Giants Rumors

Giants Sign Alfredo Aceves

By charliewilmoth | March 7, 2015 at 8:29am CDT

The Giants have signed righty Alfredo Aceves, Matt Eddy of Baseball America writes. The deal is presumably of the minor-league variety.

Aceves, 32, posted a 6.52 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 19 1/3 innings with the Yankees last season and allowed an extreme number of fly balls in the process, and he’s generally struggled since a strong 2011 campaign as a swingman in Boston. He did, however, pitch fairly well in 28 1/3 innings with the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last year. His ability to start or pitch in multiple-inning stints could prove useful, although perhaps only in an emergency for the time being.

Quick Hits: Craig, Red Sox, Colletti, Coke

By Jeff Todd | March 6, 2015 at 11:11pm CDT

Hector Olivera’s newly-reported free agency could make for an interesting weekend. While we await further word on his market, let’s have a look at a few stray links to round out the evening:

The Giants do not appear to have interest in pursuing a trade for Red Sox first baseman/outfielder Allen Craig to fill in for the injured Hunter Pence, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. While that could change if the asking price is “oddly low,” per Heyman, San Francisco is not inclined to make a move of that magnitude with Pence expected to return around the first of May. While a prior report had suggested the possibility of a Craig acquisition, the team would have no apparent role for him upon Pence’s return.
Alex Speier of the Boston Globe takes a close look at the evolving ownership and leadership situation with the Red Sox — and, in particular, Fenway Sports Group part-owner and president Michael Gordon. Though some speculated that Gordon was attempting to build his influence over the ballclub as he gained control of the second-largest stake of the FSG umbrella entity, Speier explains that the notion of a power struggle in Boston is just not true.
Displaced Dodgers GM Ned Colletti is enjoying his “respite” from the decisionmaking seat, as Bill Dwyre of the Los Angeles Times writes in a fascinating look at the former top baseball man in Los Angeles. Now working as a senior advisor to club president Stan Kasten — who actually extended his contract through 2016 — Colletti says that he is enjoying a more grass-roots role than he could ever have hoped to play in the GM position. At the same time, he indicated that he does not intend to slowly ease out of the game. “The song isn’t over,” says Colletti. “It is just a pause.”
Addressing the facially odd decision of lefty Phil Coke to take a minor league deal with the Cubs rather than a reported MLB deal elsewhere, CJ Nitkowski of FOX Sports says it is all about opportunity. Nitkowski says that he, too, made the decision to take a better opportunity on a non-guaranteed deal, though in his case it did not work out as hoped.

NL Notes: Pence, Marlins, Soriano, Tomas, Lopez

By Steve Adams | March 6, 2015 at 3:36pm CDT

Hunter Pence will be out six to eight weeks after a Corey Black fastball broke his arm in yesterday’s Cactus League contest against the Cubs. However, the Giants are expected to look at their in-house options to replace Pence while he is on the shelf, tweets Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio. That’s not necessarily a huge surprise, considering the fact that six to eight weeks could mean that Pence will miss only a few weeks of in-season action. ESPN’s Buster Olney wondered (on Twitter) last night if the Giants might use Buster Posey at first base more, with Brandon Belt sliding into the outfield, given the team’s need for power.

More notes from around the Senior Circuit…

The Marlins missed out on James Shields and Francisco Rodriguez late in the offseason, but the money that would have been allocated to that pair of arms could be reinvested in trade acquisitions midseason, writes MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. President of baseball operations Michael Hill says that owner Jeffrey Loria has made it “abundantly clear” that he will provide the Marlins’ front office with the resources necessary to make trades, should an area of need arise.
Frisaro also reports that despite the fact that the Marlins were clearly in the market for a bullpen upgrade (as evidenced by their pursuit of K-Rod), they don’t have interest in free agent right-hander Rafael Soriano.
Yasmany Tomas has looked comfortable in early auditions at third base, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. He hasn’t been perfect, particularly with his throws, but if Tomas can iron out the kinks at the hot corner, it would keep the D-Backs’ outfield logjam from getting out of hand. As it stands, Arizona has David Peralta, A.J. Pollock, Cody Ross, Ender Inciarte and Mark Trumbo all vying for time, and adding Tomas to that mix would further complicate matters. Regardless, it’s possible, in my eyes, that we see Arizona move one of its outfield options later this spring, although Peralta and Inciarte do have minor league options remaining.
Fangraphs’ Eno Sarris has some brief video of another highly regarded Cuban inked by the D-Backs this offseason: Yoan Lopez. Sarris captures just a couple of pitches, but his colleague, Kiley McDaniel, provides a more complete breakdown of Lopez in a brief scouting report. Per McDaniel, Lopez has good arm speed on a 92 to 95 mph fastball to go along with an above-average slider and an average changeup. However, the 21-year-old also has some control issues and is likely headed to the minors to begin his career here.

Quick Hits: Vogelsong, Royals, Lee, Erasmo

By Mark Polishuk | March 5, 2015 at 11:18pm CDT

Ryan Vogelsong seemed to be on the verge of signing with the Astros before he eventually rejoined the Giants, and the righty hinted that there was something unusual about how negotiations broke down with Houston. According to CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman, the issue was that after agreeing to sign Vogelsong to a one-year, $4MM deal, the Astros wanted to pay Vogelsong less after viewing the results of his physical. Both Astros GM Jeff Luhnow and Vogelsong’s agent Dave Meier declined to comment to Heyman about the situation.

Here’s some more from around the baseball world…

The Royals are focused on winning now, which could change their handling of prospects Brandon Finnegan and Christian Colon, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan writes. There is “a pretty healthy discussion going on within the Royals’ organization” about Finnegan, who could be a key left-handed bullpen weapon for K.C. this season, though such usage could also hurt his development as a future starter. A similar argument could be made about Colon and whether he’d be better served playing every day at Triple-A or coming off the Royals’ bench as a utilityman.
Though he has a 2016 option that vests if he pitches 200 innings, Cliff Lee is entering his last guaranteed year under contract. The Phillies southpaw told reporters (including David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News) that he’s hasn’t thought about what lies beyond the coming season. “We’ll see what it brings,” Lee said. “I definitely do not want to go out the way things happened last year, I don’t want that to be the way I finish my career, but at the same time I’m not going to sit there and try to fight that to get it done. I want to go out there and have fun and feel good and make it be a positive thing instead of it be a battle physically.”
Erasmo Ramirez is facing a roster crunch, as the out-of-options righty doesn’t appear to have a clear path to either a rotation or bullpen role with the Mariners, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune writes. The M’s don’t want to lose Ramirez but Dutton hears from multiple rival officials that Seattle stands little chance of sneaking Ramirez through waivers and down to the minors. The Mariners also don’t stand to get much of a return in a possible trade, as one rival exec rhetorically asks, “How much are you going to give up for a guy who is likely to be on waivers in a few weeks?”
The Giants will certainly monitor the market for right-handed hitting outfield bats in the wake of Hunter Pence’s injury, FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi writes, though the club won’t jump to make a move.
Using 2014 attendance figures and Forbes’ evaluations of franchise values, Fangraphs’ Craig Edwards calculates each team’s “expected payroll” to see how clubs spend in relation to their markets. The Tigers outspend their market by the most while the Yankees rank last, though Edwards explains that ranking is slightly misleading since luxury tax payments aren’t factored into the equation.
Besides division rivals or intra-market rivals, Fangraphs’ Dave Cameron (writing for FOX Sports) looks at other pairs of teams that rarely seem to make trades with each other.
Injuries to several relievers could result in one or two young arms getting a shot in the Diamondbacks’ Opening Day bullpen, Zach Buchanan of the Arizona Republic writes.

Hunter Pence To Miss 6-8 Weeks With Forearm Fracture

By Mark Polishuk | March 5, 2015 at 8:07pm CDT

Giants outfielder Hunter Pence has suffered a non-displaced ulnar fracture and will be sidelined for 6-8 weeks, the team announced. Pence suffered the injury earlier today when he was hit by a pitch from Cubs righty Corey Black during a Spring Training game. The fracture occurred just above Pence’s left wrist, so he was at least fortunate to avoid what could’ve been a more serious injury.

That said, Pence’s absence for some or all of April is clearly a setback for the Giants lineup. Given how Pence’s time on the DL is expected to be relatively short, San Francisco will likely just use internal options like Gregor Blanco, Gary Brown or Justin Maxwell to fill Pence’s spot in right field. (Or, one of those players could play in left, shifting Nori Aoki to RF.)

On the other hand, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that the Giants are “now looking for outfielders” and, in an earlier tweet, suggested that Allen Craig of the Red Sox could be “the perfect fit.” I’m not sure if Craig, in particular, is a fit given his high salary and the fact that the Giants wouldn’t have a regular role for him once Pence returned. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the team add a veteran outfielder on a minor league deal just for the sake of a bit more depth, yet a major acquisition like Craig would seem unnecessary unless there are setbacks in Pence’s recovery.

The durable Pence has played in at least 154 games in each of the last seven seasons. His DL stint will snap his streak of 383 consecutive games played, which has been the longest active iron-man streak of any MLB player.

NL West Notes: Whiteside, Johnson, Descalso, Guerrero

By Jeff Todd | March 3, 2015 at 3:10pm CDT

Catcher Eli Whiteside has opted to accept a coaching job with the Giants rather than taking one of several offers he had to continue playing, MLB.com’s Chris Haft reports. The veteran played in parts of six MLB seasons, including a three-year run in which he was a significant contributor for San Francisco. He will retire after getting one last short run in the bigs last year with the Cubs.

Minor Moves: Hill, Gillies, Sale, Tigers, Dbacks, Dodgers

By charliewilmoth | February 27, 2015 at 9:04pm CDT

Here are today’s minor moves from around the league:

Veteran southpaw Rich Hill has agreed to a minor league deal with the Nationals, the club announced. Hill, who has appeared in parts of ten MLB seasons, will receive an invite to big league camp. Soon to turn 35, Hill has long been effective against lefties but rather susceptible to opposite-handed bats, with good strikeout numbers in recent years offset by a hefty accumulation of free passes.
Former top Phillies prospect Tyson Gillies has signed a minor league deal with the Padres, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com tweets. Philadelphia released Gillies over the summer while he was in the midst of a tough .214/.270/.289 run at Triple-A. Now 26, the center fielder was a part of the 2009 deal that sent Cliff Lee to the Mariners.
The Rays have released former first-round pick Josh Sale, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy tweets. The outfielder hit .238/.313/.344 in 361 plate appearances for Class A+ Charlotte in 2014 before being suspended in August for drug use. He also received a 50-game suspension for drug use in 2012 and was suspended by the Rays in 2013 following an incident at a strip club.
The Tigers have signed righties Ryan Perry and Ross Seaton and first baseman Bobby Borchering to minor-league deals, Eddy tweets. Detroit drafted Perry, 28, in the first round in 2008, and he pitched for three seasons in their bullpen from 2009-2011. He also appeared with the Nationals in 2012 before struggling in Washington’s minor-league system in 2013 and 2014. The 25-year-old Seaton was a third-round pick of the Astros in 2008. He got through the lower levels of Houston’s system fairly quickly despite low strikeout rates, but struggled to establish himself in the Astros’ Triple-A rotation. Borchering, 24, was the 16th overall pick in the 2009 draft, and he headed from the Diamondbacks to the Astros in 2012 in the trade that sent Chris Johnson to the desert. He struggled that year at the Double-A level and hasn’t yet made it back yet, hitting .238/.324/.333 in 71 plate appearances at Class A+ Lancaster last season.
The Diamondbacks have signed lefties Erick Threets and Trevor Reckling, Eddy tweets. Threets, 33, appeared in parts of three seasons with the Giants and White Sox from 2007 through 2010. He pitched in Mexico last season and last appeared in affiliated ball when he posted a 2.79 ERA, 6.3 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in a 2012 season spent in Triple-A with the Athletics and Dodgers organizations. Reckling, a former Angels draftee, pitched in independent ball in 2013 and did not pitch in 2014.
The Dodgers have signed outfielder Travis Witherspoon, Eddy tweets. The athletic Witherspoon was once on the 40-man rosters of the Angels and Mariners. The 25-year-old hit .252/.338/.448 in the friendly hitting environment of Class A+ High Desert in 2014, mostly playing center field.

Minor Moves: Cedeno, Thompson, Accardo

By Mark Polishuk | February 26, 2015 at 10:14pm CDT

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

The Giants signed shortstop Ronny Cedeno to a minor league contract, according to the Pacific Coast League’s transactions page. Cedeno appeared in nine games with the Phillies in 2014, spending the large majority of his season at the Triple-A level for Philadelphia and Arizona. Over his 10 years in the majors, Cedeno has a .245/.289/.353 career slash line over 2792 plate appearances, seeing a few seasons in a starting or platoon role for the Cubs and Pirates.
The Athletics moved right-hander Taylor Thompson to the 60-day disabled list due to a strain in his throwing shoulder, the team announced. In a corresponding move, Thompson’s 40-man roster spot will be filled by the newly-acquired Chad Smith. Thompson, 27, made his Major League debut last season, throwing 5 1/3 innings out of the White Sox bullpen. The A’s selected him off waivers from the White Sox in November.
The Diamondbacks signed righty Jeremy Accardo to a minor league deal, as per the PCL’s transactions page. Accardo, an eight-year Major League veteran, last appeared in the bigs in 2012 and has since pitched in Mexico, Venezuela, independent league ball and for the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate.

More On The Pursuit And Signing Of Yoan Moncada

By Jeff Todd | February 23, 2015 at 7:24pm CDT

Yoan Moncada will be in Fort Myers tomorrow to begin the process of taking his physical and finalizing his contract with the Red Sox, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe reports (Twitter links). Boston has also agreed to terms with Carlos Mesa, a 26-year-old friend of Moncada, according to Moncada’s agent David Hastings.

Here’s more on the offer process as well as some viewpoints on the signing:

The Globe’s Alex Speier breaks down the signing from all angles from the Red Sox perspective.
The Padres made an approximately $25MM offer to Moncada, MLB.com’s Corey Brock reports on Twitter. Meanwhile, the Brewers’ were interested only to the $12MM to $15MM range, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy tweets. Milwaukee came in early with an offer, learned it would not be competitive, and then bowed out, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports.
Though the Giants were interested in Moncada, but not at his price tag, GM Brian Sabean tells Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links). “We were involved, not as much as other teams,” said Sabean. “We’re not built for that. Nor is most of baseball.” That sounds similar to the fate of the Tigers, who as Chris Iott of MLive.com writes had legitimate interest but bowed out fairly early on. “We scouted him,” said assistant GM Al Avila. “We had him here for a private workout. Once we knew where the money was going, it was just a point that we had our money invested in other areas.”
ESPN.com’s Keith Law (Insider link) writes that Moncada would have been the first or second player taken in this year’s relatively weak draft, and profiles as a top-ten talent in any year. As Law notes, the signing could be a piece of a push for change, as the league looks to hold down the bonuses going to young Cuban ballplayers.
In the long term, the Red Sox do not have a backlog worthy of concern, Ben Carlsley of Baseball Prospectus writes. As he explains, the signing perhaps makes it easier for Boston to deal prospects for a starter, but does not create any pressure toward such a result. The bottom line is that the team has immense flexibility.
As Jeff Sullivan of Fangraphs explains, there is a wide variety of possible outcomes even for highly-touted position players. Per his colleague Dave Cameron, a rough weighted valuation of those possible outcomes makes the ultimate price tag look reasonable.

West Notes: Shields, Rangers, Saunders

By charliewilmoth | February 21, 2015 at 3:37pm CDT

James Shields rejected a four-year, $80MM offer from the Giants before signing with the Padres for $5MM less, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman writes. The Giants rescinded the offer once they re-signed Jake Peavy, however, so by the time Shields actually signed, the Cubs and Marlins were probably the Padres’ top rivals for Shields. Shields’ agent, Page Odle, says his client received more than one offer with a higher average annual value than the one he ultimately accepted from the Padres, confirming that Shields’ desires to play near his home outside San Diego and to for a revamped Padres team were quite strong. Odle implies, though, that another factor might have been that the Giants’ offer simply came too early in the offseason, and that he and Shields wanted more time to make a decision. Odle also says he and Shields did not reject a $110MM offer, as had been reported last month. Here are more notes from the West divisions.

The Rangers have three pitchers in Yu Darvish, Yovani Gallardo and Neftali Feliz who look like they could be extension candidates, but the team has no plans to extend any of them during Spring Training, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan writes. “There is nothing in the works right now,” says GM Jon Daniels. Darvish is signed through 2017, but can become a free agent a year earlier if he wins a Cy Young award in one of the next two seasons or finishes between second and fourth in both of them. “Counterintuitively, I’m rooting for him to be able to void that last year,” says Daniels, suggesting that the year lost will be positive if Darvish performs well enough to finish at or near the top in Cy Young balloting in one or both of the next two seasons.
Manager Lloyd McClendon says the Mariners will use newly signed lefty Joe Saunders purely as a reliever, MLB.com’s Greg Johns tweets. The 33-year-old Saunders has pitched almost his entire career as a starter, but he made six relief appearances for the Orioles last season.

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