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Minor MLB Transactions: 2/21/16

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Here are the latest minor moves from around baseball, with the newest transactions at the top of the post…

  • The Marlins released left-hander Troy Patton, the team announced.  Patton was a non-roster invite to Miami’s spring camp after signing a minor league deal with the club in December.  Patton’s 2015 season was limited to 30 1/3 innings for the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate, as he missed much of the year serving an 80-game suspension for testing positive for amphetamines.  The southpaw has a 3.25 ERA, 7.2 K/9 and 3.14 K/BB rate over 169 career innings with the Astros, Orioles and Padres, though only 14 of those frames have come in the last two seasons.
  • The Angels have hired Brendan Harris and Ben Francisco as pro scouts, Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times reports (via Twitter).  The hirings would suggest that Harris and Francisco are retiring after lengthy professional careers that saw both men play for six different franchises and play their last big league games in 2013.  Harris spent eight seasons in the majors, with 390 of his 529 career games coming as a regular with the Rays and Twins from 2007-09.  The versatile Harris saw lots of time at shortstop, third base and second base over his career and he hit .256/.314/.381 over 1876 plate appearances with six different franchises.  Francisco saw regular action in the outfield with Cleveland and Philadelphia from 2007-2011 before bouncing around to four other clubs in his final two seasons.  Francisco hit .253/.323/.418 with 50 homers over 1771 Major League PA, though he may be best remembered in Philadelphia for his three-run homer that helped the Phillies win Game 3 of the 2011 NLDS against the Cardinals.  MLBTR congratulates Harris and Francisco on their fine careers and wishes them the best as they move into the scouting world.

Nick Punto Retires

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Veteran infielder Nick Punto has decided to officially retire, he announced last night on Dodgers Talk with David Vassegh (audio link). Punto signed a minor league deal with the D-backs last offseason but had a change of heart and backed out of the deal and sat out the 2015 season due to a desire to spend more time with his family. While Arizona manager Chip Hale stressed at the time that Punto was not retiring, it seems that the versatile utility man has now elected to formally conclude his playing career after spending parts of 14 seasons in the Majors.

The 38-year-old Punto was originally a 21st-round pick of the Phillies back in 1998 and saw limited action in Philly from 2001-03 before being packaged alongside Carlos Silva and Bobby Korecky to acquire lefty Eric Milton from the Twins. Punto served as a utility option for the Twins in 2004-05 before spending much of the 2006 season as Minnesota’s everyday third baseman and batting .290/.352/.373 with brilliant defense in what was the best all-around season of his career. Punto helped propel the Twins to a postseason berth that year — one of four trips to the playoffs he had with that organization — but it wasn’t until his 2011 campaign with the Cardinals that Punto was able to reach a World Series and experience the feeling of capturing a World Series title.

Punto’s overall offensive contributions in his Major League career were modest, at best, as he’ll retire with a .245/.323/.323 batting line in 3734 plate appearances between the Phillies, Twins, Cardinals, Red Sox, Dodgers and Athletics. However, Punto was a brilliant defender at three different positions: third base (+40 Defensive Runs Saved, +20.6 UZR/150 in his career), shortstop (+21 DRS, +17.4 UZR/150) and second base (+21 DRS, +5.7 UZR/150). Punto brought plenty of speed to the table, as evidenced by his 104 career steals, and he was known for his competitive nature and hard-nosed style of play, which earned him his nickname: “The Shredder.” That attitude and his brilliant defense helped Punto to earn more than $23MM in his playing career, per Baseball-Reference. We at MLBTR wish Punto and his family continued success and happiness in his post-playing endeavors.

Freddy Garcia To Retire

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Veteran right-hander Freddy Garcia will call it a career after today’s Caribbean Series final, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez reports.  Garcia will start for Venezuela’s Tigres de Aragua against Mexico’s Venados de Mazatlan in the deciding game of the annual competition that pits championship teams from the top Venezuelan, Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican and Dominican leagues against each other in a round-robin tournament.

Garcia, who turned 39 in October, is retiring after a 21-year professional career that included 15 years in Major League Baseball.  He signed an amateur contract with the Astros in 1993 as a 17-year-old but was part of a very notable trade before making it to Houston — Garcia, Carlos Guillen and John Halama were sent to the Mariners in July 1998 in the deal that brought Randy Johnson to the Astros.

The righty made his MLB debut the next season and quickly found success, finishing second in AL Rookie of the Year voting and ninth in Cy Young Award voting for a season that saw him post a 4.07 ERA over 201 1/3 innings.  It was the first of seven seasons of 200+ innings that Garcia would post in his career, establishing a reputation for durability until injuries contributed to his shift into more of a swingman and long relief role later in his career.

Garcia was a two-time All-Star in Seattle, though he may best be remembered for his stint with the White Sox that included a big role in their 2005 World Series title.  He threw seven shutout innings in Game Four to help Chicago complete its sweep of the Astros and clinch the franchise’s first championship since 1917.  Garcia had a 3.26 ERA over 11 career postseason starts, including a quality outing for the Braves in what ended up being their elimination game in a 2013 NLDS matchup against the Dodgers.  That start was Garcia’s last appearance in a Major League uniform.

Over 2264 innings, Garcia posted a career 4.15 ERA, 6.4 K/9 and 2.24 K/BB rate.  He pitched for seven teams (Mariners, White Sox, Yankees, Phillies, Braves, Tigers and Orioles) at the big league level and also with the Mets and Dodgers in the minors, as well as stints in Venezuela, Mexico and Taiwan.

According to Baseball Reference, Garcia made $53.5MM over his career.  We at MLB Trade Rumors tip our caps to Garcia on a fine career and we wish him all the best in his post-playing career.

Andruw Jones Likely To Retire

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Veteran outfielder Andruw Jones says he will soon announce his retirement, Cory McCartney of FOX Sports South tweets. In November, Jones had reportedly been hoping to sign with an MLB team, but it appears likely he’ll hang up his cleats instead.

MLB: New York Yankees at Boston Red SoxIt’s been awhile since Jones has played in the Majors, of course — he last appeared in the big leagues with the Yankees in 2012. After that, he played two seasons with Rakuten in Japan. He did not play last season.

The MLB team with which Jones will be most strongly associated, of course, is the Braves, for whom he played from 1996 through 2007, joining Chipper Jones, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux in a group of elite players on a long string of highly successful Braves teams. (As Sports Illustrated’s Jay Jaffe tweets, Andruw and Chipper will both be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2018.)

After emerging as a consensus top prospect in the Braves’ farm system, Andruw debuted with Atlanta at the tender age of 19 and soon became one of baseball’s top outfielders, creating tremendous value with both his outstanding defense and his power. Beginning in 1998, Jones won ten straight Gold Gloves for his work in center field. He also quickly became a serious home run threat, hitting 26 or more homers in nine straight seasons and peaking with a remarkable 51-homer performance in 2005, when he finished second in NL MVP balloting.

After the 2007 season, when he was still just 30, he left Atlanta and began an itinerant phase of his career, playing for the Dodgers, Rangers and White Sox before heading to the Bronx for two seasons. He declined steeply in his early thirties as his ability to hit for average rapidly diminished, although he did hit well in his two seasons in Japan.

Jones finishes his 17-season big-league career with a .254/.337/.486 line, 434 career homers and five All-Star appearances. Via Baseball Reference, his career Defensive WAR of 24.1 ranks 20th all-time. He made upwards of $130MM in his baseball career.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Shaun Marcum Retires, Joins College Coaching Staff

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Former Major League right-hander Shaun Marcum has joined the coaching staff at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, the school previously announced. The move effectively brings to a close the playing career of Marcum, who expressed excitement about the opportunity to begin sharing his knowledge with a younger generation.

“I played long enough and now I feel like it’s time for me to see if I can help these kids reach their goals of playing professionally and winning a National Championship,” Marcum said at the time of the announcement. “Getting to be on Coach [Sam] Carel’s staff was something I couldn’t pass up. I’m really excited and looking forward to being a part of the NWOSU baseball program.” Carel, a former college teammate of Marcum from the pair’s days at Missouri State University, added: “Shaun’s playing experience at the Major League level speaks for itself, and his knowledge will help this program continue to advance the process forward. Personally, I am just as excited to have an individual who I shared a dugout with at Missouri State University, and who I would consider to be one of the best collegiate competitors I had ever seen come out of a Keith Guttin program. Shaun’s tenacity has always been non-negotiable, and that tenacity will perpetuate itself throughout our club immediately. This program got better today.”

The upcoming season will be Marcum’s first full year of coaching, as he spent much of the 2015 campaign with the Indians organization, splitting the year between Triple-A and the Majors. While Marcum logged a 5.40 ERA in 35 Major League innings last year, he worked to a 3.26 ERA in 88 1/3 minor league innings in his final professional season. Though he struggled in his final Major League stint, Marcum’s career will come to a close with very solid numbers: a 61-48 record, a 3.93 ERA, 7.3 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 and a 38.2 percent ground-ball rate across 1030 Major League innings spent with the Blue Jays, Brewers, Mets and Indians.

Marcum’s career numbers are solid, to be sure, though injuries certainly slowed his production. His 2007 season ended with surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee and would undergo Tommy John surgery a year later at the end of the ’08 campaign, causing him to miss the entirety of the 2009 season. Further elbow issues, a pinched nerve in his neck and, lastly, thoracic outlet syndrome cost Marcum significant time later in his career. While those injuries limited his ability to take the field, the former third-round pick nonetheless amassed a wealth of knowledge and experience from the time he was drafted in 2003 through his playing career’s end in 2015 — and the players he coaches now stand to benefit from those experiences. We at MLBTR wish Marcum the best of luck in the next phase of his baseball career.

Scott Atchison Retires, Joins Indians’ Staff

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Veteran righty Scott Atchison has joined the Indians organization in a non-playing role, the team announced today. As MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian explains, Atchison took the gig after deciding to put an end to his playing career.

Atchison only worked in parts of three big league seasons before his age-34 season, but earned new opportunities after a nice run with Japan’s Hanshin Tigers. He ultimately racked up another 278 2/3 innings of 3.52 ERA ball in the bigs from 2010 onward, with a 3.55 SIERA to support the results.

There were some sterling campaigns mixed in along the way. In 2012, he worked to a 1.58 ERA in a 51 1/3-inning effort for the Red Sox. And in his strong 2014 season with the Indians, Atchison logged a 2.75 earned run average in 72 frames.

Never a big strikeout pitcher, Atchison nevertheless limited the free passes (especially in his second run through the majors) and generated a lot of grounders. For his career, he averaged 6.6 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 to go with a 49.7% groundball rate. In addition to his time in Cleveland and Boston, Atchison appeared in the majors with the Mariners, Giants, and Mets.

According to Bastian, Atchison will function in a variety of roles as a “Major League advance coach and staff assistant.” He is expected to assist in advanced scouting as well as to work with the club’s pitching coach (Mickey Callaway) and bullpen coach (Jason Bere).

MLBTR congratulates Atchison on his productive career and wishes him the best of luck in his new position.

Freddy Sanchez Officially Retires

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Former National League batting champion Freddy Sanchez officially retired from baseball on Monday, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com writes.  Sanchez has been out of the game for a while but he was considering a comeback in recent years.  Today’s news is probably more of a formality than anything; Sanchez’s name, after all, has not popped up on this site since February of 2013.

“I’m so thankful for what baseball [has] given me,” Sanchez told Crasnick through his agents. “I appreciate the opportunity the Red Sox, Pirates, and Giants gave me.”

Sanchez last played in 2011 with the Giants and played a little bit in their minor league system in 2012.  Unfortunately, however, injuries to his shoulder and back ultimately led him to hang ’em up.  Now, Sanchez has decided to retire for good and move on to other pursuits.

Sanchez, 38, made three All-Star teams over the course of his career.  His crowning personal achievement came in 2006 with the Pirates when he hit .344 and narrowly edged out Marlins slugger Miguel Cabrera for the NL batting crown.  In 2010, Sanchez captured a World Series ring with the Giants.  In parts of 10 big league seasons, Sanchez slashed .297/.335/.413.  According to Baseball-Reference, Sanchez earned upwards of $32MM over the course of his career.

Jeff Francis Retires

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Veteran lefty Jeff Francis will retire after parts of 11 seasons in the Major Leagues, he tells MLB.com’s Thomas Harding.

Selected ninth overall by the Rockies in the 2002 draft, Francis, now 34 years old, would make his Major League debut just over two years later in 2004. While the 4.77 ERA that Francis logged in his first stint with the Rockies (882 2/3 inning from 2004-10) doesn’t necessarily look impressive, that translated to league-average production (100 ERA+) when adjusted for the fact that Francis’ home games in that time came at Coors Field and in a much greater offensive environment than that of today’s game.

Francis tossed 183 innings for the Royals in 2011 before returning to the Rockies in 2012-13 and ultimately splitting the 2014-15 campaigns between the Reds, Yankees, Athletics and Blue Jays. Though he played for several clubs over the course of his career, Colorado holds a special place in his heart, Francis explains to Harding. He spoke particularly highly of the 2007 Rockies that rode an incredible streak — 21 wins in 22 games — to a Game 163 tiebreaker, an NLDS victory and a National League Championship.

“It was special to be able to be a champion,” said Francis. “I know we didn’t win it all, but that was a team that came together, even though I don’t know what was expected of us. We did special things in dramatic fashion. We felt unstoppable. It was almost as if the drama was too much to think about. Looking back, I’m sure there was a lot of pressure, but I don’t think we felt it. We just rode a wave and took it as far as we could.”

Francis will bring his career to a close with a 72-82 record, a 4.97 ERA, 869 strikeouts and 384 walks in 1291 innings. All told, Francis took home more than $20MM between his yearly salaries and hefty $1.85MM signing bonus out of the draft. MLBTR extends its best wishes to Francis in his post-playing days.

Michael Cuddyer To Retire

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Mets outfielder Michael Cuddyer has decided to retire, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports on Twitter. Needless to say, that’s a major surprise, particularly as Cuddyer stands to earn $12.5MM this year in the second and final season of his contract.

Oct 1, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; New York Mets left fielder Michael Cuddyer (23) warms up before a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

It has not yet been reported whether Cuddyer, 36, will receive any portion of his 2016 salary, though Rubin adds on Twitter that some kind of buyout seems likely. Cuddyer turned down a qualifying offer (then valued at $15.3MM) to sign with the Mets for two years and $21MM.

Cuddyer joined New York after two consecutive seasons of huge offensive numbers with the Rockies. Even after adjusting for altitude, Cuddyer was impressive at the plate, running up a 139 OPS+ over 2013-14. But awful defensive metrics and injury issues — combined with advanced age — limited his appeal.

That all caught up to Cuddyer in 2015, as he managed only a .259/.309/.391 slash line in 408 plate appearances. With his poor glovework counted in the tally, Cuddyer contributed at or just slightly above replacement level last year.

A tough season at the end of the line doesn’t detract from an outstanding career, of course. Over parts of 15 seasons in the majors, all but four of which came with the Twins, Cuddyer put up an excellent .277/.344/.461 batting line and swatted 197 home runs. He earned All-Star nods in 2011 and 2013.

While it would be unfair to lose focus on Cuddyer’s own accomplishments, it’s hard not to consider the impact of this news on the defending NL pennant winners. There was plenty of reason to believe that Cuddyer would have been a useful contributor in 2016, but his hefty salary stood to represent more than 10% of New York’s 2015 Opening Day payroll.

It remains to be seen how much spending capacity the Mets will have to reallocate, but there will surely be some added funds to disburse. And with Michael Conforto joining Curtis Granderson as the presumptive starters in the corners, those dollars won’t necessarily need to go directly to a replacement. Instead, after having already beefed up the team’s infield ranks, the Mets can either up their allocation to a new center fielder (with Juan Lagares becoming an oft-used fourth outfielder) or put the dollars toward another bench bat or reliever.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Retirement Notes: Jason Lane, Armando Galarraga

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MLBTR congratulates Jason Lane and Armando Galarraga in retirement and wishes them the best in their post-baseball careers.  Here’s the news on these prominent former big leaguers who are hanging up their gloves…

  • The Brewers announced that Lane will join their Major League coaching staff next season, officially ending a rather remarkable 17-year pro career.  Lane, 38, was a former Baseball America top-100 prospect who spent his first six MLB seasons as an outfielder with the Astros, including a big 26-homer season for Houston’s 2005 NL championship team.  Lane fell out of the bigs after the 2007 season, however, and after a few years in the minors and independent leagues, pitching became his unlikely path back to the majors.  His comeback culminated in one final cup of coffee in MLB as Lane appeared in three games for the Padres in 2014, posting an impressive 0.87 ERA and striking out six batters in 10 1/3 innings.
  • Galarraga tells George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press that he’s retiring at age 33 due to arm injuries.  He is attending the Winter Meetings with the hope of landing a position as a minor league pitching coach, and Newsday’s Marc Carig reports that Galarraga has interviewed from the Mets about a job.  Galarraga posted a 4.78 ERA over 542 innings with four clubs from 2007-2012, though he’ll always be remembered for his “imperfect game” on June 2, 2010 as a member of the Tigers.  Umpire Jim Joyce’s infamous blown call on what should’ve been Galarraga’s final out of a perfect game has often been cited as one of the key influences behind MLB’s implementation of the expanded replay system used today.
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