of his surgery, it’s unlikely Guerra will be ready to take the mound in exhibition play. He’ll presumably start the year on the minor league injured list and head to Triple-A Las Vegas after he completes his rehab and builds back to game shape.

Cron, 30 in February, played in 47 games with the Diamondbacks from 2019-20. The right-handed hitter didn’t perform well in that very limited look, but he has mashed at a .319/.405/.651 clip in just over 800 career Triple-A plate appearances (albeit in an extremely favorable environment in Reno). Those monster numbers earned Cron looks in both Japan and South Korea over the past two years, though he didn’t fare especially well at either stop. He hit .231/.270/.431 with NPB’s Hiroshima Carp in 2021 and posted a .222/.255/.420 mark through 259 trips to the plate with the KBO’s SSG Landers this year.

Also included in the list of non-roster invitees are outfielder Cody Thomas and infielder Ernie Clement. Both had been designated for assignment in recent days but apparently went unclaimed on waivers and remained in the organization on outright assignments. Thomas debuted with 10 MLB games this past season, while Clement hit .184/.243/.209 in 70 combined contests between the Guardians and A’s in 2022.

Oakland further announced that infielder Vimael Machín declined an outright assignment after going unclaimed on waivers. He’ll head to minor league free agency, as is his right as a player who has been outrighted multiple times in his career. The lefty-hitting infielder posted a .220/.300/.287 line with one homer through 253 plate appearances this past season. He hasn’t done much at the plate in parts of three big league campaigns. Owner of a far more impressive .307/.400/.468 line through parts of four Triple-A seasons, Machín figures to find a minor league opportunity elsewhere.

Juan Lagares Signs With KBO’s SSG Landers

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Free agent outfielder Juan Lagares has signed with the SSG Landers of the Korea Baseball Organization, the team announced (h/t to Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News). The ACES client will be paid $495K for the remainder of the season.

It’s the first professional trip outside North America for Lagares, who has spent the past 16 years in the affiliated ranks. The 33-year-old has suited up with the Mets and Angels for 850 games in the major leagues. A Gold Glove caliber center fielder early in his career, he earned regular playing time on the strength of his glove for a good chunk of his stint in Queens.

Over the past few seasons, Lagares has settled in as a depth outfielder in the majors. His defensive metrics have tailed off and he’s posted well below-average numbers at the plate in each of the past two seasons. Lagares hit .236/.266/.372 through 327 plate appearances with the Halos last year. He returned on a minor league deal over the winter and earned another big league look in late May. After a disappointing 20-game showing, the Angels designated him for assignment last month. He cleared outright waivers and hit free agency, and he’ll now join a Landers team that has the KBO’s best record (52-26).

In a corresponding move, the Landers are releasing first baseman Kevin Cron. The former Diamondback spent the 2021 season in Japan and made the move to South Korea on a $750K contract last offseason. He’s struggled to a .222/.255/.420 line across 259 trips to the plate. While he’s hit 11 home runs and flashed some of the power potential he showed in the minor leagues, his on-base deficiencies mounted to the point the team decided to move on. The 29-year-old will be a free agent.

That also seems as if it’ll be true for veteran starter Iván Nova. Yoo adds the Landers are seeking a replacement for the 35-year-old righty, who signed for $900K over the winter. Nova has been tagged for a 6.50 ERA through 12 starts, only striking out 11% of the batters he’s faced. Yoo notes that various injuries could have played a part in that underperformance, but the club will look for an alternative nevertheless. An 11-year MLB veteran, Nova hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2020. KBO teams are permitted to carry two foreign-born pitchers on their rosters, so the Landers seem likely to look for a new option to pair with Wilmer Font, who is having an excellent season.

Recapping The KBO League’s International Player Signings

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With the lockout slowing MLB-related transactions to a crawl of minor league deals, transactions involving Korean Baseball Organization teams have taken more of a spotlight on MLBTR’s pages since the start of December.  These moves have included the signings of several names familiar to North American baseball fans, as the KBO League’s clubs have looked to address their allocated three roster spots for non-Korean players.  International-born players can only sign contracts worth a maximum of $1MM in total salary, and players new to the KBO League can sign only one-year pacts.

Though the Doosan Bears have one signing that still isn’t yet official, the other 29 slots have been filled.  It is still possible this list could be adjusted in the coming weeks due to a number of factors — injuries, players returning to North America (for personal reasons or a deal with an MLB team), issues related to the pandemic, or teams just changing their minds after seeing the players in training camp.  Here is the rundown of this winter’s international signings for the 10 KBO League franchises….

Doosan Bears
Jose Miguel Fernandez (deal not yet finalized), Ariel Miranda, Robert Stock

NC Dinos
Nick Martini, Wes Parsons, Drew Rucinski

Hanwha Eagles
Ryan Carpenter, Nick Kingham, Mike Tauchman

Lotte Giants
Charlie Barnes, DJ Peters, Glenn Sparkman

Kiwoom Heroes
Tyler Eppler, Eric Jokisch, Yasiel Puig

SSG Landers
Kevin Cron, Wilmer Font, Ivan Nova

Samsung Lions
David Buchanan, Jose Pirela, Albert Suarez

Kia Tigers
Socrates Brito, Sean Nolin, Ronnie Williams

LG Twins
Casey Kelly, Adam Plutko, Rio Ruiz

KT Wiz
William Cuevas, Odrisamer Despaigne, Henry Ramos

KBO’s SSG Landers Sign Kevin Cron

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The SSG Landers of the Korea Baseball Organization announced an agreement with former big league first baseman Kevin Cron (h/t to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO). The 28-year-old will receive $750K guaranteed with an additional $250K in possible incentives.

It’s the second consecutive season Cron will spend overseas, although it’ll be his first in South Korea. The former Diamondback spent the 2021 campaign with the Hiroshima Carp of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, slumping to a .231/.270/.431 line over 137 plate appearances.

Cron, the younger brother of Rockies first baseman C.J. Cron, will try to right the ship in his first crack at KBO pitching. He’s certainly capable of better than he showed with the Carp as the owner of a .319/.405/.651 line across two seasons at Triple-A. Cron has briefly appeared in parts of two major league seasons, combining to log 98 plate appearances over 47 games with Arizona from 2019-20.

Hiroshima Carp Acquire Kevin Cron, Dovydas Neverauskas

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Catching up on some signings from earlier this week, the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball agreed to one-year deals with first baseman Kevin Cron and right-hander Dovydas Neverauskas.  According to Sports Hochi (hat tip to Patrick Newman of NPBTracker), Cron will earn $1.1MM in the form of an $800K salary and a $300K bonus, while Neverauskas will earn $625K in salary and a $250K bonus.

Cron and Neverauskas were released by the Diamondbacks and Pirates, respectively, within the last month.  It was known at the time that the two players were heading to a team overseas, though specifics weren’t known until the Carp’s announcement.

Since the Diamondbacks have several first base options on the roster, GM Mike Hazen told the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro that “we just felt like if we couldn’t carve out legit opportunity for [Cron,] we should keep in mind there is a window by which he has an opportunity to make money.”  The D’Backs received $500K from the Carp in exchange for Cron’s rights.

After hitting 151 homers over 2765 plate appearances in the Diamondbacks’ minor league system, Cron showed some of that power in his 2019 rookie season, swatting six homers in 79 PA at the MLB level.  Cron couldn’t build on this start, however, and went hitless in 20 plate appearances in 2020, appearing in only eight games for Arizona.

Cron told Piecoro that the move to Japan is “bittersweet” since he enjoyed his time with the D’Backs, but as he heads into his age-28 season, “I might not get this chance again.  It’s a chance to go over there and learn as much as I can and maybe further my game even more and see what happens.”

The only Lithuanian-born player in MLB history, Neverauskas got his big league career off to a solid start in 2017, posting a 3.91 ERA over 25 1/3 relief innings for Pittsburgh.  After that debut year, however, the righty simply couldn’t get on track, as Neverauskas struggled to keep the ball in the yard.  Over 80 2/3 innings with the Bucs from 2017-20, Neverauskas posted a 6.81 ERA, 2.20 K/BB rate, 8.6 K/9, and a whopping 2.2 HR/9.

Looking for silver linings from that performance, Neverauskas did increase his strikeout totals every year, and he has solid velocity on a fastball that averaged 94.8mph (though his velo has steadily dropped after a 97mph average in 2017).  ERA predictors also indicate at least a slightly more favorable perspective on Neverauskas’ results than his 6.81 ERA does, as he has a 5.94 FIP, 4.72 xFIP, and 4.33 SIERA over his Pirates career.

Diamondbacks Release Kevin Cron

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The Diamondbacks have released first baseman Kevin Cron, according to MLB.com’s transactions page.  Cron’s rights have been sold to a team in Nippon Professional Baseball, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.

Cron appeared in eight games with Arizona this season, recording only one walk and zero hits over 20 plate appearances.  It was a disappointing output for a player who flashed some of his power potential over 78 PA in 2019, as Cron hit .211/.269/.521 with six homers in his rookie season.  Since it became apparent that he wasn’t in the Diamondbacks’ long-term plans, Cron will now head to Japan for a new chapter in his career.

Originally a 14th-round pick for the D’Backs in the 2014 draft, Cron hit .280/.348/.529 with 151 home runs over 2765 PA in the minor leagues.  Despite hitting at every level, Cron’s status as something of a traditional slugging, slow-footed first baseman (who was lacking in glovework) limited his prospect stock, not to mention the fact that Paul Goldschmidt was for years a big roadblock for any first base prospect in Arizona’s system.  Cron didn’t crack the big leagues until his age-26 season, and while the NL’s adoption of the designated hitter led MLBTR’s Steve Adams to wonder if Cron could blossom in a DH role, Cron didn’t produce or even receive much of an opportunity in 2020.

Diamondbacks Designate Matt Grace For Assignment

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The Diamondbacks have designated left-hander Matt Grace for assignment, as per a press release.  The D’Backs also announced that infielder Andy Young and righty Joel Payamps were called up from the club’s alternate training site to take the roster spots left open by Grace and Kevin Cron, who was optioned to the training site after last night’s game.

Grace just had his contract selected by the D’Backs last week, though his three-game tenure with the club has been a rough one.  Grace has a 54.00 ERA over one official inning pitched, as his last two outings have seen the southpaw charged with three earned runs without recording an out.

A veteran of six MLB seasons, Grace posted a 4.29 ERA, 2.69 K/BB rate, 53.4% grounder rate, and 6.7 K/9 over  176 1/3 relief innings for the Nationals from 2015-19.  The highlight was a 2018 season that saw Grace deliver a 2.87 ERA over 59 2/3 frames, though he struggled to a 6.36 ERA over 46 2/3 innings in 2019 and was left off Washington’s postseason roster.

Universal DH Could Open Door For 2019 Minor League Home Run King

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The Diamondbacks weren’t a bad offensive club in 2019, but they were a middle-of-the-pack unit in the National League in terms of total runs (sixth overall with 813), home runs (ninth, 220) and wRC+ (seventh, 94). Like most contending clubs with a good bit of depth, those numbers should tick up if the league implements a universal DH in 2020, as seems increasingly likely.

For the Diamondbacks, the most established beneficiary on the roster is lefty swinging Jake Lamb. Shoulder injuries have torched the 29-year-old’s past two seasons, and the former everyday third baseman has since lost that spot to Eduardo Escobar as a result. With a DH added to the mix, Lamb could rotate between designated hitter and both infield corners, providing occasional breathers for Escobar and 2019 breakout performer Christian Walker — at least against right-handed pitching. Lamb has struggled mightily in his career against southpaws, though, so he’d likely need to be platooned.

Enter Kevin Cron.

The righty swinging younger brother of slugger C.J. Cron has never been considered among the D-backs’ top prospects, in part because of a lack of defensive value and the type of plodding speed you’d expect from a 6’5″, 250-pound first baseman. But Cron has consistently hammered minor league pitching, and never more so than in 2019, when he belted a minor-league-leading 39 home runs in just 84 games. (Yes — the Triple-A ball was also juiced.)

Cron logged a ridiculous .331/.449/.777 slash with a career-high 16.2 percent walk rate and a 20.4 percent strikeout rate with Triple-A Reno. He only received 78 plate appearances in the Majors, due in no small part to the breakout of Walker, who is also a stellar defender at first base. That said, Cron tacked on another six round-trippers in the big leagues, bringing his season total to 45 in just 460 plate appearances.

Lamb might get the first look at DH — he’s playing on a $5.525MM contract after all — but Cron should be in line for at least a platoon gig early in the season. Further injuries to Lamb or some struggles at the plate could open the door for a wider look. It’s not a given that Cron’s minor league dominance would carry over to the big leagues — he’s not even ranked in their top 30 prospects at Baseball America and sits just 26th at MLB.com — but when you homer in nearly 10 percent of your 400-plus plate appearances, it’s probably time for a legitimate chance.

Beyond Cron and Lamb, the D-backs have prospect Seth Beer working his way toward the Majors. He came over from Houston in the Zack Greinke swap and is a bat-first corner option himself, although he’s yet to appear in Triple-A. Versatile Swiss army knives like Josh Rojas and Andy Young can be plugged in all over the diamond, giving the Snakes increased opportunities to spell Ketel Marte, David Peralta, Kole Calhoun, etc. with a day at designated hitter as well.

The D-backs have the depth to take a mix-and-match approach to the DH spot, plus one veteran option looking for a bounceback … but the most interesting thread to follow will be whether 2019’s minor league home run king can capitalize on an opportunity he didn’t expect to have when Spring Training originally commenced.

Diamondbacks Option Taylor Clarke, Kevin Cron To Triple-A

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The Diamondbacks have optioned right-hander Taylor Clarke and infielder Kevin Cron to Triple-A Reno, the team announced.

The 26-year-old Clarke, a third-round pick of the Diamondbacks in 2015, got an extended look in the club’s staff last year. The D-backs battled injuries to Luke Weaver and Taijuan Walker, and they subtracted Zack Greinke via trade, which helped lead to 23 appearances and 15 starts for Clarke. But Clarke didn’t show especially well in that 84 2/3-inning span, pitching to a 5.31 ERA/6.41 FIP with 7.23 K/9 and 3.19 BB/9. Clarke was worse with Reno, though, as he put up a 6.63 ERA/5.87 FIP and 6.87 K/9 against 4.17 BB/9 over 36 2/3 innings in the offensively charged Pacific Coast League.

Cron, on the other hand, was among the players who thrived the most in the PCL last year. He slashed an otherworldly .331/.449/.777 (good for a 182 wRC+) with 38 home runs 377 plate appearances. The 27-year-old walked nearly as much he struck out in Reno (61 free passes, 77 Ks), but wasn’t able to carry that success to the game’s highest level. While Cron did put his his prodigious power on display as a Diamondback (six home runs, .310 ISO in 78 trips to the plate), a 35.9 percent strikeout rate against a 5.1 percent walk mark had a hand in holding him to an unspectacular .211/.269/.521 line.

Diamondbacks Place David Peralta On 10-Day IL

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The Diamondbacks have placed outfielder David Peralta on the 10-day injured list, per a club announcement. He’s said to be dealing with inflammation in his right AC joint.

Coming onto the MLB roster to fill in is outfielder Tim Locastro. He’ll join Kevin Cron, whose previously reported promotion is now official. To create an additional roster spot, the club optioned righty Jimmie Sherfy.

The 31-year-old Peralta has followed up on his strong 2018 showing with an excellent .309/.357/.524 slash in 2017 plate appearances this year. He has also been dealing with some shoulder problems of late. Evidently, the issue progressed to the point that it was decided he needed to take at least a brief respite.

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