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Front Office Notes: Astros, White Sox, Janish, Nationals

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The Astros announced a series of internal promotions earlier this week, most notably the promotion of Gavin Dickey to an assistant general manager position.  Dickey is a longtime member of the Astros’ staff, working in numerous jobs since his initial hiring as a scout in 2011.  Most recently, he worked as a special assistant to GM Dana Brown during the 2023 season.  The 40-year-old Dickey moved right into scouting on the heels of his playing career, which consisted of six seasons in independent ball and in the Mariners’ and Braves’ farm systems from 2006-11.

Dickey joins Andrew Ball and Charles Cook as Houston’s assistant GMs, after the team parted ways with former assistant GM Bill Firkus last month.  This isn’t to say that Dickey will necessarily be taking Firkus’ exact role, as the specific duties of an assistant GM vary greatly from club to club and executive to executive, usually based on each individual’s areas of expertise.

More on some other front office moves from around baseball….

  • The White Sox announced that Paul Janish has been hired as their new director of player development.  Janish is a veteran of nine Major League seasons with the Reds, Braves, and Orioles from 2008-17, and since retirement has worked as a coach with Rice University.  This will be the first non-playing role in pro ball for the 41-year-old Janish, who will be taking over the position previously held by Chris Getz before Getz was named Chicago’s new general manager in August.
  • The Nationals promoted Eddie Longosz to the role of VP/assistant general manager of player development and administration.  The Washington Post’s Andrew Golden reported earlier this week that Longosz would be taking over the Nats’ player development department, which is the next step up the ladder for a longtime employee who has been with the Nationals since 2010.  As Golden notes, much of the Nationals’ focus over the last couple of months has been a revamp of their front office, with several employees on the way out (like De Jon Watson, Longosz’s predecessor as farm director) and a couple of longer-term staffers like Longosz moving into larger roles.

Paul Janish To Retire, Join Rice University Coaching Staff

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Veteran utility infielder Paul Janish has been granted his release from the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate and “has left the club with plans to retire,” reports David Hall of the Virginian Pilot (on Twitter). Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets that O’s skipper Buck Showalter confirmed the release, and Kubatko adds that Janish will join the coaching staff at his alma mater, Rice University.

The 34-year-old Janish was a fifth-round selection out of Rice by the Reds back in the 2004 draft. He debuted with the Reds just under four years later, appearing in 38 games as a rookie. While he never fully cemented himself as a regular with the Reds, Janish spent parts of the next four seasons in Cincinnati before joining the Braves for the 2012-13 seasons. He’s appeared in 14 games with the Orioles in each of the past three seasons, including the current campaign.

All told, the light-hitting Janish will wrap up his career as a .212/.280/.284 batter over the life of 473 Major League games and 1305 Major League plate appearances. Despite that lack of offensive production, though, Janish’s superlative glovework allowed him to spend parts of nine seasons in the Majors. Primarily a shortstop, Janish graded out at 21 runs above average, per Defensive Runs Saved, and 17.3 runs above average, per Ultimate Zone Rating. He also logged 140 innings at second base and 262 innings at third base.

AL Notes: Sale, Hardy, Orioles, Twins

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It’s possible the Red Sox will open contract extension talks with superstar left-hander Chris Sale during the upcoming offseason, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Sale has two more option years remaining at a combined $26MM, which is an absolute bargain relative to his production, but Cafardo wonders if the Red Sox should give the 28-year-old a raise in an act of good faith. While Sale certainly belongs in the elite tier of pitchers in terms of salary, the Red Sox may be reluctant to hand out a second David Price-type blockbuster deal that takes a pitcher through his 30s, Cafardo suggests. Ultimately, the Sox may choose to wait another year and then override the 2019 option with an extension if Sale is his typical self next season, notes Cafardo.

More from the American League:

  • Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy sees the writing on the wall in Baltimore after it acquired his likely replacement, Tim Beckham, at last month’s non-waiver trade deadline, details Rich Dubroff of PressBoxOnline. But Hardy, who has been on the disabled list with a broken wrist since June 18, has still served as a mentor to Beckham. Asked if having Beckham around has been awkward, Hardy replied: “To be honest, no. I’m really, really aware of what’s going on around me, maybe to a fault. I’ve seen it. I know what’s going on. There’s really nothing that I can do. You just have to remember the business part of it.” Hardy struggled mightily this season before the injury, and the O’s are sure to decline his $14MM club option for 2018 in favor of a $2MM buyout, but the soon-to-be 35-year-old isn’t ready to retire. “I’m not saying that I’m done playing. I just know what’s going on in this organization,” said Hardy, who has been an Oriole since 2011.
  • Unlike Hardy, fellow Orioles shortstop Paul Janish is seemingly on the verge of ending his playing career. Janish is likely to join Rice University’s coaching staff next season, reports Mark Berman of FOX 26 (on Twitter). The defensively gifted Janish played at Rice before the Reds chose him in the fifth round of the 2004 draft. The 34-year-old has been with the Baltimore organization since 2015 and has worked almost exclusively at the Triple-A level with the franchise. Janish has only amassed 99 plate appearances with the Orioles, including 28 this year.
  • The Twins’ first-year front office heads, chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and general manager Thad Levine, continue their organizational shakeup, per Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press (all Twitter links). After firing several scouts last week, Minnesota has now let go of pro scout Greg Orr, who had just joined the team in January, and major league scout Wayne Krivsky. Changes to the Twins’ international scouting department are next on the docket, according to Berardino.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/11/17

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Here are the day’s minor moves…

  • The Orioles announced that infielder Paul Janish and first baseman/outfielder David Washington have both cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Norfolk. The veteran Janish has the option to reject the assignment in favor of free agency, though he’s accepted a number of outrights from the O’s in the past and figures to do so once again. The 34-year-old Janish has appeared in exactly 14 games for the Orioles in each of the past three season but went just 2-for-26 at the plate in this year’s run. Janish has never offered much with the bat but is an excellent defensive shortstop and will continue to provide depth in Triple-A. Washington, meanwhile, made his Major League debut with Baltimore this season. The 26-year-old collected six plate appearances and punched out five times in a brief cup of coffee. The longtime Cardinals farmhand has a strong track record in Triple-A, though, where he’s hit .267/.343/.518 with 38 homers in 682 plate appearances.

Orioles Designate Paul Janish For Assignment

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The Orioles have designated infielder Paul Janish for assignment, the club announced.  The move creates roster space for Chris Tillman, who was reinstated from the paternity list.

[Updated Orioles depth chart at Roster Resource]

This is the fourth time that Janish has been designated for assignment in his two-plus seasons in the Orioles organization, and he was also outrighted off the 40-man roster last June.  Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun tweets that the Orioles are hoping Janish will continue to remain in the organization, as this latest DFA was something of a roster crunch.  Janish still has a minor league option remaining, while fellow utility infielder Ruben Tejada does not.

Janish has appeared in 42 games in an O’s uniform, serving as bench depth at shortstop, third base and second base in various short-term stints while amassing just 99 plate appearances since the start of the 2015 season.  Known more for his defense and versatility than his bat, Janish has a .212/.280/.284 slash line over 1305 career PA with the Orioles, Braves and Reds since 2008.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/7/17

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Here are the latest minor moves from around the league…

  • The Orioles have outrighted infielder Paul Janish to Triple-A Norfolk after Janish cleared waivers, according to an announcement from the team.  Janish was designated for assignment yesterday to clear room for Ruben Tejada joining the O’s.  Janish has spent much of his three years in Baltimore’s organization at the Triple-A level, appearing in 205 games for Norfolk and just 31 with the Orioles.
  • The Cardinals have purchased the contract of first baseman/outfielder Chad Huffman, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch reports (via Twitter).  Righty John Gant was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move.  Huffman’s MLB career consists of nine games with the Yankees in 2010 and he hasn’t been back to the Show since, bouncing between the Cardinals, Tigers and Indians farm systems, as well as spending parts of two seasons in Japan.  Originally a second-round pick of the Padres in the 2006 draft, Huffman has an impressive .281/.376/.463 over 4094 career plate appearances in the minors.
  • The Marlins have signed right-hander William Cuevas to a minor league deal, as announced by the A1 Performance Group (Twitter link), Cuevas’ agency.  The righty elected free agency earlier this week after rejecting an outright assignment from the Tigers.  Cuevas, 26, has a limited Major League resume that consists of one-third of an inning for Detroit this season and five innings for Boston in 2016.  The 26-year-old has a 3.67 ERA, 7.2 K/9 and 2.67 K/BB rate over 772 2/3 career innings in the minors, with 103 of his 171 appearances coming as a starting pitcher.
  • The Tigers and right-handed reliever A.J. Achter “mutually agreed” upon his release yesterday, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo. The former Twins/Angels reliever will now hit free agency in search of a new club. Achter, 28, has appeared in 45 games between Minnesota and Anaheim in the past three seasons, pitching to a combined 3.92 ERA with 4.8 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 38.4 percent ground-ball rate in 62 innings of Major League action. He’s had a rough year with Detroit’s Double-A affiliate, however, limping to a 5.34 earned run average with a 24-to-14 K/BB ratio through 28 2/3 innings.
  • Infielder Jose Pirela had his contract selected by the Padres prior to last night’s game, the team announced. The former Yankees farmhand was off to a .331/.387/.635 start with 13 homers and eight stolen bases through 201 plate appearances in the admittedly hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. The 27-year-old Pirela has yet to perform offensively in a brief sample of MLB work (148 plate appearances dating back to his debut in 2014), but he does have a nice track record in Triple-A. To clear a spot on the roster, San Diego put Jarred Cosart (foot contusion) on the 10-day disabled list and moved Travis Jankowski from the 10-day DL to the 60-day DL.

Orioles Select Ruben Tejada’s Contract, Designate Paul Janish

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The Orioles have announced that they’ve selected Ruben Tejada’s contract and designated fellow infielder Paul Janish for assignment. The O’s just acquired Tejada from the Yankees over the weekend in a minor deal.

Tejada struggled in brief stints with the Cardinals and Giants last season but hit well for the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate in Scranton, batting .269/.365/.462. He’s still just 27 and built a decent track record over parts of six seasons with the Mets, posting a .330 OBP with defensive performances at shortstop that advanced metrics pegged as being about average until his last season there, when they sagged badly.

The Orioles selected Janish’s contract on May 21 after Ryan Flaherty hit the DL, and Janish has played sparingly since then. The light-hitting 34-year-old, once a bench fixture with the Reds and Braves, has collected fewer than 100 plate appearances in three seasons in the Orioles organization. He batted .255/.364/.378 in 34 games with Triple-A Norfolk earlier this season but has a career OPS of .651 at Triple-A and .570 in the Majors.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/21/17

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Sunday’s minor moves from around baseball:

  • Indians right-hander Carlos Frias cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A, per an announcement from the club. Frias, whom Cleveland designated for assignment Tuesday, has worked exclusively at the Triple-A level this year and posted a 9.00 ERA, 4.24 K/9 and 4.76 BB/9 in 17 innings.
  • The Mariners have signed outfielder Keury De La Cruz to a minor league deal. The 25-year-old played in the independent American Association last season after spending 2009-15 with the Red Sox organization. De La Cruz, whom Baseball America ranked as the Red Sox’s 25th-best prospect after the 2012 season, is a career .270/.318/.430 hitter with 58 home runs and 78 stolen bases (and 50 caught stealings) in 2,648 minor league plate appearances.

Earlier moves:

  • The Marlins announced that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Vance Worley, who will start their game against the Dodgers on Sunday. Worley hadn’t cracked the majors this year until now, having spent the first month-plus at Triple-A after inking a minor league deal in early April. The 29-year-old Worley hasn’t been great at that level, with a 4.43 ERA, 4.43 K/9 and 2.22 BB/9 in 44 2/3 innings. The well-traveled swingman has prevented runs at a respectable clip in the majors, though, evidenced by a 3.75 ERA over 595 1/3 career frames.
  • The Orioles have selected infielder Paul Janish’s contract from Triple-A, per a team announcement. He’ll fill in for reserve infielder Ryan Flaherty, who went on the disabled list with a right shoulder strain. The defensively adept Janish is in his third season in the Orioles organization, but he has collected just 28 plate appearances with the O’s to this point. While Janish got off to a .255/.364/.378 start this season in 118 PAs with Norfolk prior to his promotion, he’s only a .216/.284/.289 hitter in 1,277 major league trips to the plate.
  • The Royals have released left-hander Kyle Bartsch, tweets Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com. This is the second time Kansas City has parted with Bartsch, whom it chose in the seventh round of the 2013 draft and then traded to San Diego for outfielder Reymond Fuentes a year later. The Padres released Bartsch last season, and he ended up back with the Royals and pitched to a microscopic .94 ERA (with 7.22 K/9 and 1.88 BB/9) in 28 2/3 Double-A innings. The 26-year-old has not pitched this season, however.

Minor MLB Transactions: 2/25/17

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the game.

  • The Orioles have re-signed shortstop Paul Janish to a minor-league deal with a Spring Training invite, Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com tweets. Incumbent O’s shortstop J.J. Hardy has had back issues lately, but Buck Showalter told reporters, including MASN’s Roch Kubatko (via Twitter), that Janish’s re-signing is not related to Hardy’s status. The 34-year-old Janish appeared in 14 games with the Orioles in each of the past two seasons, but has spent most of the last two years with Triple-A Norfolk, where he batted .248/.333/.280 in 2016.
  • Orioles lefty T.J. McFarland has cleared outright waivers and been placed on release waivers, Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun tweets. The Orioles designated McFarland for assignment when they officially acquired Vidal Nuno from the Dodgers. The Orioles remain interested in McFarland but would like to re-sign him for less than the $685K they would have had to pay him after settling with him for that sum in January, Kubatko tweets. McFarland has just over three years of service time and would have been eligible for arbitration had he and the Orioles not settled. The reliever is coming off a disappointing season in which he posted a 6.93 ERA with ten walks and just seven strikeouts in 24 2/3 innings in the big leagues.

AL Notes: Twins, Park, Orioles, Logan

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Correcting a previous report, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal tweets that the Twins will not release designated hitter/first baseman Byung Ho Park if they’re unable to trade him. Park has been in limbo since Minnesota designated him for assignment last Friday and looks poised to head to camp as a non-roster invitee. The Twins owe the 30-year-old $9.25MM through the 2019 season.

Now here’s the latest out of Baltimore, courtesy of Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com:

  • Orioles general manager Dan Duquette informed Kubatko he’s “looking for some more depth” to add to the team’s bullpen, and he’s not going to discriminate based on handedness. Baltimore was eyeing lefty Boone Logan before he agreed to a deal with the Indians last week, Duquette confirmed, but it seems he was well out of the club’s price range. The Orioles would prefer signing someone to a minor league deal, per Kubatko, who notes that one reason they haven’t re-upped free agent right-hander Tommy Hunter is because he’s seeking a major league pact.
  • Free agent outfielder Nolan Reimold has spent nearly his entire career with the Orioles since they selected him in the second round of the 2005 draft, but they haven’t shown any interest in re-signing him, according to Kubatko. The right-handed-hitting Reimold, 33, has fared respectably at the plate in his career (.246/.323/.422 in 1,556 trips), though he registered a disappointing .222/.300/.365 line in 227 PAs last season to perhaps conclude his O’s tenure. Behind lefty-swinging corner outfielders Seth Smith and Hyun Soo Kim, the Reimold-less Orioles have a righty-hitting reserve in Joey Rickard, who handled southpaws over a small sample size as a rookie in 2016 (.313/.367/.494 in 90 PAs).
  • The Orioles’ signing of infielder Robert Andino to a minor league deal Monday may have closed the book on free agent Paul Janish’s time with the organization, Duquette told Kubatko. “We’ve been looking for a veteran shortstop and I’m not sure Paul Janish is going to come back to the O’s,” said Duquette. “So we had been talking to Janish and some others and then Andino reached out to us through Adam Jones. And he let Buck (Showalter) know that he was looking for a job and wanted to come back. So, we followed up with his agent.” The defensively adept Janish, who elected free agency after the Orioles outrighted him in October, totaled a combined 71 plate appearances with the team from 2015-16.
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