Minor MLB Transactions: 6/16/16
Some minor moves from around the game…
- Righty Brandon Gomes has been released by the Cubs, as Baseball America’s Matt Eddy recently reported. The 31-year-old had thrown 167 relief innings over the last five years with the Rays, working to a 4.20 ERA with 7.8 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9. He had struggled with command this year at Triple-A in the Chicago organization, however. In his 22 2/3 frames, Gomes allowed ten earned runs on 14 hits and 14 walks while striking out twenty.
- The Orioles have re-signed lefty Andy Oliver, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports on Twitter. Oliver, 28, had recently opted out of his minor league pact with Baltimore, but evidently did not find a better opportunity elsewhere. He owns a nice 2.08 ERA over 34 2/3 Triple-A frames on the year, with 8.8 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9.
- Veteran catcher Gerald Laird has signed a contract with the Mexican League’s Tijuana Toros, MLBTR has learned. The 36-year-old Laird signed the with D-backs prior to the 2015 season but appeared in just one game before a back injury sidelined him into late August, at which point he was designated for assignment and released. Laird enjoyed a productive season with the Braves back in 2013, when he batted .281/.367/.372 in 141 plate appearances. In parts of 13 Major League seasons, Laird is a career .243/.305/.353 hitter. He’s spent time with the Rangers, Tigers and Cardinals in addition to Arizona and Atlanta.
- The Angels announced that lefty David Huff has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Salt Lake. The 31-year-old made a pair of spot starts for the Halos this season but struggled in each and ultimately yielded seven earned runs on 13 hits and two walks in 5 1/3 innings. He’ll have the right to reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency, though he could very well accept due to the fact that the injury-riddled state of the Angels’ pitching staff could afford him another crack at the Majors later this summer.
- Former Major League right-hander Robert Coello has been waived by the Nexen Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization, as Jeeho Yoo of the Yonhap News Agency writes. In his place, the Heroes will sign right-hander Scott McGregor, who had been pitching for the Somerset Patriots of the independent Atlantic League (Mike Ashmore of MyCentralJersey.com reported the McGregor news earlier this week). The 31-year-old Coello hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2013, when he posted a 3.71 ERA in 17 innings for the Angels. He had a 3.77 ERA in 62 innings out of the Heroes’ rotation this season, but Yoo notes that control problems (42 walks in those 62 innings) led him to be waived. McGregor, a longtime Cardinals farmhand, has a career 4.78 ERA at the Triple-A level and was throwing well for Somerset this season, having posted a 3.36 ERA with a 31-to-6 K/BB ratio in 59 innings.
Rogers, Noesi, Spruill, Coello Sign With KBO Teams
Former Major League right-handers Hector Noesi, Esmil Rogers, Zeke Spruill and Robert Coello have signed contracts to play in the Korea Baseball Organization. The Hanwha Eagles have signed Rogers to a one-year, $1.9MM contract, making him the highest-paid foreign player in the league, the club announced (report from Jeeho Yoo of the Yonhap News Agency). Noesi, meanwhile, will become the league’s second-highest-paid international player, landing a $1.7MM guarantee on his one-year deal with the Kia Tigers (Yonhap link). Kia also inked former Diamondbacks righty Zeke Spruill, who will receive a $700K salary. And, right-hander Robert Coello has signed with the Nexen Heroes for $550K on a one-year deal (Yonhap story).
Rogers, 30, was released by the Yankees at the trade deadline this year and latched on to play with the Eagles in KBO. Rogers was outstanding in 10 starts with the Eagles, tossing four complete games (three shutouts) as he worked to a 2.97 ERA with 7.1 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 in 75 2/3 innings in what is a notoriously hitter-friendly league. His salary is technically $1.7MM, though he also receives a $200K signing bonus, per the above report.
Noesi, 28, will be getting his first taste of Korean ball with this contract. While he struggled to a 6.89 ERA in 33 2/3 innings with the White Sox this past season and eventually yielded his rotation spot to impressive rookie Carlos Rodon, Noesi logged 166 innings of 4.39 ERA ball for the ChiSox a year prior and comes with a strong minor league track record.
The 26-year-old Spruill was long one of the Braves’ most highly ranked farmhands but found himself traded to the D-backs in the original Justin Upton trade. After appearing in the Majors with Arizona in 2013-14, Spruill spent this past season with the Red Sox’ Triple-A affiliate in Pawtucket, where he recorded a 3.94 ERA with 5.3 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 across 114 1/3 innings. The former second-round pick will also be playing overseas for the first time.
Coello, 31, has appeared in parts of three seasons in the Majors, most recently in 2013 with the Angels. He’s struggled to a 5.90 ERA in an admittedly tiny sample of 29 innings but has a career 3.78 ERA while averaging better than a strikeout per inning in parts of seven Triple-A seasons. He split the past season between the Triple-A clubs of the Rangers and Giants.
Rangers Sign Ross Ohlendorf, Robert Coello
The Rangers announced today that they’ve re-signed right-hander Ross Ohlendorf to a minor league contract. Additionally, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweeted yesterday that the team has a minor league deal with righty Robert Coello.
Ohlendorf, 32, has logged 7 2/3 innings with the Rangers this season but was designated for assignment and briefly elected free agency before re-signing a new contract with Texas. He’ll head to Triple-A Round Rock, where he posted a 3.60 ERA with 28 strikeouts against nine walks in 25 innings of relief earlier this season. Ohlendorf has 509 1/3 innings under his belt at the big league level, having pitched to a 4.86 ERA with 6.5 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9.
Coello, 30, has seen big league action in parts of three seasons with a 5.90 ERA to show for his efforts. He’s struck out 39 batters and issued 17 walks in 29 big league frames, with sabermetric stats like FIP (3.58) and xFIP (4.02) painting a much more optimistic picture than ERA. The New Jersey native opted out of a minor league deal with the Giants back in early June but hasn’t pitched since, so he’ll head to Arizona to get caught up to speed before joining a minor league affiliate (presumably Triple-A), per Wilson.
Robert Coello Opts Out Of Contract With Giants
Right-hander Robert Coello has opted out of his minor league contract with the Giants, MLBTR has learned. Coello’s deal had a June 1 out clause, and he’ll now be able to sign with a new organization as a free agent.
The 30-year-old Coello has spent most of his career as a reliever, but the Giants used him in the rotation at Triple-A Sacramento this season with good success. In 11 starts that spanned 64 1/3 innings, Coello has worked to a 3.50 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9.
Coello, a client of Octagon/Jay Alou, last appeared in the Majors with the 2013 Angels, pitching to a 3.71 ERA with 23 strikeouts against eight walks in 17 innings. He has a history of missing bats in both the Majors and the minors, as evidenced by a 12.1 K/9 rate in the bigs and a mark of 9.8 in the minors. His strikeout rate is notably higher when working out of the bullpen, which isn’t surprising — pitchers will typically work at a greater velocity in the bullpen. Coello does have occasional trouble throwing strikes, as he’s walked just over four hitters per nine in his minor league career and has walked 17 hitters in 29 big league innings.
Coello is the second pitcher to exercise an opt-out clause from San Francisco’s Triple-A affiliate in as many days, as Kevin Correia also elected free agency yesterday. It’s possible that we’ll see a third pitcher test the open market, too; right-hander Juan Gutierrez also has a June 1 opt-out, as MLBTR previously reported.