Trevor Plouffe

Rangers Release Trevor Plouffe

By Jeff Todd | March 23, 2018 at 4:09pm CDT

The Rangers have released third baseman Trevor Plouffe, MLB.com’s TR Sullivan was among those to report via Twitter. He had been in camp with the team on a minor-league deal.

It’s still possible the 31-year-old will end up re-joining the organization to play at Triple-A, Sullivan notes. First, though, he’ll look into other opportunities with other teams.

Plouffe turned in a middling performance in camp, with just six base hits in his 34 trips to the plate. With the Rangers deciding to keep Jurickson Profar in the infield and otherwise carrying a full slate of healthy starters, there was no room for the veteran Plouffe.

During his seven seasons with the Twins, Plouffe was generally a solid regular at the hot corner. But he failed to make good on a one-year pact with the Athletics in 2017 and continued to struggle upon landing with the Rays in the middle of the season. He ended with a .198/.272/.318 batting line in 313 MLB plate appearances last year.

Rangers Release Curt Casali

By Jeff Todd | March 21, 2018 at 2:21pm CDT

The Rangers have released catcher Curt Casali, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports (Twitter link). He’ll return to the open market in search of an opportunity elsewhere.

Several other veterans have also now been ruled out from the active roster. Righty Steve Delabar and outfielder Destin Hood have been so advised, as has third baseman Trevor Plouffe. As Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News adds on Twitter, Plouffe is considering his next steps and could request his own release.

The 29-year-old Casali came into camp in hopes of earning the back-up catching job behind starter Robinson Chirinos. But he has struggled with the bat in camp and evidently failed to beat out a variety of other possibilities.

As things stand, Juan Centeno is the most experienced option on the 40-man roster, with the recently outrighted Brett Nicholas and non-roster invitee Mike Ohlman also still on hand. Of course, it’s also still possible the Rangers could look outside the organization for a second backstop.

Rangers Sign Trevor Plouffe

By Jeff Todd | February 13, 2018 at 11:24am CDT

TODAY: Plouffe could earn a $1.75MM salary with up to $300K in incentive pay if he can crack the MLB roster, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). Texas has announced the agreement.

YESTERDAY: The Rangers are in agreement on a minor-league deal with third baseman Trevor Plouffe, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic initially tweeted that there was an agreement, but shortly thereafter issued a correction in a subsequent tweet, saying the sides were in discussions.

Plouffe, now 31, had a run as a regular at the hot corner with the Twins and posted some productive campaigns over the years. Everything went wrong for him, though, in a trying 2017 season.

This time last year, Plouffe was preparing for what he hoped would be a bounceback, one-year run with the Athletics, who had signed him for $5.25MM after a less-than-stellar 2016 effort. But Plouffe lasted only 58 games in Oakland and hit even worse after moving to the Rays in the middle of the season. He ended the year with an ugly .198/.272/.318 slash line over 313 total MLB plate appearances.

Prior to that forgettable campaign, Plouffe had only ever played for the Twins. Over seven seasons, he produced right at the league average at the plate. At his best, in 2014-15, Plouffe played at a solid all-around level and profiled as a quality everyday player.

It seems reasonable to expect that the Rangers will give Plouffe a shot at earning a roster spot in camp, but he’ll certainly be competing for a reserve role. Plouffe will likely do battle with players such as Jurickson Profar and Ryan Rua over the next several weeks. While the Rangers are set at third with veteran Adrian Beltre, and remain poised to give the bulk of the time at first to Joey Gallo, there could still be a fair bit of playing time open to be claimed. In particular, Beltre is likely to require some regular rest.

Rays To Select Contract Of Trevor Plouffe

By Steve Adams | September 4, 2017 at 12:09pm CDT

Shortly after being designated for assignment and outrighted off the 40-man roster, Trevor Plouffe is set to rejoin the Rays, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Tampa Bay will bring the veteran back to the Majors as a depth option with expanded September rosters now in place. Tampa Bay has an open 40-man spot, so a corresponding move isn’t needed.

Regular playing time won’t be there for Plouffe, barring injuries elsewhere on the roster, but he’ll get another chance to finish the year on a good note after struggling for much of the 2017 campaign. The former Twins third baseman signed a one-year, $5MM deal with the A’s last winter after being non-tendered and found himself traded to Tampa Bay after being designated in Oakland.

Plouffe has appeared in 89 games this season (281 plate appearances) and has posted a .204/.274/.325 slash that represents a considerable departure from the generally useful offensive output he tallied from 2012-16 in Minnesota. Plouffe’s strikeout rate has soared to 29.5 percent this season after checking in under 20 percent from 2014-16. His hard-hit rate, line-drive rate and homer-to-flyball ratio are all in line with the levels he posted in his final few years in Minneapolis, but he’s also hitting the ball on ground more than ever (49.7 percent) and lifting fly-balls at a career-low pace (30.1 percent).

Plouffe has batted .276 with a .344 OBP against left-handed pitching this year, but the power he typically has in platoon situations has evaporated (.333 slugging, .057 ISO). He’ll be a free agent once again at season’s end.

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/26/17

By Mark Polishuk | August 26, 2017 at 3:43pm CDT

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

The Reds outrighted right-hander Nefi Ogando to Triple-A, according to Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link). Ogando has been limited to just 5 1/3 minor league innings this season due to a hand injury, and then a shoulder injury suffered while rehabbing his hand. The hard-throwing Ogando has a 3.86 ERA, 7.4 K/9 and 1.69 K/BB rate over 373 1/3 career innings in the farm systems for four different teams (Reds, Marlins, Phillies, Red Sox) in his eight-year pro career. Ogando has also had a couple of brief stints at the big league level with Miami and Philadelphia over the last two seasons.
The White Sox purchased the contract of catcher Rob Brantly from Triple-A, in a corresponding move to the 10-day DL placement of outfielder Nicky Delmonico. Brantly has spent the entire season with the Triple-A affiliates of the White Sox and Reds, coming to Chicago’s organization in late June after being released by Cincy. He’ll be looking for his first taste of MLB action since 2015, when he appeared in 14 games in a previous stint with the White Sox.

Earlier Today

The Rays outrighted Trevor Plouffe to Triple-A after the third baseman cleared waivers, the team announced. Plouffe was designated for assignment earlier this week. Acquired by the Rays from the Athletics in June, Plouffe hasn’t produced much in either uniform in 2017, hitting a combined .204/.274/.325 over 281 PA. One would think Plouffe will be a candidate to rejoin the Rays when rosters expand in September, though a new space will have to be found on their 40-man roster.
The Reds selected the contract of catcher Chad Wallach from Triple-A Louisville prior to yesterday’s game. The move was made to replace Stuart Turner, who went on the paternity list. Even if it may be a brief stint as Cincy’s backup catcher, it still represents the first big league callup for Wallach, a fifth-round pick for Miami in the 2013 draft and the owner of a .259/.350/.387 slash line over 1477 plate appearances in the minors. Wallach, the son of longtime Expos/Dodgers third baseman and current Marlins bench coach Tim Wallach, joined the Reds in December 2014 along with Anthony DeSclafani in the trade that sent Mat Latos to Miami.

Rays Designate Trevor Plouffe For Assignment

By Steve Adams | August 22, 2017 at 9:49pm CDT

The Rays have designated corner infielder Trevor Plouffe for assignment, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Plouffe’s roster spot will go to righty Andrew Kittredge tomorrow, though that’ll be just a one-day placeholder move until Alex Cobb is activated to start Thursday’s game.

The longtime Twins infielder was picked up by the Rays after a disappointing start to his lone season with the Athletics, but Plouffe’s struggles in St. Petersburg proved to be greater than in the Bay Area. Through 82 plate appearances as a member of the Rays, he’s batted .178/.268/.247 with a homer and a pair of doubles. All told, Plouffe has posted a .204/.274/.325 batting line and eight homers through 281 PAs.

Disappointing as those numbers may be, Plouffe was a solid source of modest pop and, eventually, respectable fielding for the Twins as their primary third baseman from 2012-16. Though a series of oblique injuries limited him to 90 games in his final season with Minnesota, the former first-round pick batted a combined .250/.311/.425 and averaged 17 homer per season (23 per 162 games played) in 2545 PAs over that stretch. He’s been an especially productive bat against left-handed pitching in his career, batting .268/.344/.450 through 887 career PAs when holding the platoon advantage.

Rays Acquire Trevor Plouffe From Athletics

By charliewilmoth | June 17, 2017 at 10:04am CDT

The Rays have acquired infielder Trevor Plouffe from the Athletics for cash considerations or a player to be named later, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes (Twitter links). The Rays will also receive cash in the deal, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand tweets, with Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle adding that the Rays will receive over $2MM to cover a portion of the approximately $3MM left on Plouffe’s $5.25MM 2017 salary. The Rays have moved righty Matt Andriese (hip) to the 60-day DL to clear space for Plouffe on their 40-man roster.

The Athletics designated Plouffe for assignment last week after he batted just .214/.276/.357 while striking out 29.1% of the time in 199 plate appearances this season. The 31-year-old also had a somewhat disappointing 2016 campaign with the Twins in which he hit a modest .260/.303/.420 while earning below-average marks in UZR and DRS for his defense. The Twins then outrighted him rather than taking him through the arbitration process.

Still, there’s perhaps reason for the Rays to hope Plouffe will be somewhat productive. He was a decent regular in Minnesota in 2014 and 2015, and he has decent power (with 103 career big-league home runs) and can play either infield corner. He’s also batted a solid .269/.345/.459 against lefties in his career, whereas the Rays as a team have hit a modest .227/.312/.374 against southpaws.

The Rays have established players at third (Evan Longoria), first (Logan Morrison) and DH (Corey Dickerson), but the left-handed Morrison, despite having a very strong season overall, has not hit lefties well in his career. The Rays could try to find further opportunities for Plouffe as a pinch-hitter, and he should improve their bench, which has had uninspiring options like Michael Martinez and Rickie Weeks to man the infield corners. Also, as ESPN’s Jim Bowden points out in a tweet, the Rays’ AL East rivals the Red Sox have struggled at third base this season and had interest in Plouffe last winter, and the Rays acquiring him prevents the Red Sox from acquiring him now. Plouffe is eligible for free agency after the season.

Trade Chatter: Pitching Market, Nats, Quintana, Rangers, Rox, A’s

By Steve Adams | June 16, 2017 at 12:34pm CDT

The market for starting pitchers has more question marks than certainties this summer, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports observes. Rosenthal runs down a number of potentially available arms, noting that injuries and/or significant contracts make many of them tough sells. Regarding Zack Greinke, Rosenthal notes that while his contract always made an in-season trade seem like a long shot, the fact that the D-backs are contending and are in current possession of a Wild Card spot all but eliminates the possibility that he’ll be traded this summer.

With the draft out of the way, trade talk should slowly begin to heat up in the coming weeks. Here are a few more items of potential interest…

FanRag’s Jon Heyman runs down a number of possible needs on clubs that are in contention, beginning with the Nationals. While there’s been much made of the team’s obvious need for bullpen help, Heyman suggests that the Nats won’t simply acquire a closer and consider their relief corps to be fixed. “We don’t need just one big reliever, we need two,” a Nationals source tells Heyman. One potentially available name on which the Nationals don’t appear to be especially keen, however, is closer A.J. Ramos of the division-rival Marlins. Heyman reports in his weekly National League roundup that Ramos is a ways down Washington’s list of potential targets.
On the American League side, Heyman focuses on the White Sox, who have quite a few interesting trade pieces, as recently examined by MLBTR’s Jeff Todd. He suggests that there are indications the Sox do intend to move lefty Jose Quintana this summer — and they don’t think they’ll need to accept a sub-par return despite his struggles so far. There’s some “belief” that Chicago could be hoping to draw interest in Quintana from the Dodgers, Heyman notes in the N.L. post. Meanwhile, the organization isn’t as interested in fielding offers for first baseman Jose Abreu, per the report.
Prior to trading designating Sam Dyson for assignment and trading him to the Giants, the Rangers also gave consideration to cutting right-hander Jeremy Jeffress loose, Heyman writes. However, Texas deemed Jeffress more likely to rebound from his struggles and kept him on the roster. I’d imagine that as was the case with Dyson, Jeffress would draw trade interest elsewhere based on his track record and 2016 success.
Nick Groke of the Denver Post fielded some Rockies trade questions in his latest chat with readers, noting that there’s virtually no chance that the Rockies would even consider moving top shortstop prospect Brendan Rodgers this summer. Groke does, however, feel that outfielder Raimel Tapia is a plausible trade chip. The 23-year-old outfielder entered the season widely ranked among baseball’s top 100 prospects and is hitting .286/.375/.357 through a small sample of 32 plate appearances in a limited role.
With the Athletics progressing into a youth movement, John Hickey of the San Jose Mercury News writes that top infield prospect Franklin Barreto likely isn’t far from getting his first big league promotion, though Hickey suggests that in order to create playing time for Barreto, Oakland would first have to trade Jed Lowrie. Hickey also notes that the A’s feel confident that Trevor Plouffe, who was designated for assignment yesterday to clear a spot for top third base prospect Matt Chapman, will catch on with another club. It’s not clear, though, if the A’s expect to trade him or are preparing to release the 31-year-old.

Athletics Designate Trevor Plouffe For Assignment

By Steve Adams | June 15, 2017 at 3:33pm CDT

3:32pm: Oakland has made it official: Chapman is up and Plouffe is in DFA limbo.

1:31pm: With the A’s set to call up top prospect Matt Chapman, the team is preparing to designate third baseman Trevor Plouffe for assignment, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

[Related: Updated Oakland Athletics depth chart]

Plouffe, who turns 31 today, signed a one-year, $5.25MM deal with the A’s this offseason after effectively being non-tendered by the Twins. His bat has yet to recover from a slow start to the season, however, as the former first-round pick is hitting just .214/.276/.357 on the year with seven homers and five doubles. As Slusser notes, Plouffe had recently seen his playing time diminish in Oakland.

When at his best, Plouffe has proven to be a serviceable defender at third base with modest on-base skills but enough pop to hit 20 to 25 homers. From 2012-15 in Minnesota he batted a combined .248/.312/.426 with an average of 23 homers per 162 games played.

Given that track record, it’s possible that the A’s could find a taker for Plouffe in trade, as teams like the Red Sox, Yankees and Mets have received little help from their third basemen in 2017. Presumably, the A’s would need to include some cash to help offset the remaining $3.13MM on his contract. Boston, for what it’s worth, reportedly showed interest in Plouffe over the winter before he signed with the A’s.

If Oakland doesn’t find a trade partner, Plouffe’s salary will very likely allow him to clear waivers, at which point any club could sign him and owe him only the pro-rated portion of the league minimum through season’s end.

AL Notes: Red Sox, Athletics, White Sox, Tigers

By Connor Byrne | May 20, 2017 at 7:20pm CDT

Speaking with Evan Drellich of CSNNE.com on Saturday, Athletics third baseman Trevor Plouffe confirmed that the Red Sox had interest in signing him as a free agent during the offseason. In the end, Plouffe chose to ink a deal with Oakland because it presented a clearer path to playing time at the hot corner than Boston did at the time. “I wanted to play third base and [the A’s] came and right away and expressed their interest in that, and to me it was kind of a no-brainer,” said Plouffe, who’s on a one-year, $5.25MM contract. “I was going to come here and get a chance to start at third. Kind of after last year, not being able to play a ton of games, prove that I can stay healthy again — that was kind of the real selling point for me.” As Drellich notes, it turns out Plouffe would have had an opportunity to play had he signed with the Red Sox, whose third base options (including Pablo Sandoval) have dealt with injuries this season. Plouffe could still end up with the Red Sox around the trade deadline, Drellich adds, and the 30-year-old realizes it’s possible he’ll head elsewhere if the A’s aren’t in contention. “Of course. You can’t be naive about that fact,” acknowledged Plouffe, a .248/.318/.421 hitter in 148 plate appearances this season.

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