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Minor Moves: Moore, Sosa, Schwinden, Liddi

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Catcher Adam Moore, who had a May 15 opt-out date in his current minor league deal with the Padres, has elected to remain with the team’s Triple-A affiliate in El Paso, reports Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link). Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish adds that Moore and the Padres have agreed to a rolling opt-out date, in which Moore is free to opt out at any time should a big league opportunity present itself (Twitter link). The former top prospect is hitting .357/.410/.527 with four homers in 122 PA this season. Here are some more minor moves from around the league…

  • Former big league right-hander Henry Sosa has signed with the Nexen Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization, according to a report from Korean media outlet Yonhap (hat tip: Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net). The 28-year-old Sosa posted a 5.23 ERA in 51 1/3 innings with the Astros’ bullpen in 2011, averaging 6.4 strikeouts and 3.9 walks per nine innings pitched. Sosa, who had been with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate, has pitched for KBO’s Kia Tigers previously.
  • Right-hander Chris Schwinden has inked a minor league deal with the Rangers, reports Mike Ashmore of the Trentonian (Twitter link). Schwinden, who appeared in seven games (six starts) for the 2011-12 Mets, was pitching for the Atlantic League’s Lancaster Barnstormers, where he’d notched a 1.96 ERA with a 13-to-2 K/BB ratio in 23 innings.
  • Cotillo also reports (via Twitter) that the Dodgers have signed corner infielder Alex Liddi to a minor league deal. Liddi, who was recently released by the White Sox, will head to the team’s Triple-A affiliate. He’s a career .252/.314/.450 hitter in 1501 Triple-A plate appearances and has also seen big league action in parts of three seasons with the Mariners.

Athletics Acquire Kyle Blanks From Padres

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The Athletics have officially agreed to acquire outfielder/first baseman Kyle Blanks from the Padres. Minor league outfielder Jake Goebbert will head to San Diego in the deal, along with a player to be named later or cash considerations.

MLB: Spring Training-San Diego Padres at Chicago White Sox

Blanks, 27, has spent most of his big league time in the outfield, but has primarily played at first in the minors. Blanks will be added to the Athletics’ MLB roster, and is expected to serve as the right-handed side of a first base platoon with Brandon Moss. He takes the place of the just-designated Daric Barton, a left-handed hitter who had been used against southpaws to little success this year.

A’s GM Billy Beane said that he targeted Blanks because he was a right-handed bat who could play at first and the corner outfield, reports Joe Stiglich of CSNBayArea.com (Twitter links). “He is exactly what we were looking for,” said Beane, “and there’s not many out there.” Beane also emphasized Blanks’s prospect pedigree, noting that “it looked like he was going to be that guy in the majors until injuries derailed him.”

Though Blanks has seen only minimal big league action this year, he has taken 806 MLB plate appearances over parts of six seasons, posting a composite .228/.310/.401 slash with 28 career home runs. Batting from the right side, Blanks has been somewhat more successful against southpaws (.733 OPS) than versus righties (.701). While that variance may be less pronounced than one might have expected, Blanks has posted wider splits in the upper minors. Blanks had been impressive at Triple-A this year, hitting .265/.364/.651 with 9 home runs through just 99 plate appearances.

Blanks, who avoided arbitration for just under $1MM this year, had already accrued over four years of MLB service coming into the season. If he can stay on the active roster long enough to add 140 days to his tally, he would move past five years of service by season’s end. This is the final option year for Blanks, meaning that the Padres were going to have to use him or lose him in the near future — and that the Athletics, likewise, will probably not be able to stash him in the minors beyond this year.

Meanwhile, Goebbert — a 26-year-old outfielder — has yet to see any MLB action and has not yet been added to a 40-man roster, meaning that he comes with six years of control and all of his options intact. Of course, the Padres could potentially deem it necessary to give him a 40-man slot to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.

While the former 13th-round draft pick does not have a major presence among independent talent evaluators — he did not place on either Baseball America’s ranking of Oakland’s top thirty prospects or on MLB.com’s list of the club’s twenty best prospects — he has been on a tear at Triple-A this year. Goebbert’s batting line stands at .257/.371/.505 through his first 132 plate appearances, continuing a trend of posting solid on-base and slugging numbers throughout his time in the upper minors.

ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick first reported the deal (via Twitter). Interest between the clubs was reported earlier in the week by Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (Twitter links), who also noted that Goebbert could be involved. Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link) and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links) reported that Goebbert was headed to the Padres in the deal, with Slusser also reporting that Blanks would be added to the MLB roster. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweeted that Blanks was expected to see time at first.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Padres, A’s Exploring Kyle Blanks Trade

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THURSDAY: Talks between the clubs appear to be “heating up” today, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

TUESDAY: Blanks has been optioned to Triple-A to create roster space for Carlos Quentin, manager Bud Black told Marty Caswell of 1090 Sports Radio (Twitter link; h/t to MLB.com’s Corey Brock). That, rather than a completed trade, explains his absence from the lineup card today. Of course, Blanks can still be dealt just the same whether or not he is on the active roster.

MONDAY: First baseman/outfielder Kyle Blanks could be on the move soon, and the A’s are one possibility for the team that could acquire him, reports Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish (Twitter links). Oakland has in fact shown interest in acquiring Blanks, reports Joe Stiglich of CSNBayArea.com.

One name that Cotillo hears could be in play is Jake Goebbert — a 26-year-old outfielder who is batting .257/.371/.505 in 132 plate appearances with Oakland’s Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento. Goebbert did not place on Baseball America’s list of Top 30 A’s prospects nor on MLB.com’s Top 20 list for Oakland.

The Friars only recently promoted Blanks, 27, from Triple-A El Paso this season, where he had been hitting the ball with authority, pounding nine homers in 99 plate appearances. Blanks was once regarded as the game’s No. 50 prospect by Baseball America and No. 54 by ESPN’s Keith Law, but that was back in 2009. Since a highly impressive debut that same season in which he batted a healthy .250/.355/.514 with 10 homers in 172 PA, Blanks has slashed just .222/.298/.372 in the Majors.

As Stiglich notes, the A’s could be interested in platooning Blanks at first and/or deploying him as an outfield bench bat. Alternatively, the club may have designs on stashing him at Triple-A for depth.

Jeff Todd contributed to this post.

NL Notes: Mets, deGrom, Montero, Phillies, Padres

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Mets co-owner Saul Katz has indicated interest in selling his share of the club, which is held in partnership with team chairman and CEO Fred Wilpon, reports Michael Schmidt of the New York Times. According to the report, while Katz is concerned with jeopardizing Wilpon’s control over the team, he is nevertheless wary of continuing to pump cash into the organization. For his part, Katz denied that he had such an intention through a statement released to the press. Sources told Schmidt that the team is expected to continue losing money this year and suggested that payroll is not likely to “jump substantially” in the near future.

Here’s more from New York and the rest of the National League:

  • As suspected, the Mets will call up prospect Jacob deGrom to take a bullpen slot, tweets Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. The move is part of a series of maneuvers through which the team has begun shifting future assets onto its big league roster, writes Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. Baseball America ranked deGrom tenth among the team’s prospects coming into the year, noting that he could eventually develop into a mid-rotation starter.
  • Perhaps the more important Mets promotion was that of fellow young hurler Rafael Montero, who will step into the team’s rotation. As Ben Badler of Baseball America notes on Twitter, Montero was inked for a mere $80K just three years ago after the club saw him impress in a Dominican Prospect League outing.
  • The Phillies bench is in a state of flux amidst serious struggles, writes MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. Infielder Jayson Nix was just outrighted, while recently demoted utilityman Freddy Galvis fractured his clavicle upon his return to the minors. Meanwhile, John Mayberry Jr. and Tony Gwynn Jr. are struggling as reserve outfielders, and the team currently has just one utility infielder on its roster in Reid Brignac. While a recovering Darin Ruf could see another shot at the bigs, as could infielder/outfielder Cesar Hernandez, top prospect Maikel Franco is likely not going to be called up for a bench role. Philadelphia is still just four games back in a densely-packed NL East, and it will be fascinating (as always) to see how GM Ruben Amaro Jr. attacks the trade market this summer if the team stays within striking distance.
  • While the Padres have seemingly been snakebitten in the early-career extensions they have entered, GM Josh Byrnes remains committed to his thought process, writes Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune. “When they don’t work out, they are not killers, but they hurt,” said Byrnes. “We need our dollars to hit their targets, but I think the concept is still good. … The whole model for 20 years is the club is giving some security and taking some risk and sometimes it doesn’t work out.” Of course, the team most recently moved to lock up young infielder Jedd Gyorko to a $35MM pact.

NL West Notes: D’Backs, Padres, Sabean

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The Dodgers hold a 20-19 record and have yet to live up to their preseason billing as World Series contenders, Yahoo Sports’ Tim Brown writes.  L.A. leads the National League in errors and have played uninspired baseball at times, though Brown reminds us that the Dodgers had a much worse record in May 2013 before they caught fire in the summer.  Here’s the latest from around the NL West…

  • With the Diamondbacks 10 games out of first place and the Padres 6.5 games behind the division-leading Giants, ESPN’s Jim Bowden (Insider subscription required) places two players from each team on his list of 10 players who could be moved at the trade deadline.  Bowden feels that Aaron Hill, Martin Prado, Chase Headley and Huston Street could all be dealt if the Snakes and Friars can’t get their seasons turned around.
  • Speaking of those first-place Giants, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal feels the franchise is still somewhat overlooked as a baseball power despite winning two of the last four World Series titles.  GM Brian Sabean’s ability to put together quality bullpens has been underrated, as Rosenthal points out how the Giants have consistently turned little-regarded pitchers into valuable relievers.
  • While recovering from Tommy John surgery, Josh Johnson is trying to make the most of his time on the DL by helping mentor the Padres’ young pitchers, MLB.com’s Corey Brock reports.

Minor Moves: Hector Ambriz Accepts Outright

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Here are Sunday’s minor moves from around MLB:

  • The Reds have released pitcher Nick Schmidt, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish. The 28-year-old lefty pitched 14 1/3 innings for Triple-A Louisville, posting a 7.53 ERA with 11 strikeouts and ten walks. He had previously pitched in the Padres and Rockies systems.
  • The Indians have released pitcher Brett Brach, who had been at Triple-A Columbus, Cotillo tweets. Brach, the brother of Orioles pitcher Brad Brach, was a 10th-round pick in 2009. He spent most of the 2013 season with Double-A Akron.
  • Cotillo also notes that the Mariners have released pitcher Jonathan Arias, who had made eight relief appearances for Triple-A Tacoma. He had a 9.82 ERA there, striking out ten batters and walking seven in 14 2/3 innings. Arias, 26, had posted very good strikeout numbers at several previous minor-league stops, however.
  • Right-hander Hector Ambriz has accepted his outright assignment to Triple-A by the Padres, tweets MLBDailyDish.com’s Chris Cotillo. Ambriz, who was designated for assignment Thursday, could have refused the assignment and elected free agency.
  • Infielder Josh Wilson has cleared waivers, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Wilson, who was designated for assignment by the Rangers Thursday, now has 72 hours to accept an outright assignment or elect free agency.
  • Catcher George Kottaras has cleared waivers, tweets CBSSports.com’s Jon Heyman. Kottaras was designated for assignment by the Indians Tuesday and now has 72 hours to accept an outright assignment or elect free agency. The 30-year-old saw only four plate appearances during his brief stint with the Indians, but he was productive smashing a pair of solo home runs and drawing one walk. 
  • There are four players currently in DFA limbo, per MLBTR’s DFA Tracker: Buddy Boshers (Angels), Maikel Cleto, (White Sox), Carlos Marmol (Marlins), and Chris Getz (Blue Jays).

Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.

Xavier Nady Elects Free Agency

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Xavier Nady refused his outright assignment and has elected free agency, a source tells Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (on Twitter).  Nady was designated for assignment to clear room for Kyle Blanks before being outrighted on Thursday.  MLB.com’s Corey Brock tweeted over the weekend that it was a virtual certainty that Nady would turn down his assignment and hit the open market.

Nady, 35, belted three homers in 42 plate appearances for the Padres but also batted just .135 with a .238 on-base percentage in 2014. This season marked his first big league action since 2012 as well as a return to the organization that originally selected him in the second round of the 2000 draft.  Now, he’ll move on in search of his next big league opportunity.

Nady is represented by Scott Boras, as shown in the MLBTR Agency Database.

Minor Moves: MacDougal, Carson, Ambriz, Martin

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We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

  • The Mariners have agreed to terms with reliever Mike MacDougal on a minor-league deal, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune tweets. MacDougal, 37, had been pitching for the independent Camden Riversharks. The veteran spent 2013 at the Triple-A level and last appeared in the big leagues in 2012, struggling in seven appearances with the Dodgers.
  • The Angels have released lefty Robert Carson, MiLB.com has announced. The Angels claimed him from the Mets in October, then outrighted him in March. He pitched 33 innings for the Mets in 2012 and 2013 combined, posting a 6.82 ERA with 3.5 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9. He struggled for Triple-A Salt Lake this season, posting 13 walks against nine strikeouts in 15 2/3 innings there.
  • The Padres outrighted pitcher Hector Ambriz to Triple-A El Paso, although it’s not clear whether he will accept the assignment, MLB.com’s Corey Brock tweets. The Padres designated Ambriz for assignment on Thursday. He appeared in one game with them, after having spent the 2013 season with the Astros.
  • The Diamondbacks have purchased outfielder Dustin Martin from the independent Sugar Land Skeeters, Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish tweets. Martin, 30, also played for both Sugar Land and in the Diamondbacks organization in 2013, when he batted .295/.378/.502 in 249 plate appearances for the Diamondbacks’ Double-A Mobile affiliate.
  • The Mets have outrighted infielder Omar Quintanilla to Triple-A Las Vegas, ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin tweets. Quintanilla had hit .207/.258/.241 in 31 plate appearances in the big leagues this season. The Mets designated Quintanilla for assignment on Wednesday, making room on their active roster for Wilmer Flores.

West Notes: Belt, Giants, Quentin, Napoli

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The Giants received some tough news tonight, as young first baseman Brandon Belt suffered a broken thumb on a hit-by-pitch, CSNBayArea.com’s Andrew Baggarly tweets. San Francisco does have internal options, Baggarly writes, with recent signee Travis Ishikawa and career minor leaguer Adam Duvall on the team’s Triple-A roster. Among currently active players, outfielder Michael Morse has spent significant time at first. The best bet in the immediate term, Baggarly says, is for Buster Posey to shift from behind the plate.

Here’s more from San Francisco and some other western division clubs …

  • Even before Belt’s injury, the Giants were already looking forward to some roster moves with righty Matt Cain and lefty David Huff nearing returns from the DL. As Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes, the club will probably not try to sneak one of their so-far-outstanding relievers through waivers. Instead, outfielder Juan Perez and pen arm George Kontos will likely lose their spots since they can be optioned down.
  • Padres outfielder Carlos Quentin is nearing a return, which could come on the team’s upcoming road swing, reports Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Quentin signed a three-year extension in the middle of the 2012 season that guarantees him $27MM through 2015 and includes a $10MM option ($3MM buyout) for 2016. While Quentin has done nothing but hit when healthy — he had a 145 OPS+ last year in a half-season of work — injuries have limited his time on the field. Sporting a league-worst 67 wRC+, San Diego will no doubt hope that Quentin can begin to make good on his contract. But with the club buried well back in the NL West, a healthy and productive return from Quentin could hypothetically make him a trade target this year or next.
  • Former Rangers backstop Mike Napoli said today that he thought about returning to Texas before re-signing with the Red Sox, Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald reports. “If there was any other place I’d be happy playing,” said Napoli, who has since converted to first, “it’d be Texas.” Though the Rangers showed interest in Napoli last November, he told his agent that he preferred to stay in Boston. “I don’t think it ever got to where push came to shove,” Napoli said of talks with his previous team.

NL Notes: Polanco, Nady, Montero, Cubs

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We learned recently that the Pirates had offered a seven-year contract extension to outfield prospect Gregory Polanco, who has of course yet to take the major league field. The extension tender was particularly interesting because of the contrast between Polanco’s situation and that of players like the Astros’ George Springer, whose similar extension offer came from a non-contender (and who has since been promoted), and Oscar Taveras of the Cardinals, who does not have an obvious spot at the MLB level. Those looking for more thoughts on this situation have a few pieces to check out. In a piece for Grantland, Ben Lindbergh breaks down the overall promotion picture, explaining that several organizations employ quite a different philosophy than strict service time controllers like the Bucs and Rays — and noting that there are very real risks to holding down talent. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says that the Pirates are now in a tough spot, given their desire to save money but equally obvious team need for Polanco. Meanwhile, over at Fangraphs, Dave Cameron writes that the discount demanded by the team on Polanco’s reasonably anticipated earnings was just too great, and opines that Pittsburgh should be willing to up its guarantee by $10MM to $15MM.

Here’s more from the National League:

  • It is virtually certain that outrighted veteran Xavier Nady will decline his assignment and become a free agent, reports MLB.com’s Corey Brock (via Twitter). The 35-year-old veteran stands at a .135/.238/.405 triple-slash in 42 plate appearances on the season. He did put up a quality .296/.360/.456 line in 495 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level last year.
  • The Mets have a detailed plan in the works regarding highly-rated pitching prospect Rafael Montero, reports Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. With an innings limit in play, New York hopes to work Montero as a reliever (first at Triple-A, then in the bigs) before sending him back to the minors to stretch back out and join the MLB rotation later on in the season.
  • The first three picks of the amateur draft appear fairly set (at least at this point), which could make the Cubs (who hold the fourth overall choice) the first true wild card. With Tommy John victim Jeff Hoffman now likely out of play, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune says that possibilities include prep arm Kyle Freeland, TCU lefty Brandon Finnegan, or high school catcher/outfielder Alex Jackson.
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