Rays Acquire Outfielder Michael Gigliotti From Royals
The Rays have acquired speedy outfielder Michael Gigliotti from the Royals to complete a July 21st trade, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). The deal allowed Kansas City to keep control over Rule 5 draft pick Stephen Woods Jr. The Royals have announced the deal. The team also announced the release of Ofreidy Gomez and the addition of right-hander Alec Marsh to the team’s alternate training site.
The Royals selected Woods with the 4th overall pick of the 2019 Rule 5 draft. The 25-year-old right-hander made two appearances for the Royals this season without yielding a run. He was making the jump to the show from High-A, but this deal allows the Royals to move him freely from the active roster to the alternate training site as they so choose.
Gigliotti was a 4th round draft choice of the Royals in 2017. Baseball America ranked him as the Royals #27 overall prospect heading into the 2020 season, while Fangraphs did not place him among their top 43 prospects. Fangraphs prospect scribe Eric Longenhagen wrote, “Gigliotti has the best approach and contact skills of this group but he’s performed against competition much younger than him and has been hurt a lot.” The slender 24-year-old split 2019 between the Royals of the Arizona League, Single-A, and High-A. Across the three levels, Gigliotti hit .282/.369/.368 while swiping 36 bags.
Nationals Add Sterling Sharp, Jeremy De La Rosa To Player Pool
9:45am: The Nats are adding Sharp and outfield prospect Jeremy De La Rosa to their 60-man player pool, Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post reports (via Twitter). Both will head to the team’s alternate training site in Fredricksburg. De La Rosa, 18, ranks 15th among Nats farmhands at MLB.com and at FanGraphs. He’ll be able to get some developmental reps with the club’s staff now, although being added to the 60-man pool also makes him eligible to be directly included in a trade to another club (as opposed to being shipped off as a PTBNL).
8:50am: The Marlins have returned right-hander Sterling Sharp, their pick in last year’s Rule 5 Draft, to the Nationals, per a team announcement from the Nats. Miami designated Sharp for assignment earlier this week, and the fact that he was returned indicates he went unclaimed on outright waivers.
Sharp, 25, appeared in four games with the Fish but struggled in his final two outings. Overall, he was tagged for seven runs (six earned) on seven hits, five walks and a hit batter with three strikeouts in 5 1/3 frames. Sharp’s heavy sinker helped him keep the ball on the ground at a 65 percent clip in his brief time with the Marlins. However, the Marlins were forced to make a broad-reaching series of moves in the wake of their team-wide Covid-19 outbreak, one of which was to designate Sharp for assignment. It’s eminently possible that this outcome would’ve occurred eventually anyhow, particularly in light of his struggles.
Regardless, Sharp now returns to the Nats and gives them a relatively near-term option for their pitching staff. He’s not on the 40-man roster but could emerge as a candidate for a big league call up before long. Sharp logged 49 2/3 frames in Double-A last year, pitching to a 3.99 ERA and 2.59 FIP with 8.2 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, 0.18 HR/9 and a whopping 63.3 percent ground-ball rate.
Marlins Designate Sterling Sharp For Assignment
The Marlins made a series of roster moves Monday, beginning with the announcement that right-hander Sterling Sharp has been designated for assignment. Miami also reinstated infielder Eddy Alvarez from the paternity list and optioned him to the alternate training site. Lefty Stephen Tarpley, meanwhile, has been placed on the 10-day IL due to an oblique strain, while fellow southpaw Brandon Leibrandt was optioned to the alternate site.
Up from the alternate site in place of Sharp, Tarpley and Leibrant are first baseman Lewin Diaz and right-handers Jorge Guzman and Jesus Tinoco.
Sharp, 25, joined the Marlins via the NL East-rival Nationals as a Rule 5 pick over the winter. He went on to throw 5 1/3 innings with the Marlins this year before they booted him from their roster, but Sharp struggled mightily along the way. The soft-tossing Sharp made four appearances out of Miami’s bullpen and yielded seven runs (six earned) on seven hits and five walks, striking out just three in the process. Sharp will now head to the waiver wire, and if nobody claims him there, the Marlins will have to offer him back to the Nats.
Reds Return Rule 5 Pick Mark Payton To Athletics
4:03pm: Payton has indeed been added to the Athletics’ player pool, the team announced.
3:02pm: The Reds have returned Rule 5 pick Mark Payton to the Athletics, per a club announcement. The 28-year-old outfielder was not claimed by another club on waivers. It’s not yet clear if he’ll be part of Oakland’s 60-man player pool.
Last season was Payton’s first in the Oakland organization, and he made an impression with a gaudy .334/.400/.653 batting line in 447 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. Payton bashed a career-best 30 home runs last year, albeit in an extremely hitter-friendly setting amid a leaguewide home run surge. (The Triple-A ball was the same as the MLB ball last year.) That said, Payton also altered his swing and hit fly-balls at a career-high rate in 2019, so the uptick in power wasn’t solely attributable to the league context.
Unfortunately for Payton, the Reds added multiple high-profile outfielders to a group that already included Nick Senzel, Jesse Winker, Aristides Aquino and Phil Ervin. Cincinnati signed both Nick Castellanos and Shogo Akiyama this winter, leaving Payton as a long-shot to make the club — even with an expanded roster. That crammed outfield already led to a DFA for Scott Schebler and Payton’s return to the A’s, but outfielder Travis Jankowski has been told he’ll make the Reds’ Opening Day roster, Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets.
Royals Acquire Rights To Rule 5 Pick Stephen Woods Jr.
The Royals announced today that they’ve sent a player to be named later or cash to the Rays in exchange for unrestricted rights to Rule 5 pick Stephen Woods Jr. Such moves are only possible once a player first goes unclaimed on outright waivers. Normally, a Rule 5 pick is then offered back to his original club, but the Royals worked out a trade to keep Woods in the organization — and because he’s already cleared waivers, the right-hander won’t require a spot on the 40-man roster.
Woods, 25, missed the entire 2018 season due to shoulder surgery but returned in 2019 to throw 86 1/3 frames of 1.88 ERA ball with 8.2 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 53.4 percent ground-ball rate in Class-A Advanced. Pitching the majority of last season at age 24, Woods was a bit old for the level, but the results were obviously quite encouraging for a pitcher coming back from a major surgical procedure. The Kansas City organization was clearly enamored of the former eighth-round pick’s upside and will now be able to hang onto him for the foreseeable future.
Woods has a history of control struggles, but he’s also missed plenty of bats in both his NCAA and professional career. His velocity was down a bit from its previous levels in 2019, FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen noted at the time of the Rule 5 Draft, but Woods also posted the lowest walk rate of his career in ’19.
Orioles Return Rule 5 Picks Brandon Bailey, Michael Rucker
3:01pm: The O’s announced that both players have cleared waivers and been returned to their prior teams.
1:37pm: The Orioles have decided against carrying both of their Rule 5 selections from the December draft, GM Mike Elias told media members including Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). The departures of righties Brandon Bailey and Michael Rucker will open two 40-man roster spots.
It isn’t yet entirely clear whether these two hurlers have cleared waivers. Every other team in baseball will have (or has had) a chance to step into the O’s Rule 5 rights. If nobody places a claim, then they’ll be offered back to their prior teams — where they will not lock up a big-league roster spot unless and until they’re added.
The 25-year-old Bailey came over from the Astros organization after a strong 2019 season in which he pitched to a 3.30 ERA over 92 2/3 innings at the Double-A level with 10.0 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9. He had been selected with the second overall pick in the Rule 5 draft. The Orioles could’ve utilized him as a swingman in the majors this year but evidently didn’t see enough upside to merit the effort.
As for Rucker, who’s also 25, he’d be heading back to the Cubs. Last year, he transitioned into a full-time reliever, throwing 79 2/3 upper-minors innings over 36 appearances. Rucker carried a 4.18 ERA with a healthy combination of 10.5 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 on the season. He also threw five scoreless innings over three appearances in camp, with three strikeouts and a pair of free passes.
2019 Rule 5 Draft Results
The Rule 5 draft begins at 12 p.m ET as this year’s Winter Meetings in San Diego draw to a close. Those unfamiliar with how the draft works can check out MLBTR’s full primer on the event here, but the short version is that teams with open 40-man roster spots can select a player with four to five years of pro experience from other organizations if said player hasn’t been given a spot on the 40-man roster. Players who signed at 18 years of age or younger but have five years of experience can be selected, as can players signed at 19 or older who have four years of experience. Each selection costs $100K, but it’s not mandatory for teams to make picks. Clubs must carry chosen players on their active rosters (or the major league disabled list) throughout the entire 2016 season. Otherwise, the player must be placed on waivers; if no other team steps into the Rule 5 rights, the player is offered back to his original club.
The Rule 5 order is based on the reverse order of last season’s standings. You can find Baseball America’s preview of the festivities right here (subscription required). Here are this year’s results:
1) Tigers: RHP Rony Garcia (Yankees)
2) Orioles: RHP Brandon Bailey (Astros)
3) Marlins: RHP Sterling Sharp (Nationals)
4) Royals: RHP Stephen Woods Jr. (Rays)
5) Blue Jays: pass
6) Mariners: RHP Yohan Ramirez (Astros)
7) Pirates: pass
8) Padres: pass
9) Rockies: pass
10) Angels: pass
11) White Sox: pass
12) Reds: OF Mark Payton (Athletics)
13) Giants: RHP Dany Jimenez (Blue Jays)
14) Rangers: pass
15) Phillies: INF Vimael Machin (Cubs) (traded to Athletics)
16) Cubs: RHP Trevor Megill (Padres)
17) Red Sox: SS Jonathan Arauz (Astros)
18) D-backs: pass
19) Mets: pass
20) Brewers: pass
21) Cardinals: pass
22) Nationals: pass
23) Indians: pass
24) Rays: pass
25) Braves: pass
26) Athletics: pass
27) Twins: pass
28) Yankees: pass
29) Dodgers: pass
30) Astros: pass
Second Round
2) Orioles: RHP Michael Rucker (Cubs)
Winter Meetings Previews: Royals, White Sox
In advance of the winter meetings, let’s take a moment to quickly preview a couple teams from the American League Central…
- The Kansas City Royals will look for value buys on the free agent market, per Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star. Given the sale of the team and the managerial transition underway, the Royals have more justification than usual for patience this offseason. With Kansas City, however, there’s often a sense that internal valuations of the talent on hand differs from those of the general public. The Royals continue to present the idea that they are happy with their core, an impression bolstered by the “moon, sun, and stars” type packages the Royals are demanding for players like Whit Merrifield, Danny Duffy and Ian Kennedy. Senior VP of Baseball Ops & GM Dayton Moore refined his fence-walking trick recently while saying both, “…we’re very encouraged with where we are based on how our players performed individually last year,” and also, “I think we’ve got to upgrade everywhere, really.” Pitching is definitely a target, and Moore has been active in trade discussions already, enough to have a sense of where trades might happen – though from Moore’s comments, it seems the Royals are disinclined to be major players on the trade market unless opposing GMs become more amenable to Moore’s ask(s). They do have four open spots on the 40-man roster and should be active in the Rule 5 draft, per The Athletic’s Alec Lewis.
- After being spurned by Zack Wheeler, the White Sox remain in the hunt for starting pitching, per MLB.com’s Scott Merkin. Chicago was also among the teams in on Jordan Lyles before the righty signed with the Rangers, tweets the MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Their rotation candidates are currently made up of high-ceiling but largely-unestablished youngsters, fronted by 2019 breakout superstar Lucas Giolito. Speculatively, Dallas Keuchel fits nicely from a culture perspective as the perennially-attention-starved White Sox have already added Yasmani Grandal from the nobody-believes-in-us free agent pool – and they like playing with a chip on their shoulder on the southside. As for position players, Chicago boasts close to a full house now that Grandal and Jose Abreu are officially on board. With prospects Luis Robert and Nick Madrigal expected to play a large portion of 2020 in the big leagues, they have one of the more intriguing groups on that side of the ball. Still, there’s definitely room to tinker around the edges, especially in the outfield, where Luis Alexander Basabe, Daniel Palka, Leury Garcia, Adam Engel, and Luis Gonzalez make up the flexible collection of candidates to join Eloy Jimenez and Robert in the outfield.
Marlins Notes: Free Agents, Castellanos, Urena, Chen, Mejia
While the Marlins have made it clear that upgrading the offense is a priority this winter, the team would prefer to stay away from long-term contracts so as not to block its younger position players, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. Any number of veterans could fit as short-term adds for 2020, though it does mean the Marlins likely won’t be signing Marcell Ozuna or Nicholas Castellanos, two free agents Miami was rumored to have interest in signing. Jackson notes that the Fish aren’t keen to give up the draft pick necessary to sign Ozuna (who rejected a Cardinals’ qualifying offer), while Castellanos is probably also unlikely, though the Marlins “could enter the bidding if he’s still available in a few weeks and willing to accept a shorter deal.” One would imagine that if Castellanos was open to a short-term deal, however, he might prefer to take such a contract with a contending team rather than the rebuilding Marlins.
Some more from South Beach…
- Also from Jackson’s piece, “the Marlins are leaning toward tendering” a contract to Jose Urena, who is projected for a $4MM salary in arbitration this offseason. After solid results in 2017-18, Urena struggled to a 5.21 ERA over 84 2/3 innings in a season hampered by injury, and it’s possible Miami could now opt to use him as a reliever rather than the rotation. Even for a low-payroll team like the Marlins, $4MM doesn’t seem like too expensive a sum for a pitcher with Urena’s resume, though Jackson notes that Miami could tender Urena a contract now and then release him before Opening Day (thus paying only a fraction of his agreed-upon salary) if they don’t like what they see in Spring Training.
- After a busy day of roster additions and subtractions on Wednesday, president of baseball operations Michael Hill discussed the team’s moves with reporters (including MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro and Wells Dusenbury of the South Florida Sun Sentinel). The most notable transactions was Wei-Yin Chen being designated for assignment, which all but officially ended the southpaw’s disappointing tenure in Miami after signing a five-year, $80MM deal in the 2015-16 offseason. Chen still has one year and $22MM remaining on that contract, though the DFA “was not about money. It was about building the best and deepest 40-man roster to allow us to compete in 2020 and beyond,” Hill said. Since Chen wasn’t expected to be a big contributor next season and his trade value was virtually non-existent, it isn’t a shock that the Marlins felt that Chen’s roster spot was better used to protect a young player from the Rule 5 Draft.
- All in all, six players were added to the 40-man in advance of the Rule 5 deadline — shortstop Jazz Chisholm, first baseman Lewin Diaz, and right-handers Sixto Sanchez, Nick Neidert, Humberto Mejia and Edward Cabrera. It seems like Mejia was the only member of the group who wasn’t a no-brainer, as his inclusion on the 40-man “took a lot of discussion among our group,” Hill said. “He battled injuries in his history, but you’re talking about a very physical right-handed pitcher with three pitches and he’s an extreme strike-thrower. We feel he’s a future major league starter and we didn’t think we should leave that profile exposed.” As Hill noted, Mejia “pitched his way onto the roster” following a strong 2019 season that saw the righty post a 2.09 ERA over 90 1/3 innings at the A-ball and high-A ball levels.
Brewers Notes: Grandal, Moose, Rule 5 Draft, Lucas
The latest on the Brew Crew….
- Yasmani Grandal is now a member of the White Sox, though the Brewers made “multiple offers” to the free agent catcher, as per reporter Robert Murray (via Twitter). Milwaukee had natural interest in a reunion given how well Grandal played in 2019, though Chicago’s four-year, $73MM contract was enough to outbid the Brewers. With Grandal officially no longer an option, catcher becomes perhaps the Brewers’ biggest area of need this winter, as the club will be looking for a solid regular to join in-house options Manny Pina, David Freitas, and Jacob Nottingham. Grandal, by the way, issued a thank-you to both the Brewers and their fans on his Instagram account today.
- With Grandal gone, Mike Moustakas is the biggest remaining Brewers free agent. While Milwaukee would also like to retain Moustakas, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets that the infielder “has considerable interest” from other teams. The Phillies, Braves, and Rangers are three of the clubs who have been linked to Moustakas in past reports, and it’s fair to imagine that lots of other teams would see a fit for a power hitter who can play second or third base.
- The Brewers added three players to their 40-man roster yesterday in advance of the deadline for teams to set their rosters in advance of the Rule 5 Draft. As you might expect, “these are not 100 percent easy, clear decisions to make on some players,” Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns told MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy and other reporters. While Milwaukee has only 36 players on its 40-man, teams often leave spaces open for future additions or other roster maneuvering prior to December 12, when the Rule 5 Draft takes place. This means that other teams could select some notable Brewers youngsters who weren’t protected, such as right-hander Zack Brown, currently ranked by MLB.com as the third-best prospect in Milwaukee’s farm system. Brown was quickly ascending up the minor league ladder and was the Brewers’ minor league pitcher of the year in 2018, though his 2019 numbers (5.79 ERA over his first 116 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level) were a step backwards. Stearns admitted that these struggles “certainly influenced our decision,” though “we still have high hopes for Zack Brown.” If Brown is chosen, his new team would have to keep him on its Major League roster for the entire 2020 season to gain his permanent rights, or else the team would have to offer Brown back to Milwaukee.
- Former Marlins infielder Ed Lucas has been hired as the Brewers’ new minor league hitting coordinator, as per Robert Murray (Twitter link). Lucas’ post-playing career has thus far included three seasons in administrative and development roles with the Phillies and Marlins. Lucas played for seven different organizations from 2004-16, a career that includes 163 MLB games with Miami in 2013-14.