Scott Van Slyke

Doosan Bears Place Scott Van Slyke On Waivers

By Jeff Todd | September 20, 2018 at 8:12am CDT

The Korea Baseball Organization’s Doosan Bears have decided to part ways with former MLB slugger Scott Van Slyke, as Yonhap News reports. Formally, the club has requested waivers on Van Slyke.

It took only a dozen games for the Bears to sour on the outfielder/first baseman, who was added after things failed to work out with another non-Korean player, Jimmy Paredes. Now, the club says it will go without a foreign hitter as it tries to finish off a strong overall season.

KBO teams are allowed up to three foreign players under league rules. (A new version of the rules will impact signings, but will not change the number of roster spots.) Doosan already employs righties Seth Frankoff and Josh Lindblom, both of whom have turned in quality seasons in the hitter-friendly league.

Van Slyke, 32, joined the Bears after opening the season with a .248/.354/.467 batting line in 162 plate appearances at Triple-A in the Marlins organization. The former Dodgers platoon man has had some productive seasons in the majors, but hasn’t seen much time or been very effective at the game’s highest level since 2015.

Ultimately, Van Slyke struggled through his brief time in the KBO, carrying a meager .128/.209/.231 slash and one home run. It’s a short leash, to be sure, but perhaps it’s hard to argue given that the club leads the league in runs despite receiving paltry output from its non-Korean hitters.

Doosan Bears Sign Scott Van Slyke

By Jeff Todd | June 26, 2018 at 7:35am CDT

Korea’s Doosan Bears have agreed to sign former MLB outfielder Scott Van Slyke, per a team announcement (Korean link; h/t Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net, on Twitter). He’ll earn a $320K salary.

Van Slyke, 31, had a six-year run in the majors with the Dodgers. But his opportunities and productivity trailed off over the course of that span. All told, he carries a .242/.326/.417 slash line with 29 home runs in 869 MLB plate appearances.

Heading into the present season, Van Slyke joined the Marlins on a minors pact. It seemed he’d have a solid shot at breaking back into the majors at some point, but that hasn’t yet come to pass. He has, however, hit well at Triple-A, producing a .248/.354/.467 batting line and swatting eight long balls in 162 trips to the plate.

In that most recent work, Van Slyke has produced well against right-handed pitching at the highest level of the minors. During his time in the bigs, though, he carried yawning platoon splits, with a .146 point spread between his career OPS marks against lefties and righties.

NL East Notes: Joseph, Fedde, deGrom, Marlins

By Steve Adams | February 27, 2018 at 8:35pm CDT

Despite the fact that he’s left without a clear role on the Phillies, Tommy Joseph turned away “serious interest” from teams in Japan and Korea this offseason, reports Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Joseph consulted with his former teammate, Darin Ruf, who spent the 2017 season playing with the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization and raked at a .315/.396/.569 clip. Ruf recommended to Joseph that he should make the jump, but Joseph wasn’t ready to make that move just yet. “You never want to give up the opportunity to play in the major leagues,” said Joseph. “…I want a chance to be here and play in the big leagues.”

The Phillies signed Carlos Santana to a three-year, $60MM contract this offseason, pushing Rhys Hoskins to the outfield and rendering Joseph without an opportunity outside of a bench role. Phils skipper Gabe Kapler has been playing Joseph in the corner outfield this spring to enhance his versatility, but Joseph still faces an uphill battle when it comes to securing even semi-regular at-bats in a crowded first base/outfield mix with the Phils.

Here’s more out of the NL East…

Erick Fedde made his first appearance of the spring this week, taking the mound for the first time since suffering a flexor strain that ended his season last summer. MLB.com’s Jamal Collier spoke with the promising Nationals right-hander, stating that he felt no lingering effects in his previously problematic forearm. Collier notes, too, that Fedde’s velocity looks to be back to normal after dipping last summer before the right-hander was shelved for the remainder of the year. While the 25-year-old Fedde, a former first-round pick and longtime top prospect in the organization, comes with plenty of upside and hopes to break camp with the club, Collier notes that his remaining minor league options could make that difficult. Right-hander A.J. Cole is the current favorite for the fifth spot in the Nats’ rotation, perhaps in part due to the fact that he’s out of options.
Jacob deGrom’s availability for Opening Day is in question, writes Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News. While the back stiffness that’s been hampering deGrom in the past few days isn’t believed to be serious, the Mets would prefer deGrom to make five starts to ramp up for the regular season. In order to make that schedule, he’d need to start a game by Sunday, and he’ll likely need to complete two bullpen sessions before he’s cleared to do so. The New York Post’s Mike Puma takes things a bit further, suggesting that deGrom may not be ready for the first week or so of the season (Twitter link). It’s understandable that the Mets would prefer to proceed with caution after the rampant injuries that ran through their pitching staff last season, though, and it doesn’t sound at present that deGrom is in danger of missing any significant time once the regular season rolls around.
Marlins CEO Derek Jeter was largely dismissive of the grievance filed by the MLBPA against his team (as well as the Rays, A’s and Pirates), per Barry Jackson, Clark Spencer and Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. “As we have done since the day we took over in October, we will continue to do everything we can to build a foundation for sustained success and improve this organization — which has not made the postseason since 2003 and has gone eight seasons without a winning record,” Jeter said in response to the grievance, which alleges that the four teams listed are not properly reallocating their revenue-sharing profits to improving their clubs.
Sticking with the Marlins, Craig Davis of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel writes that non-roster invitee Scott Van Slyke has impressed manager Don Mattingly early in camp as he vies for a job. Mattingly, of course, knows Van Slyke well, having also managed him during his best years with the Dodgers. Van Slyke, Davis notes, changed his hitting mechanics this offseason at the behest of his father Andy — a two-time Silver Slugger winner and three-time big league All-Star. Of some note, Davis adds that Van Slyke’s minor league deal with the Fish does not contain an opt-out at the end of Spring Training, so even if he doesn’t make crack the 25-man roster, he could very well be ticketed for Triple-A New Orleans, where he’d serve as a depth option with a strong track record against left-handed pitching and experience in all three outfield slots.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/13/18

By Kyle Downing | January 13, 2018 at 5:18pm CDT

We’ll use this post to keep track of today’s minor league signings…

The Marlins have re-signed southpaw Mike Kickham to a minors deal with an invitation to spring training, according to the Associated Press. Last season was the first in the Miami organization for Kickham, who divided the year between the minors’ two highest levels and posted a 3.65 ERA over 145 2/3 innings (27 appearances, 25 starts). Kickham also logged 7.4 K/9 against just 1.5 BB/9. The 29-year-old brings minimal big league experience, with his most recent stint being a two-inning showing with San Francisco in 2014.
The Orioles have signed infielder/outfielder Anderson Feliz to a minors pact without a spring training invite, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. The O’s are the third organization for Feliz, who was previously in the minors with the Yankees (2009-14) and Pirates (2015-17). In his first Triple-A action last season, the 25-year-old Feliz batted a meek .209/.257/.328 in 145 plate appearances.

Earlier Updates

Angels lefty Nate Smith will remain in the organization after clearing waivers and being outrighted, the club announced. The 26-year-old had earned a 40-man spot in advance of the 2017 Rule 5 draft, but he ended up missing the bulk of the year due to elbow/forearm issues. Things only got worse this winter, as Smith ended up requiring anterior capsule surgery that will cost him all of the coming season. He was designated for assignment recently. Smith has generally been regarded as one of the Halos’ best pitching prospects in recent years, though he had struggled somewhat at Triple-A in 2016 (4.61 ERA in 150 1/3 innings) before the injury bug hit late that season.
The Marlins have inked outfielder Scott Van Slyke to a minor league deal which includes an invitation to spring training, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com tweets. Van Slyke had spent his entire pro baseball career with the Dodgers’ organization, with the small exception of 57 games he played for the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate. The 6’4″ outfielder owns a career slash line of just .230/.308/.390, but his most useful role is as a platoon hitter versus left-handed pitching against. When facing southpaws, he’s posted a .252/.358/.462 line with a 130 wRC+. Van Slyke has seen a performance decline in recent seasons, however; he was roughly average against lefties in 2016 and wasn’t able to muster much offense at all in 29 major league plate appearances last season. He’ll now join a rebuilding Marlins club with whom he has a better chance of earning playing time at the MLB level.
Also joining the Marlins is right-hander Javy Guerra, per Tim Healey of the Sun-Sentinel. The 32-year-old gave Miami 21 innings of 3.00 ERA ball in 2017 and has managed to crack the big leagues in each of the pat seven seasons. It has been a while, though, since Guerra held down a regular relief role. Despite his bottom-line success last year, Guerra managed only 5.1 K/9 (on a marginal 5.3% swinging-strike rate) against 3.0 BB/9. That said, he did produce quality groundball (54.4%) and infield fly (21.1%) rates.

Elected Free Agency: Siegrist, Edgin, Hutchison, Locke, Bolsinger, Van Slyke, Maness

By Steve Adams | October 23, 2017 at 3:28pm CDT

The indispensable Matt Eddy of Baseball America provides an overview of a vast number of players electing free agency following the 2017 season in his latest Minor Transactions roundup. Eddy largely focuses on players with big league service time (significant service time, in some cases) that were outrighted off the roster that are now hitting the open market for the first time. (Players with three-plus years of service that are not on the 40-man roster at season’s end can elect free agency, as can any player that has been outrighted on multiple occasions in his career.)

While the vast majority of these players seem likely to sign minor league pacts this winter — they did, after all, go unclaimed by 29 other teams on waivers — a number of them are still intriguing with recent success in their past and/or multiple years of arbitration eligibility remaining. Eddy’s rundown also contains a number of re-signed minor leaguers and released minor leaguers without big league experience as well as Arizona Fall League assignments on a per-team basis, so it’s well worth a full look.

We’ve updated our list of 2017-18 MLB free agents accordingly, and here are some of the new names now checking in on the list…

Depth options in the rotation

Josh Collmenter, Asher Wojciechowski, Drew Hutchison, Jeff Locke, Kyle Kendrick, Mike Bolsinger, Christian Bergman, David Holmberg

Collmenter is just two seasons removed from being the D-backs Opening Day starter but hasn’t had much success of late. Hutchison had solid Triple-A numbers and once looked like a long-term rotation piece in Toronto before Tommy John surgery. He can be controlled for another three seasons in arbitration. Locke was injured for most of an ugly first (and likely only) season in Miami, and Kendrick made just two starts for the Red Sox.

Wojciechowski (6.50 ERA in 62 1/3 innings with the Reds), Bolsinger (6.31 ERA in 41 1/3 innings with the Jays), Bergman (5.00 ERA in 54 innings with the Mariners) and Holmberg (4.68 ERA in 57 2/3 innings with the White Sox) all soaked up innings for injury-plagued pitching staffs. Bolsinger has had the most MLB experience of the bunch.

Corner Bats

Scott Van Slyke, Tyler Moore, Cody Asche, Conor Gillaspie, Jaff Decker

Van Slyke has long been a solid bat against left-handed pitching but appeared in just 29 games with the Dodgers and didn’t hit well with their Triple-A affiliate or with the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate. (He was included in the Tony Cingrani trade to balance out the financial side of the deal.) Moore, also a right-handed bat, showed power but struggled to get on base.

Once one of the Phillies’ top prospects, Asche hit well in Triple-A Charlotte but flopped in a brief stint with the ChiSox. Gillaspie was unable to replicate his 2016 rebound with the Giants, while Decker showed some on-base skills in the Majors and minors but didn’t hit much overall. (He can play center but hasn’t graded well there in the Majors.)

Utility Infielders

Ruben Tejada, Phil Gosselin, Dusty Coleman, Chase d’Arnaud

Each of the four can play all over the diamond, but none provided offensive value in 2017. Tejada has the most big league experience but hasn’t received much playing time since 2015 (and hasn’t performed well when he has gotten opportunities). Gosselin has a solid defensive reputation but a light bat through 551 MLB PAs. Coleman hit four homers in 71 PAs in his MLB debut this year but logged a .268 OBP. d’Arnaud saw his fair share of 2016 action with the Braves but has never produced much at the plate.

Bullpen options

Kevin Siegrist (L), Josh Edgin (L), Seth Maness, Kevin Quackenbush

Siegrist and Edgin are intriguing names for clubs in need of left-handed bullpen help. Both have recent success on their track records, though Edgin wasn’t as sharp in 2017 as he was prior to 2015 Tommy John surgery. Siegrist’s control eroded in 2017 as he missed time due to a back/spinal injury and tendinitis in his left forearm, but he was one of the Cardinals’ top setup options in both 2015 and 2016. Both lefties are controllable through 2019.

Maness drew headlines for returning from a torn UCL in roughly seven months thanks to an experimental new “primary repair” procedure, but while he stayed healthy in 2017, the results weren’t great in the Majors and especially not in Triple-A (6.13 ERA in 47 innings). Quackenbush was excellent as a rookie in 2014 and solid in 2015-16 before imploding in 2017 (7.86 ERA in 26 1/3 innings). He was better but not great in Triple-A (3.90 ERA, 7.8 K/9, 2.9 BB/9). Maness could be controlled through 2019, while Quackenbush would have three more years of control.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/15/17

By Jeff Todd | August 15, 2017 at 7:00pm CDT

Here are the day’s minor moves:

The Reds announced this afternoon that outfielder Scott Van Slyke has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Louisville after clearing waivers. Cincinnati designated Van Slyke for assignment last week, making it clear that his inclusion in the team’s return for Tony Cingrani was mostly a financial mechanism. Van Slyke has struggled to a .196/.280/.308 in 161 plate appearances across the past two seasons and has posted a marginal .714 OPS through 221 PAs in Triple-A as well. Van Slyke could have rejected the outright assignment in favor of free agency, but doing so would’ve meant forfeiting the remaining $341K on this year’s $1.325MM salary. If he’s no re-added to the 40-man roster before season’s end, Van Slyke will have the opportunity to elect free agency following the season.

Earlier Moves

Veteran righty Edward Mujica has been outrighted to Triple-A by the Tigers after clearing waivers, per a club announcement. It is not immediately clear whether Mujica has accepted the assignment; he’d have the right to decline it, or instead to elect free agency at the end of the year. The 33-year-old, an eleven-year MLB veteran, had not seen the majors since 2015 but earned a return with a strong showing at the highest level of the minors. But he was bombed for seven earned runs on 11 hits — including four home runs — in his five outings with Detroit.
Also outrighted was Reds utilityman Arismendy Alcantara, the Cincinnati organization announced. He’s heading to Double-A, with Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer noting on Twitter that the club’s top affiliate is rather well-stocked with infielders. Alcantara, 25, has appeared in the majors in each of the past four seasons, but has struggled to a .189/.235/.315 batting line with 150 strikeouts in his 459 plate appearances. While he has intrigued at times in the upper minors with a blend of power, speed, and defensive versatility, Alcantara just hasn’t been able to turn the corner in his relatively limited opportunities at the game’s highest level — where his swing-and-miss proclivities have been exposed.

Reds Claim Luke Farrell, Designate Scott Van Slyke

By Steve Adams | August 9, 2017 at 1:48pm CDT

The Reds announced on Wednesday that they’ve claimed right-hander Luke Farrell off waivers from the Dodgers and designated former Dodger Scott Van Slyke for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. Farrell has been optioned to Triple-A Louisville, per the Reds’ announcement.

The 26-year-old Farrell is the son of Red Sox manager John Farrell and made his MLB debut with the Royals earlier this year. He was knocked around for five runs on seven hits and three walks with two strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings, and that outing still represents his long MLB appearance.

Though his debut was rough, Farrell has produced solid Triple-A results in 2016-17, working to a combined 3.83 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and roughly a 36 percent ground-ball rate in 199 2/3 innings. He has a pair of minor league options remaining beyond this season, which also figures to have some appeal to the Reds.

Van Slyke was acquired alongside catching prospect Hendrik Clementina minutes before the non-waiver trade deadline in the trade that sent Tony Cingrani to the Dodgers. While some may wonder why the Reds didn’t simply acquire Farrell in place of Van Slyke in that trade, it’s likely due to the fact that the Reds took on the remainder of Van Slyke’s salary, thus offsetting some of the financial cost of Cingrani for Los Angeles.

The 31-year-old Van Slyke is earning $1.325MM and has appeared in just 29 games this season (all with the Dodgers), hitting .122/.250/.293 in 48 plate appearances. Van Slyke, of course, has had his share of success in the Majors but hasn’t been especially productive since 2014. He’s also carrying a disappointing .714 OPS in Triple-A this season.

Dodgers Avoid Arbitration With Van Slyke, Hatcher

By Steve Adams | December 1, 2016 at 6:14pm CDT

6:14pm: FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweets that Hatcher receives a $1.25MM salary next season (Twitter link).

4:25pm: SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets that Van Slyke and the Dodgers agreed to a $1.325MM salary for 2017.

4:14pm: The Dodgers announced today that they’ve signed outfielder Scott Van Slyke and right-hander Chris Hatcher to one-year deals, thus avoiding arbitration with both players. Van Slyke is represented by agent James Kuzmich, while Hatcher is a client of Turner Gary Sports.

Van Slyke, 30, was limited to 52 games this past season due to back and wrist injuries. When healthy, he batted a disappointing .225/.292/.314 in 113 plate appearances. Van Slyke, however, has a nice track record as a complementary outfielder, having slashed .261/.349/.455 with 24 homers in 651 plate appearances from 2013-15. Most of the damage he’s done in his career has come against left-handed pitching, as he holds a career .845 OPS against southpaws as compared to a .678 OPS against right-handed pitching. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had projected Van Slyke for a $1.3MM salary in 2017.

Hatcher, 32 in January, was limited to 40 2/3 innings by an oblique injury in 2016 but struggled to a 5.53 ERA even when healthy enough to take the field. Hatcher’s velocity remained strong, though, as his fastball averaged just under 96 mph. He also averaged 9.5 K/9 with a solid 44.3 percent ground-ball rate. His walk rate spiked from 3.0 BB/9 in 2015 to 4.6 BB/9 in 2016, however, and he was exceptionally homer-prone (1.8 HR/9, 18.2 percent HR/FB ratio). In 95 innings from 2014-15, Hatcher logged a 3.51 ERA and posted a 105-to-25 K/BB ratio. Swartz projected him at $1.4MM.

Quick Hits: Hill, BoSox, Bucs, Braves, Giants, Dodgers

By Connor Byrne | August 27, 2016 at 11:03pm CDT

Before he joined Oakland on a one-year, $6MM deal last November, the Red Sox tried to re-sign left-hander Rich Hill as a reliever, while the Pirates made a similar offer to the A’s and wanted him to start, reports Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com. Hill, who revived his career with four great starts as a member of the Red Sox last September, has carried his success into this year. Despite dealing with multiple injuries, the 36-year-old has put up a sterling 2.09 ERA, 10.21 K/9, 3.07 BB/9, 49.5 percent ground-ball rate and 15.7 percent infield fly rate in 82 innings. The A’s dealt him and outfielder Josh Reddick to the Dodgers on Aug. 1, thereby turning a cheap investment into three well-regarded prospects.

Dodgers Notes: Lazarito, Fernandez, Urias, Van Slyke, Guerrero

By Steve Adams | May 24, 2016 at 10:01pm CDT

The Dodgers had a “big crew” on hand today for a showcase in the Dominican Republic where second baseman Jose Miguel Fernandez and outfielder Lazaro Armenteros auditioned for teams, tweets Ben Badler of Baseball America. The Dodgers, of course, have been the most prominent presence on the international market during the current signing period. If there’s any genuine interest in “Lazarito,” they’d need to get a deal with him completed prior to June 15, as that date signals the end of the current international signing period, and the Dodgers won’t be allowed to sign a player for more than $300K in the 2016-17 period (which begins on July 2) due to their lavish expenditures over the past 10 months. Fernandez, however, is exempt from bonus pools and, as such, can sign for any amount. Both players have been prominently linked to the division-rival Padres in recent months, with Badler reporting in early March that San Diego was the favorite to sign Lazarito. It should be noted as well, though, that Badler also downplayed the 16-year-old’s upside, writing that he’s been the beneficiary of “extreme sensationalism” in some media reports. As of that writing, Badler rated Armenteros 11th among Cuban prospects available to MLB clubs.

A few more notes on the Dodgers…

While many Dodgers fans are wondering when Julio Urias will arrive on the scene, Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times writes that Urias’ agent, Scott Boras, is surprisingly supportive of the Dodgers’ decision not to rush him to the Majors. Boras says that he is “aligned” with the Dodgers in terms of Urias’ timeline. “We understand we have a great young talent,” said Boras. Hernandez writes that the plan for Urias is to only see a “modest” increase from his career-high of 87 1/3 innings this season. Hernandez opines that rather than rush Urias to the big league bullpen, the Dodgers would be better served to allow him to continue to develop as a starter, with an eye towards next year’s rotation. Never one to pass up the opportunity to make some form of statement, Boras used Urias as an example of why the upcoming wave of CBA negotiations should result in rosters expanding to 26 players. “You ideally want to bring a guy to the big leagues and have him throw 120, 130 or 140 innings, but then you have to make up 50 or 60 innings,” he said. “Having that extra pitcher throughout that whole year would allow them to do that.”
Outfielder Scott Van Slyke, who has appeared in just four games with the Dodgers this season due to a lower back injury, could return to the team by June 3-4, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (via MLB.com’s Chad Thornburg). In the meantime, the Dodgers plan to continue carrying an extra reliever and going with a short, four-man bench. As Roberts explained, maintaining “flexibility of different guys in the ’pen is more of a priority” than having an additional bat off the bench at this time.
Infielder/outfielder Alex Guerrero is currently on a minor league rehab assignment, and he told J.P. Hoornstra of the L.A. Daily News last week that he thinks he can help the Dodgers at the big league level once healthy. That type of talk is expected from most players, but it’s particularly notable in the case of Guerrero, who has a clause in his contract that allows him to refuse to be optioned to the minors. Guerrero entered tonight’s contest hitting just .152/.188/.239 on said rehab assignment (he did pick up his first hit with the team’s Double-A affiliate tonight), and he’ll give the Dodgers’ front office a decision when his rehab window is up. Guerrero has a $5MM salary this season (the $10MM signing bonus on his $28MM contract was reportedly paid up front) and will earn the same in 2017, though a clause in his deal allows him to become a free agent at the end of a season in which he’s traded. The 29-year-old has been a disappointment thus far in the contract, hitting just .224/.251/.414 in 243 plate appearances while displaying questionable defensive skills.

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