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Kevin Frandsen

East Notes: Frandsen, Franco, Machado, Orioles

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The Phillies announced on Monday that former big leaguers Kevin Frandsen, Kevin Jordan and Kevin Stocker will join their broadcast team. According to the announcement, that trio of former Phillies will rotate through road games and serve as color analysts alongside play-by-play broadcaster Scott Franzke. The 35-year-old Frandsen is the most recent member of the group to have suited up in the Majors, appearing in seven games for the 2015 Giants. Frandsen seemingly never made a formal declaration of his intention to retire as a player, though he has not appeared in a professional game since that 2015 season. It seems fair to assume, then, that he’ll embark upon a new career as he breaks into the media world.

A couple more notes on the Phillies and some other east coast clubs…

  • In less pleasant news, third baseman Maikel Franco was suspended from his team in the Dominican Winter League for “violating the organization’s discipline code,” per Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes. Franco and teammates Moises Sierra, Garabez Rosa and Eduardo de Oleo were photographed partying at a Dominican club as late as 6am on the day of one of the team’s playoff games, per the report. It was a disappointment for both his DWL team and the Phillies alike, prompting an apology from the third baseman: “I apologize to the team, the fans and our sponsors, it’s something that will not happen again,” said Franco. The 25-year-old Franco, who impressed mightily as a rookie in 2015, has regressed in each of the past two seasons and is coming off his worst MLB campaign to date. In 623 plate appearances, Franco slashed just .230/.281/.409 with 24 homers.
  • Orioles skipper Buck Showalter is overseeing what Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com calls a “delicate situation” on the left side of the infield, where Manny Machado has reportedly indicated a desire to move to a shortstop position that would otherwise be occupied by Tim Beckham. While Showalter isn’t tipping his hand, he says there’s been progress in resolving who’ll play where — assuming, at least, that Machado is ultimately retained by the O’s. The manager says he has “positioned us to maneuver regardless of what happens between now and the season starting.”
  • Showalter and Kubatko also cover a variety of other topics of interest to the Baltimore faithful in that as well as another post, focusing in particular on a trio of lefties. Rule 5 pick Nestor Cortes has drawn early praise from the skipper, though of course he’ll still need to earn and keep an active roster spot. Elsewhere, the general prognosis on key reliever Zach Britton seems to be positive, though that’s not to say there’s any change to the mid-summer timeline for him to return from his Achilles tear. Kubatko also held an interesting chat with Richard Bleier, who recognizes that his sparkling 1.99 ERA from 2017 doesn’t guarantee him anything entering camp.

Minor MLB Transactions: 10/19/15

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Here are the latest minor moves from around the game:

  • Outfielder Jason Pridie has been given his release by the Athletics in order to pursue an opportunity playing in Japan, Oakland announced. The 32-year-old has seen action in seven big league seasons, but has exceeded ten plate appearances in only one of those — 2011, when he slashed .231/.309/.370 in 236 turns at bat for the Mets. But Pridie had a big year at Triple-A in 2015, putting up a .310/.380/.515 line with 20 home runs and 20 steals over 540 plate appearances.
  • The Athletics also announced that 28-year-old catcher Bryan Anderson has been outrighted to Triple-A. Not unlike Pridie, Anderson has seen action in five MLB seasons but accumulated just 77 total plate appearances in that span. He struggled badly offensively at the Triple-A level this year, slashing a meager .202/.273/.288 in 322 trips to the plate.
  • The Giants have outrighted catcher Jackson Williams, infielder Nick Noonan and righty Brett Bochy, according to the MLB.com transactions page (and as MLBTR has confirmed). The 29-year-old Williams collected 14 plate appearances after being promoted in early September. He spent most of the year at Double-A Richmond, where he hit .228/.312/.279. Noonan, too, was a September call-up. He spent the first several months of the season with the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate before the Giants signed him in August and sent him to Triple-A Sacramento. For the season, the 26-year-old hit .263/.310/.338 in 339 plate appearances in the minors, mostly playing shortstop. He’s already cleared waivers and elected free agency. Bochy, the son of Giants manager Bruce, got a cup of coffee in the big leagues for the second consecutive year in 2015. The 28-year-old spent most of the season in Sacramento, posting a 4.19 ERA, 6.7 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 58 innings of relief.

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/23/2015

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Here are today’s minor moves …

  • The Giants are calling up veteran infielder Kevin Frandsen, reports Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area (Twitter link). As Pavlovic notes, the Giants’ position-player depth has been hit hard by injuries, so Frandsen can provide some depth for the final couple weeks of the season. He’s not on the 40-man roster and will thus require a 40-man move to accommodate his promotion.
  • Giants outfielder Daniel Carbonell has cleared outright waivers and been assigned to Triple-A, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. Carbonell was recently designated for assignment to free up 40-man space. It’s not terribly surprising that he cleared, as he is still in the midst of the four-year, $3.5MM deal that he signed with San Francisco as an international free agent out of Cuba. The 24-year-old advanced to Double-A this year after putting up solid-enough numbers in the lower minors, but sputtered to a .146/.173/.194 slash in 214 plate appearances there.

NL Notes: Paco, Pirates, Frandsen, Mets

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The Dodgers have been aggressively pursuing bullpen depth and their search could well continue now that southpaw Paco Rodriguez has been placed on the 15-day DL with a strained left elbow.  Rodriguez will return to Los Angeles to visit with the team doctor and undergo an MRI this week to determine the extent of the injury.  Rodriguez has a 2.61 ERA, 7.0 K/9 and 2.67 K/BB rate over 10 1/3 relief innings this season, and he’ll join other Dodger pitching notables as Hyun-jin Ryu, Brandon McCarthy, Brandon League and Joel Peralta on the injured list.  Here’s some more from around the National League…

  • The Pirates are getting on track after a slow start, in large part because of several fairly inexpensive but productive offseason additions have helped, Fangraphs’ Jeff Sullivan writes in a piece for FOX Sports.  A.J. Burnett is throwing like a Cy Young candidate, Jung Ho Kang has been a power bat at short, Arquimedes Caminero and Rob Scahill are pitching well out of the bullpen and Francisco Cervelli has essentially replaced Russell Martin’s elite pitch-calling at a fraction of Martin’s price tag.
  • Kevin Frandsen is excited to be joining the Giants, telling Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links) that he was eager to join a team that valued utility players.  The veteran will join the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate after signing a minor league contract earlier today.
  • As many as eight of the 15 NL teams could be trade deadline sellers, according to what the New York Post’s Joel Sherman has been hearing from league executives, though the Reds, Padres and Marlins may hold out from trades as long as possible out of a refusal to give up on the season.  The Mets seems to be one of the buyers, and Sherman lists four big-name players (Aroldis Chapman, Martin Prado, Justin Upton and Ben Zobrist) who could help New York’s playoff chances.  The versatile Prado and Zobrist could help all over the diamond given some of the Mets’ unsettled injury situations, Upton would add another big bat and Chapman’s addition would solidify the Mets’ bullpen and thus take pressure off the rotation.  While any of this quartet would certainly be upgrades for the Mets, it remains to be seen, however, how much (if any) money the club is willing to spend for in-season additions.

Giants To Sign Kevin Frandsen To Minor League Deal

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The Giants are set to sign Kevin Frandsen to a minor league deal, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com tweets. It’s a return to the start for the well-traveled veteran who was drafted by the Giants in 2004.

Frandsen, who recently just turned 33, spent 2014 with the Nationals and hit .259/.299/.309 across 105 games.  After the season, the Nats avoided arbitration with him by agreeing to a one-year, $1MM deal that includes up to $300K worth of incentives. However, Washington wound up letting him go on April 1st, leading him to a minor league pact with the D’Backs.  Frandsen’s stint in Arizona only lasted one month after posting a a .309/.352/.333 slash line over 89 plate appearances for Triple-A Reno. and he’ll now try to stick with another NL West club.

The veteran will look to replicate his play with the Phillies in 2012 when he slashed .338/.383/.451 in 210 plate appearances.  He also offers versatility in the field with experience at first base, second base, third base, and left field.

Minor Moves: Barfield, Bianchi, Frandsen

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • The Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League have signed former A’s prospect Jeremy Barfield, tweets Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Barfield, the son of former major leaguer Jesse Barfield and brother of Josh Barfield, spent parts of four seasons with the Athletics’ Double-A affiliate and reached as high as Triple-A. The 26-year-old is a career .261/.334/.402 hitter in the minors.
  • Infielder Jeff Bianchi has rejected an outright assignment from the Red Sox after clearing waivers, Tim Britton of the Providence Journal tweets. He is now a free agent. Bianchi enjoyed a proverbial cup of coffee with Boston this year, but spent most of his time in the organization compiling a useful .302/.373/.340 slash at Triple-A. He has seen more extensive time with the Brewers in the past.
  • The Diamondbacks have released veteran utility infielder Kevin Frandsen, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports on Twitter. Frandsen, 33, owns a .309/.352/.333 slash over 89 plate appearances for Triple-A Reno. He spent last year with the Nationals, contributing only a .259/.299/.309 batting line in his 236 plate appearances. Since a strong year for the Phillies in 2012, Frandsen — who mostly plays at second and third — has been at or below replacement level.

D-Backs Sign Kevin Frandsen To Minor League Deal

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The Diamondbacks have signed infielder Kevin Frandsen to a Minor League contract and assigned him to Triple-A Reno, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter). Frandsen is a client of All Bases Covered Sports Management.

Frandsen, 32, spent the 2014 season serving as a utility infield option for the Nationals. In 236 plate appearances with Washington, he batted .259/.299/.309 and appeared at second base, third base, first base and in left field. The Nats tendered a contract to Frandsen this offseason and agreed to a $1MM salary, but the team released him late in Spring Training.

Frandsen can serve as a depth option for the D-Backs, as he has experience at all four infield positions as well as both corner outfield spots. With Jake Lamb set to miss a few weeks due to a stress reaction in his foot, it’s possible that Frandsen could find his way onto the big league roster in the near future.

Nationals Release Kevin Frandsen

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The Nationals have released infielder Kevin Frandsen, the club announced. Frandsen, 32, had been signed to a $1MM deal to avoid arbitration early in the offseason.

It was about this time last year that the Nats originally added Frandsen, signing him quickly when the division-rival Phillies let him go. Frandsen earned plaudits for his presence in the clubhouse and willingness to contribute in any way possible, but he hit only .259/.299/.309 last year with just one home run in 236 turns at bat. With slightly negative marks from defensive metrics added in, he was a below-replacement level producer.

With Anthony Rendon still an injury question mark, it appears that the Nationals will open the year with some combination of Yunel Escobar, Danny Espinosa, Ian Stewart, and Dan Uggla playing at second and third, the slots that Frandsen was most likely to fit.

Quick Hits: Nationals, Axford, Badenhop

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Here’s the latest from around the league as the evening winds down.

  • With Ben Zobrist headed west to the Athletics, the Nationals are still trying to solve second base, writes Bill Ladson of MLB.com. Currently, there are five internal options. The most obvious are Danny Espinosa and Anthony Rendon. Espinosa has disappointed over the last two seasons while Rendon is expected to start at third base. Prospect Wilmer Difo has yet to play above A-ball, but he’s on the 40-man roster and possesses exciting tools. Other options include veterans Kevin Frandsen and Dan Uggla.
  • Free agent John Axford would like to compete for a closer gig, writes Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. As it happens, the Blue Jays have yet to acquire a closer. Left-hander Brett Cecil is penciled into the role. At this point, no offers have been made to Axford, but several teams have shown interest including the Jays. After three consecutive rough seasons, Axford would likely have to earn any high leverage role.
  • The market for mid-tier, high leverage relievers has been slow to materialize, writes Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Bradford interviews righty reliever Burke Badenhop who is coming off a career season with a 2.29 ERA in over 70 innings. As Badenhop points out, teams don’t feel any pressure to make the first offer to free agents of his caliber. While five teams may be showing interest, they each know that any firm offer will get passed around to the others for bidding. Relievers like Badenhop, Francisco Rodriguez, and Rafael Soriano have to exercise patience as prospective buyers first gauge the trade market.

Nats Notes: Zimmermann, Second Base, Moore

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The Nationals have kept a low profile this winter, per MLBTR’s Transaction Tracker. GM Mike Rizzo has yet to sign a free agent to a MLB contract preferring minor league deals for veterans like Dan Uggla, Heath Bell, and Ian Stewart while netting Joe Ross and Trea Turner for being the third team in the Wil Myers trade. Here’s the latest on the Nationals’ offseason, courtesy of MLB.com’s Bill Ladson:

  • By trading Jordan Zimmermann, the Nationals would be able to replenish their farm system and add a couple of veterans.
  • Ladson opines the Nationals will trade for a second baseman before the start of Spring Training (listing Ben Zobrist as a possibility) because Danny Espinosa is too inconsistent offensively, Kevin Frandsen is not seen as a starter by manager Matt Williams, and the team does not want to rush prospect Wilmer Difo.
  • Tyler Moore must have a great Spring Training to make the club coming off the bench. If not, the 28-year-old (next month) first baseman becomes a trade candidate because he is out of options.
  • With Denard Span scheduled to hit free agency after the 2015 season, Michael A. Taylor could be the everyday center fielder in 2016, but the Nationals will need to find a leadoff hitter and may have to settle for Jayson Werth.
  • Top prospect Lucas Giolito is not a rotation candidate, if Zimmermann or Doug Fister is traded. The 16th overall selection in the 2012 draft should begin the season in Double-A and could be a September callup.

 

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