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Michael Martinez

AL Central Notes: Martinez, Cobb, Darvish, Twins, Starling, Greene

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The Indians announced today that non-roster invitee Michael Martinez suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon during his offseason workout (specifically, agility exercises), which required surgical repair and will sideline the veteran utilityman for the next six months. The 35-year-old Martinez was a long shot to make the big league roster out of Spring Training, but he’s found his way onto Cleveland’s Major League roster in each of the past three seasons, helping to fill in for various injuries. He’s batted .257/.289/.331 over the life of 145 plate appearances with Cleveland. That six-month timeline will put Martinez on track for an August return, so it’s still possible that he could at least return to the club’s Triple-A team late in the season.

Elsewhere in the AL Central…

  • Minnesota’s interest in Alex Cobb has been “overstated,” reports MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger in his latest Twins Inbox column. (MLBTR recently explored the market for Cobb as part of our Free Agent Profile series.) Yu Darvish remains the Twins’ top priority, but they’re reluctant to go beyond a five-year deal in order to land any free agent. The Twins still have some interest in Chris Tillman as a possible rebound candidate, Bollinger adds. He also notes that chief baseball officer Derek Falvey wouldn’t rule out a reunion with Jaime Garcia, whom the Twins acquired from the Braves this summer, only to flip him to the Yankees roughly a week later.
  • A reinvigorated Bubba Starling tells MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan that he believes he can compete for an outfield job with the Royals this spring. Starling, a former first-round pick and lauded top prospect, candidly tells Flanagan that he nearly walked away from baseball entirely in 2017 after getting off to a brutal start to the season, hitting .121/.205/.182 through his first 21 games (a slump that came on the heels of a .534 OPS the year prior). Starling struck out at a 30 percent clip through those 21 games, but he stuck with it at the urging of his family and soon made some mechanical alterations after a chat with hitting coach Tommy Gregg. The tweaks paid dividends, as Starling slashed .288/.335/.443 with just an 18.5 percent strikeout rate over his next 230 PAs before an oblique injury cut his season short in August.
  • Shane Greene expects to be the Tigers’ closer in 2017, writes George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press. “I feel like I’m the closer and I’ve earned that job and it’s my job to lose,” said the 29-year-old Greene, who pitched to a 2.66 ERA with 9.7 K/9, 4.5 BB/9, 0.8 HR/9 and a 47.4 percent ground-ball rate in 67 2/3 innings for Detroit in 2017.  New pitching coach Chris Bosio spoke positively of Greene’s stuff and makeup, and Sipple notes that the team’s decision to allow setup man Alex Wilson to compete for a starting job this spring only enhances Greene’s grip on the ninth inning. Speculatively, young Joe Jimenez will eventually be the biggest on-paper threat to Greene’s chances, but he was torched for a 12.32 ERA in 19 innings last year. Jimenez, though, turned 23 just two weeks ago and has a career 1.56 ERA with 13.0 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in the minors. He’ll need to prove himself in the Majors, though he could find himself in high-leverage situations sooner rather than later if he’s able to do so early in the year.

Indians, Michael Martinez Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Indians agreed to a minor league deal with infielder/outfielder Michael Martinez over the weekend, per FanRag’s Robert Murray (Twitter link). Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes that a deal is expected to be announced “in the near future.” Martinez will receive an invite to Major League Spring Training.

Martinez, 35, keeps finding his way back to Cleveland. This will be the third minor league deal he’s inked with the Indians, who have twice traded Martinez away only to claim him back off waivers shortly thereafter. In all, he’s spent parts of three seasons in the organization, hitting a combined .257/.289/.331 in 145 Major League plate appearances.

Martinez has never hit much in the Majors, batting just .194/.243/.261 in 621 plate appearances between the Indians, Phillies, Rays, Pirates and Red Sox. He has experience at every position on the field outside of first base and catcher, though, so he’ll likely serve as a versatile depth option in Triple-A with the Indians to open the season. He’s a career .281/.333/.392 hitter at that level.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/2/17

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We’ll keep track of some recent minor moves here…

  • The Indians have agreed to a new minor league contract with utility player Michael Martinez, Robert Murray of FanRag Sports tweets. Martinez, now 35, has played at or below replacement level for every single season of his seven-year major league career, combining for a total of 2.4 wins below replacement level. Originally a rule 5 draft pick of the Phillies, he is perhaps most famous for being the final out for the Indians in the 2016 World Series. Martinez has accumulated 621 plate appearances for his career and has put up a .194/.243/.261 slash line.
  • The Royals have re-signed Terrance Gore to a minor league contract after non-tendering the outfielder yesterday, according to a tweet from Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star. The 26-year-old’s speed is biggest asset; he’s accrued more stolen bases (21) than plate appearances (14) over the course of his major league career. He was utilized exclusively as a pinch-runner during the Royals’ 2014 and 2015 playoff runs, swiping four key bags in the postseason during those years without ever picking up a bat. Gore has yet to pick up his first major league hit, but he’s still managed 0.2 WAR for his career due to his baserunning skills.
  • Robert Murray of FanRag Sports reports that the Rockies have signed right-hander Chris Jensen to a minor-league pact (Twitter link). Jensen, 27, was originally Colorado’s sixth-round pick in the 2011 draft. He spent three seasons in the lower minors with the Rockies before being shipped to the A’s along with Drew Pomeranz in exchange for Brett Anderson. Jensen made seven starts and 23 relief appearances for the A’s Triple-A affiliate in 2017, and accrued an equal number of strikeouts and earned runs (56) across 84 2/3 innings pitched.

Indians Sign Michael Martinez To Minors Deal

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The Indians have signed utilityman Michael Martinez to a minor league contract, per a team announcement. He’ll report to Triple-A Columbus.

The 34-year-old Martinez was most recently with the Rays, who designated him for assignment this past Monday, but there’s plenty of familiarity between him and the Cleveland organization. This will be the third stint with the franchise for Martinez, who debuted with the team back in 2015 and was on and off the Indians’ roster last year. The Tribe traded Martinez to the Red Sox last July and then brought him back via waivers in August. The light-hitting right-hander ended up making the final out in Game 7 of the World Series, which the Indians lost to the Cubs, and then opened 2017 in Cleveland.

In 395 career major league plate appearances with the Indians, Red Sox, Rays, Phillies and Pirates, Martinez has hit just .194/.243/.261. He has fared much better at Triple-A, where he owns a .282/.336/.395 line in 1,399 PAs.

Michael Martinez Elects Free Agency

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JUNE 22: Martinez has cleared waivers and elected free agency, tweets Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times.

JUNE 19: The Rays announced that they have designated infielder/outfielder Michael Martinez for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 25-man roster for Trevor Plouffe, who was acquired from the Athletics over the weekend. Matt Andriese was already moved to the 60-day DL to clear a spot on the 40-man roster, so the Rays now have an open 40-man spot with Wilson Ramos and Brad Boxberger both nearing returns from the 60-day DL.

The 34-year-old Martinez has been a seldom-used bench piece for the Rays since being acquired from the Indians in exchange for cash. He was set to be designated for assignment nearly two weeks ago, but an injury to Brad Miller prompted the Rays to cancel Martinez’s DFA and instead place Miller on the disabled list. That series of events bought Martinez another 12 days on the big league roster, but the team has now formally announced that he’s been removed from the 40-man.

In a combined 43 plate appearances between the Indians and Rays this season, Martinez is hitting just .162/.262/.189 with 15 strikeouts. Although he’s never hit in the Majors (.194/.243/.261 through 621 plate appearances), Martinez has nonetheless found his way onto big league rosters for part of each of the past seven seasons. He has experience at second base, shortstop, third base and all three outfield positions in the Majors, though he’s been primarily a second baseman/third baseman as a big leaguer.

Rays Will Not Designate Michael Martinez; Brad Miller Placed On DL

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JUNE 7: The Rays will actually not designate Martinez for assignment, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. While that was the plan, the Rays have altered course due to the fact that the team learned that Miller would need to go back on the disabled list with a right groin strain.

The Rays had planned to designate Martinez, but the move technically would not have gone through until today due to the fact that Martinez was eligible for last night’s game. As such, they’re able to back off that plan for the time being in order to keep Martinez’s versatility on the roster while Miller once again recovers.

JUNE 6: The Rays designated utilityman Michael Martinez for assignment following tonight’s game, tweets Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times. The move could be a means of clearing a path for right-hander Jacob Faria on the 25-man roster, as the well-regarded prospect is set to make his big league debut tomorrow for the Rays.

Martinez, 34, appeared in eight games for the Rays and collected just one hit and a pair of walks with nine strikeouts through 21 plate appearances. The veteran infielder/outfielder was acquired from the Indians in exchange for cash last month after Brad Miller hit the disabled list.  Between Cleveland and Tampa Bay this year, he’s batted just .167/.265/.200 through 35 plate appearances.

Martinez’s versatility has long helped him land on big league rosters for brief stretches, as he’s appeared in each of the past seven big league campaigns. However, he’s mustered a meek .195/.243/.262 triple slash over the life of 613 plate appearances in that time.

Rays Acquire Michael Martinez, Place Brad Miller On Disabled List

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The Rays have acquired infielder/outfielder Michael Martinez from the Indians in exchange for cash or a player to be named later and placed fellow infielder Brad Miller on the 10-day disabled list due to a left abdominal strain. In order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Martinez, Tampa Bay transferred Xavier Cedeno to the 60-day disabled list.

Martinez, 34, was designated for assignment by the Indians recently after collecting four hits and a pair of walks in 15 plate appearances this season. The versatile veteran can play all over the infield and outfield, though he batted just .238/.267/.307 last season and is a lifetime .200/.246/.270 hitter in the Majors (592 plate appearances). Miller has been the team’s primary second baseman this season, but Martinez can now step in and share time at that position with rookie Daniel Robertson.

Indians Designate Michael Martinez For Assignment

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The Indians have designated utilityman Michael Martinez for assignment and selected the contract of outfielder Dan Robertson from Triple-A Columbus, per a team announcement.

[RELATED: Updated Indians Depth Chart]

The 34-year-old Martinez is in the midst of his third season as a member of the Cleveland organization, which briefly separated from in 2016 by way of a July trade with Boston. Martinez ended up returning to the Indians via waivers in August, and he went on to make the final out in the club’s Game 7 World Series loss to the Cubs. While Martinez is versatile in the field, having appeared at six defensive positions in his career (he even pitched earlier this season), he has been an especially poor offensive player in the majors. Martinez owns a .200/.246/.270 line in 592 plate appearances, though he has performed well in an extremely small sample this year (.364/.462/.455 in 14 PAs).

Robertson, 31, made his major league debut with the Rangers in 2014 and has also seen action with the Angels and Mariners, hitting .273/.322/.325 with no home runs in 298 PAs. He has been far more successful at the Triple-A level, having slashed .290/.365/.393 in 1,929 trips to the plate.

Added To The 40-Man Roster: Hoover, Diaz, Martinez, Nava, Stassi, Stammen

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We’ll use this post to track any notable 40-man roster additions that crop up as teams settle upon their Opening Day rosters:

  • The D-backs announced that they’ve selected the contract of right-handed reliever J.J. Hoover. He’ll fill the 40-man spot that was vacated earlier today when Christian Walker was sent outright to Triple-A. Hoover, 29, inked a minor league deal with the Snakes this offseason after spending parts of the past five seasons — the entirety of his Major League career — with the Reds. Hoover opened the 2016 season as Cincinnati’s closer but quickly lost that job and experienced a rapid decline that ultimately led to his outright off the 40-man roster. As recently as 2015, however, the righty tossed 64 1/3 innings of 2.94 ERA ball with 7.3 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9. Hoover will walk his fair share of batters (career 4.2 BB/9 rate), but he’s also punched out 240 hitters in 242 1/3 Major League frames. As a rather extreme fly-ball pitcher, he may find Chase Field more problematic than some pitchers, though he’s no stranger to homer-friendly parks, thanks to his time in Cincinnati.

Earlier Moves

  • The Indians are set to select the contracts of infielders Yandy Diaz and Michael Martinez, per a club announcement. Diaz, 25, enjoyed a strong season split between Cleveland’s Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, hitting .318/.408/.446 with nine homers and 11 stolen bases. The third baseman/second baseman/outfielder was terrific in Spring Training, hitting .429/.529/.667 with a pair of homers and four doubles during Cactus League play. The 34-year-old Martinez, no stranger to the Indians organization after spending 59 games and the postseason with Cleveland last year, had a similarly strong Spring Training. The veteran utility man batted .357/.379/.536 in 21 spring contests. In parts of six big league seasons, Martinez is a .197/.241/.266 hitter.
  • The final two spots on the Phillies’ bench have been won by the well-traveled Daniel Nava and veteran minor leaguer Brock Stassi, per Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com (Twitter link). Nava hit .362/.455/.489 this spring and can serve as a backup to corner outfielders Michael Saunders and Howie Kendrick in the Phillies’ new-look outfield. He also has some experience at first base and could serve as a left-handed complement to Tommy Joseph at times, though the same could be said of the 27-year-old Stassi. A veteran of six minor league seasons and the older brother of Astros backstop Max Stassi, Brock Stasi was emotional in discussing what will be his MLB debut (Twitter video link via Philly Voice’s Ryan Lawrence). A former 33rd-round selection, Stassi reached Triple-A for the first time last season and hit .267/.369/.437 before posting an outstanding .333/.397/.702 batting line and six homers this spring.
  • Righty Craig Stammen is back in the majors after being selected to the Padres’ 40-man, per a team announcement. The 33-year-old had long been a steady reliever for the Nationals before he required flexor tendon surgery early in the 2015 season. He didn’t earn a return last year after joining the Indians on a minors deal, but did show he was healthy in throwing 27 1/3 innings of 3.62 ERA ball. Stammen turned things up a notch this spring, allowing just a single earned run on nine hits and five walks over 11 2/3 innings, recording a dozen strikeouts along the way.

Indians Sign Michael Martinez, Erik Kratz To Minors Deals

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The Indians announced on Thursday that they’ve signed re-signed infielder/outfielder Michael Martinez to a minor league deal and also added veteran backstop Erik Kratz on a minor league pact. Both players will be invited to Major League Spring Training.

Martinez, 34, appeared in 59 games with Cleveland last year and batted .242/.265/.316 with a homer and four doubles in 99 plate appearances (across two stints with the team). The longtime Phillies utility piece showed some versatility by appearing at all three outfield positions, second base, shortstop and third base this past season. For his career, he’s graded out as a roughly average infielder all around the diamond, and while he doesn’t bring much to the table from an offensive standpoint, that level of versatility can certainly be valuable to a club, even if he doesn’t excel at any one defensive position. Young Erik Gonzalez would seem to have the inside track on a utility role for Cleveland next year, but there could be room for Martinez as well depending on how the rest of the team’s offseason shakes out.

Kratz, 36, appeared in 33 games with the Astros and Pirates last season but struggled to a .094/.105/.153 batting line in his 87 trips to the plate. While he’s never been a standout offensive contributor, Kratz has certainly delivered better production than that in the past, as he entered the 2016 season as a lifetime .218/.270/.397 hitter in 560 Major League plate appearances. Cleveland figures to deploy Yan Gomes and Roberto Perez as its primary receivers in 2017, but Kratz could see some time at Triple-A or be a veteran depth option in the Majors should an injury force the need. He’s thrown out 34 percent of opposing base thieves in his career and typically receives positive framing grades both in the minors and in the Majors.

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