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Matt Buschmann

Quick Hits: Hoyer, Cubs, Moreland, Jays, Phillies

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“The activity of our offseason isn’t indicative of how much we’ve been on the phone and have been working,” Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer told ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers as part of a Q&A session.  It has been a quiet winter in Wrigleyville, as the Cubs have been limited to minor league signings and a couple of low-cost MLB contracts as the club is seemingly operating with a very limited amount of available payroll.  The Cubs have yet to make any major acquisitions or trade away any big in-house contracts to free up more luxury tax space, though while Hoyer admitted “this is obviously likely to be one of our less active offseasons,” more transactions could be on the horizon.  “We’ve been incredibly active making calls and exploring options,” the GM said, adding that he expects “the trade market will continue to be an active place well into February.”

Here are some more notes to kick off both Groundhog Day and Super Bowl Sunday….

  • Before re-signing with the Red Sox, Mitch Moreland received offers from at least two other clubs, the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham writes.  “The biggest thing for me was I’ve enjoyed my time in Boston.  It feels like home for us and there’s a good group of guys.  I’m comfortable there,” said Moreland, who has played the last three seasons with the Sox.  “It’s a good family atmosphere, too, and that means a lot to me.”  Moreland was eager enough to return to Fenway Park that he re-signed despite the fact that the Sox don’t yet have a manager in place in the wake of Alex Cora’s firing.
  • Blue Jays bullpen coach Matt Buschmann has been named as director of pitching development, the team announced.  Buschmann will work in both roles for the 2020 season.  A veteran of 11 pro seasons (including a brief stint of 4 1/3 innings with the Diamondbacks in 2016), Buschmann retired after the 2017 campaign to take on an assistant director post with the Giants before joining the Jays for the 2019 season.
  • The Phillies’ lack of starting pitching upgrades have left David Murphy of the Philadelphia Inquirer pessimistic about the club’s chances of competing in 2020.  Though the Phils landed one of the winter’s biggest free agent arms in Zack Wheeler, Murphy feels much more rotation help was necessary given how Jake Arrieta, Vince Velasquez, and Zach Eflin posted middling numbers last year, and even Aaron Nola’s solid year was a step back from an outstanding 2018 season.  The shortage of pitching especially stands out in the NL East, where the Nationals, Braves, and Mets are all deep in rotation options.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/17/17

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Here are the latest minor moves from around the baseball world…

  • The Twins signed infielder Taylor Featherston and outfielder James Ramsey were among those signed to minor league contracts, as per their MLB.com transactions page.  Featherston has a .477 OPS over 244 career PA with the Angels, Phillies, and Rays, and is best known as a defense-first player, primarily at second base but also seeing significant time at third and shortstop.  Ramsey, chosen 23rd overall by the Cardinals in the 2012 draft, was dealt to Cleveland in a one-for-one trade for Justin Masterson in July 2014 but has since struggled to live up to his early potential.  Ramsey has spent the last three seasons at the Triple-A level for the Indians, Dodgers and Mariners.
  • The Brewers signed left-hander Mike Zagurski to a minors deal, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports (via Twitter).  Zagurski pitched in parts of five big league seasons with the Phillies, Diamondbacks, Pirates, and Yankees, last appearing in the Show during the 2013 campaign.  Zagurski has since spent two seasons in Japan and pitched in the Tigers’ farm system in 2017.
  • The Giants announced their player development staff for the upcoming season, including the hiring of former right-hander Matt Buschmann in one of five Assistant Director Of Player Development positions (Buschmann will focus on run prevention).  Originally a 15th-round pick for the Padres in the 2006 draft, Buschmann spent 11 seasons in pro ball, though he didn’t pitch in 2017 after being released from his minor league deal with the Blue Jays in early April.  Buschmann’s career did include a brief taste of the majors, appearing in three games (4 1/3 IP) for the Diamondbacks in April 2016.  We at MLBTR wish Buschmann the best as he embarks on his post-playing career.

Minor MLB Transactions: 3/7/17

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We’ll keep tabs on the day’s minor moves right here:

  • In a surprise move, lefty John Lannan is heading back to the Nationals on a minors pact., Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports in his latest compilation of moves from around the league. Now 32, Lannan provided the Nats with 783 2/3 innings of 4.01 ERA ball from 2007 through 2012, but didn’t exactly leave the organization on the best of terms. He appeared briefly in each of the next two seasons, and has toiled in the upper minors since. With few apparent opportunities for Lannan to regain his prior standing, it seems there’ll be some interesting changes afoot. Upon his return to the Nats organization, he’ll be working to re-make himself into a submariner relief pitcher, according to Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post (via Twitter)
  • Righty Matt Buschmann will join the Blue Jays on a minor-league deal, as Eddy further reports. The 33-year-old debuted in the majors last year with the D-Backs, though he received only three outings. He spent the bulk of the year at Triple-A, throwing 142 innings of 5.26 ERA ball with 5.8 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9.
  • The White Sox have added a pair of players on minors deals, Eddy adds, with righty Jake Dunning and utilityman Tyler Ladendorf joining the mix. The 28-year-old Dunning had spent his entire career with the Giants organization. He hasn’t been up to the majors since 2014, and pitched to a 4.85 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 at Triple-A last year. Ladendorf, who tuns 29 today, received brief time in the majors in each of the last two seasons. The former second-round pick offers plenty of defensive versatility, but hasn’t shown much bat in the upper minors. He owns a lifetime .261/.327/.349 slash at Triple-A.
  • The Nationals announced that catcher Spencer Kieboom has been assigned to Triple-A after clearing waivers. He had recently been designated for assignment to clear 40-man roster space. Kieboom will remain in camp as a non-roster player, though it’s all but certain he’ll head to the minors to open the year. The 25-year-old actually hasn’t yet played at Triple-A despite a very brief appearance in the majors last year. Kieboom hit .230/.324/.314 in his 359 plate appearances at the Double-A level in 2016.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/3/16

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We’ll track the day’s minor moves right here:

  • The Cubs announced that they’ve placed outfielder Matt Szczur on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring and selected the contract of outfielder Ryan Kalish to take his place on the active roster. In order to clear a spot for Kalish on the 40-man roster, the club has transferred infielder Christian Villanueva to the 60-day disabled list. Kalish, 28, was long a top-rated Red Sox prospect and is, as such, quite familiar to president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer. Excellent production in the minors has earned Kalish his first taste of the Majors since 2014 (also with the Cubs). In 20 games (70 plate appearances) at the Triple-A level thus far, Kalish is batting a ridiculous .368/.471/.509 with four doubles, a pair of triples, three steals and more walks drawn (10) than strikeouts (nine).
  • The Mariners announced that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Steve Johnson from Triple-A Tacoma and placed right-hander Tony Zych on the 15-day DL with rotator cuff tendinitis. Johnson, 28, has a fair amount of big league experience — all coming with the Orioles between the 2012-15 seasons. In 59 1/3 innings at the big league level, he’s worked to a 4.25 ERA with 10.5 K/9 against 5.5 BB/9. However, he’s posted a 20-to-2 K/BB ratio in 16 innings with Tacoma this season, so the Mariners will undoubtedly hope that they’ve helped iron out his longstanding control problems. Zych, meanwhile, had a 3.00 ERA in 12 innings this season and had punched out 19 batters against eight free passes (one intentional).

Earlier Moves

  • The Reds have purchased the contract of catcher Rafael Lopez from the Bridgeport Bluefish, the indy league club announced. He’ll head to Triple-A Louisville, providing another depth option for an organization that is filling in for injured MLB starter Devin Mesoraco. Lopez, 28, has only appeared briefly at the major league level. He spent last season at Triple-A in the Cubs and Angels systems, slashing .266/.339/.335 over 246 plate appearances.
  • Righty Matt Buschmann has been outrighted to Triple-A by the Diamondbacks, MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert reports on Twitter. The 32-year-old was designated recently as Arizona continues to cycle through relief pitchers to keep its pen fresh. He surrendered only one earned run in his first 4 1/3  big league frames, but will for head back to Triple-A once again to wait for another shot. Buschmann had been working as a starter in the minors, as he has for much of his minor league career, but it remains to be seen what role he’ll take upon his return to Reno.

Diamondbacks Designate Matt Buschmann

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The Diamondbacks have designated righty Matt Buschmann for assignment, per a club announcement. His roster spot was needed for southpaw Edwin Escobar, who was just claimed off waivers.

Buschmann, 32, had already been optioned back to Triple-A after making his MLB debut earlier in the year. He threw well in three appearances, allowing only one earned run on three hits and an intentional walk over 4 1/3 innings while retiring three via the strikeout.

The Triple-A level represents familiar territory for the minor league veteran. Buschmann has racked up 598 1/3 frames there over parts of eight seasons, most of them as a starter, working to a 5.08 ERA with 7.3 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/17/16

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Here are Sunday’s minor transactions from around baseball:

  • The Diamondbacks announced that they recalled right-handed pitchers Archie Bradley and Evan Marshall and optioned righties Jake Barrett and Matt Buschmann to Triple-A. Arizona needed fresh arms after its 14-inning marathon loss to San Diego on Saturday night, when Barrett and Buschmann combined to throw 4 1/3 innings. If Bradley doesn’t pitch in relief today, the D-backs could start him Monday in place of Rubby De La Rosa, manager Chip Hale said (Twitter link via Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic). De La Rosa came out of the bullpen Saturday and got two outs before allowing a walk-off home run to Melvin Upton Jr.
  • Pirates shortstop Pedro Florimon accepted his outright assignment to Triple-A Indianapolis, general manager Neal Huntington said (Twitter link via Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). The Pirates outrighted Florimon on Wednesday and he had 72 hours to decide whether to accept the assignment or reject it and become a free agent. The defense-first Florimon has hit a career .199/.262/.295 batting line in 717 plate appearances. He batted .245/.315/.367 for Indianapolis last season.
  • The Reds have optioned right-hander Keyvius Sampson to Triple-A Louisville and activated righty Jon Moscot (intercostal) from the disabled list, according to C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). Moscot, who owns a 3.67 ERA, 7.3 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 404 1/3 minor league innings, will start the Reds’ game against the Cardinals on Sunday. He got his first taste of the big leagues with the Reds last year, allowing six earned runs in three starts (11 1/3 innings) while totaling six strikeouts and five walks. MLBPipeline.com ranks Moscot as the Reds’ No. 24 prospect. Sampson, meanwhile, got off to a rough start this season for the Reds in surrendering four hits and four earned runs in three innings. In 13 appearances (12 starts) with the Reds last season, he tossed 52 1/3 frames of 6.54 ERA ball.

Diamondbacks Designate Kyle Drabek, Select Matt Buschmann

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The Diamondbacks have designated right-hander Kyle Drabek for assignment, per a team announcement (and as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic said was in the works, on Twitter). His roster spot will go to fellow righty Matt Buschmann.

Drabek ended up making just one appearance in a quick stint, but he did provide two much-needed innings in relief last night. He owns a 5.26 ERA over 179 2/3 career MLB frames, but has never made good on his former promise. Drabek, who entered the professional ranks as a first-round pick, once rated as one of the game’s very best pitching prospects.

As for Buschmann, he’ll get his first crack at the majors after ten years of minor league action. The 32-year-old signed a minor league deal with Arizona this winter, and obviously picked the right organization. Working at Triple-A last year as a starter with three different clubs, Buschmann ran up a 4.14 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 over 134 2/3 innings.

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